To those that were involved in the HEADACHE thread a while back...

We had a thread regarding headaches a while back. A few of us were constant (sometimes even daily) Migraine sufferers. I was one of the people that had daily migraines. I just wanted to give everyone an update.

I had been to 2 family doctors (switched after my old one seemed to be just brushing me off and giving me pain meds that didn't work). Well, my new family doctor is fabulous. She is very thorough and likes to get down to the bottom of why things are happening to me instead of masking the symptoms. I have had a CT scan (showed nothing), an MRI (showed a 3 mm hyperintensified area in the back left side of my brain - coincidentally, my headaches/migraines are usually on the left side of my head), then she sent me to a Neurologist to have him look over my MRI results (she said the hyperintensified area is more than likely caused by the constant pain I'm in from headaches, but would rather be safe and check it out. He ended up saying the same thing she said).

In between my MRI and my appt with my neurologist I had my annual exam with my OB/GYN. I told him what was going on with my headaches and he removed me from my birth control. He said that he didn't think that the birth control was causing them (since I'd been on it for a couple years, but only had been having the daily headaches for a few months), but would rather be safe than sorry. He said that if my birth control was causing the headaches and I continued to use it, it could cause me to have a stroke. The only way he would put me back on hormonal birth control was if he had permission from my Neurologist. The neurologist said he'd like me to stay off it for 6 months and then do another MRI to see if anything changes before he allows me to continue it.

Long story short...After being removed from my birth control, my headaches slowly lessened and since then, I have only had a few. I truly think it was the hormones in my birth control that was causing them.

Just thought I'd share that because I know that migraines can be such a damper on your life and I thought it might help someone else.

Happy New Year!

Bradway

Tue. Jan 3, 10:55am

I had the same thing happen to me. Horrible horrible migraines while on the pill. I still had them afterwards, so I cut out all dairy/meat/eggs (anything with hormones) and they are finally gone. I must say that I don't miss any of the things I cut out of my diet - so I have no plans to add them back.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006, 5:21 PM

Dumb question...

Are you taking any kind of birth control now? l'm on a different pill that I just started a month ago. I'm seeing an acupuncturist about my headaches, but right now, they're more sinus related.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006, 5:30 PM

No pill for me anymore (or probably ever again). I have the same deal as Bradway - no pill until approved by a specialist. I don't mind not being on the pill. I was horribly moody and couldn't sleep because of the constant migraines.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006, 5:34 PM

OP here...

No, I'm not currently on any sort of birth control. I wasn't on the pill before. I was using the NuvaRing. It is actually a very low dose of hormones...so I can't imagine what my headaches/migraines would have been like on something else.

My doctor recommended some form of non-hormonal birth control (IUD, condoms & spermicide, diaphragm). I've been leaning towards the IUD, but we may TTC soon.

Bradway

Tuesday, January 3, 2006, 8:09 PM

OP...

I guess I spoke too soon! LOL. I have a headache today. It's just a headache though, not my typical migraine.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006, 1:30 PM

Definitely a smart idea to have migraines and headaches checked out-- my friend's mom was suffering from headaches and found out she had 4 (!!!) aneurysms!!! Thankfully, they were caught in time, or she could have had one burst....The docs safely removed 2 of them, but she still has 2 small ones that they considered okay for now (because removing them might cause more harm than good.) She has suffered some seizures since then and has been on anti-seizure medicines-- She just had some seizures over the New Year Holiday....I pray that things will go better for her soon....

Another friend had severe migraines and the docs thought she had some kind of weird (undiagnosed) cancer (they did a battery of tests and for a while thought she had pancreatic cancer. At her worst, she could barely eat a roll and not get a migraine. She did some online research and after eliminating some foods from her diet, .... It turned out that she has a severe allergy to MSG, both chemical and naturally occurring. She basically cannot eat any soups any more, because 99% of them contain some form of MSG.... also has to stay away from anything labeled "Natural ____ flavor" (such as "Natural Vanilla Flavor" vs. "Vanilla" or "Pure Vanilla") because that usually means some forms of MSG....A short list of MSG or things that may possibly contain MSG that may trigger a negative response:

MSG
Soy products (Soy has a lot of naturally occurring MSG, especially in Soy Sauce)
carrageenen
Natural _____ flavor
Autolyzed Yeast Extract

She rarely eats out unless the chef at the restaurant can guarantee that they do not use any type of flavor enhancers in their foods (a very rare occurence). In her investigation, she also found that controlling MSG also controlled hyperactivity as well.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006, 5:37 PM

Me too

I also suffered from severe headaches while on birth control (I was on the patch). I kept a daily log of my headaches and I usually seemed to get a headache 8 out of 10 days. That's pretty bad. So I went off of the BC to see if that would make any difference, and my headaches pretty much went away. I still get headaches every now and then, but they aren't as severe and definitely not as often (like maybe once every 2 or 3 weeks).

So my husband and I were birth-control-free for about 6 months and even though it was hard to count days and make sure we always used some other type of contraceptive, I've now decided to go back on birth control. But I told my doctor about the headaches and she has perscribed a very low hormone pill. I start it this Sunday and am going to test it for a month or two. If I start getting consistent headaches again, well, then I'll know where it's coming from.

Wednesday, January 4, 2006, 6:06 PM

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