Chronic Pain/Menstrual Migraine

It's been a really long time since I have posted. My story is that two and a half years ago I was in a car accident. Three weeks after that I began getting migraines. More like I got a severe migraine that did not go away. I had many different treatments, injections, you name it, I probably did it. Along with the migraines I got neck and shoulder pain. The shoulder pain would feel like muscle pain, and the neck pain would feel like nerve pain. I wore a neck brace for a month or two, and that helped a little. After a year of constant pain, the pain began decreasing. I was finally able to exercise again, and that really seemed to help with the pain. Every now and then I still get the pain, but it is not as severe as it once was. I had been considered a chronic pain patient and even diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I don't think that is what I have, but that's all they could think of.

Ever since I can remember, I would get menstrual migraines. When I was younger they were not severe, but as I got older, they would be, and about once or twice a year, they would be so bad I would not get out of bed. For the last few years they have been under control and I haven't really gotten them. But for the last three months, I have had my chronic pain flair ups, just a couple days before my period.

I am wondering if anyone suffers with the type of pain that I do? I am also wondering if the changes in my hormones can cause the chronic pain to flair up. I just feel that there is a connection of some sort.

I am also wondering what helps? I am on Ultram as a preventative, and that is for nerve pain such as fibromyalgia. I take muscle relaxers as needed, and tylenol with codeine when I cannot handle it. I have taken Relpax in the past for the menstraul migraines, and it seemed to help. I finally got another prescription today, so I will give it a shot. Are there any alternative treatments someone has tried and worked?

After my car accident too. I got wonderful relief from 3 treatments. Chiropractor, Medical Massage and Accupuncture

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I am glad that you found relief. I had three spinal injections, a rhizotomy, chiropractic treatment, physical therapy, and trigger point injections, along with massage therapy. Never found relief, but over time it just got better. But now I suffer premenstrual pain, but its like its a combination of the chronic pain and menstraual migraines. That's why I am wondering if hormones can trigger the chronic pain flair up.

Have you tried frova for your menstrual migraines? I take relpax for my regular migraines and frova for my menstrual. The doctor will tell you how to take it but generally its take 2 pills two times a day the day before you expect to get your migraine and you continue for 3 days. Or whatever way your doctor tells you to take it. It’s a good thing to discuss with your doctor because they can tell depending on where you are in your cycle when you are getting your headaches i.e. drop or serge of estrogen and therefore when you need to take the frova. The forva works better for me for menstrual because it stays longer in the system... if I take relpax during that time I have a harder time with rebound.
http://www.frova.com/dtp/index.aspx?kwmid=4783299&kmcid=3059690520&match_type=
hope that helps!

Thank you for the response! I haven't tried Frova, but it might be worth asking about it. I really need to figure out how to avoid the menstraul migraines. I am not sure about preventing the chronic pain. I am on medicine that is supposed to help with that, and it very well might be to some extent. It's so hard to tell. But these menstrual migraines are really debilitating me once a month for up to 4 days.

I

have something called MAV (Migraine associated vertigo) which only started when I came in perimenopause and it only happens at PMS and or on the first day of my period.

 

So my migraines are connected to my cycle.

I went to see a hormone specialist who gave me bio identical hormones (progesterone) because she feels I am estrogen dominate. Estrogen is a cause for migraines.

 

I didn't start the hormones yet since I wanted to see a migraine doc first. I saw him 2 weeks ago and he agreed that I need to start hormones to try to combat the migraines at my cycle.

 

As for your car accident, trauma often triggers underlying issues.
Have you ever gone to see a chiro or an Osteopath to get an "alignment"?

 

Jen

No, I never saw an Osteopath. I actually haven't heard of that before. I saw a chiropractor for several months, and it didn't touch my pain unfortunately. Physical therapy didn't help either, so I was discharged from that.