Update on my wife....

[shooter1201]

We spent all day at the UT Vanderbilt Headache Center....and learned absolutely NOTHING new. Her NEW doctor is taking her off ALL her current meds...flushing her system, before starting her on DHE45, an ergot/alkaloid-based med.

Her MRI shows 'white areas' on both sides of her brain. We don't know 'what' they are, just that they shouldn't be there. She is also having problems with certain parts of her memory processes. Her new doctor 'thinks' it's due to depression. Gee....no duh!

We go back in January. His 'goal' is to get her down to 'only' 1-2 headaches every 6 days, instead of her current '24/7' variety.

We were told that her migraines will get MUCH WORSE before getting 'better' under this new 'treatment'.

BTW....her new doctor wasn't interested in hearing about her mood swings, etc.

''Tis the season'.....right?

[jellybean40]

I must say, i think a doctor should listen to all aspects of someone's illness, and think about all types of treatments. sometimes specialists just get too full of themselves and dont look at the big picture...like that you're both real human beings with feelings! good luck, and i will hope for the best for you both. (dont know if you've ever thought to go the holistic way...herbal etc. it's a thought. some drugs are livesavers but others are poison to the system. especially over the counter drugs.)
<<<<huggs>>>> Jill

[Piper]

Shooter,

You say on the MRI there are white areas?? What did the doctor say about this? Have you thought of seeing another doctor regarding these? Perhaps taking the films to another doctor to get a second opinion?

Just a thought...

Be Well,

Piper

[shooter1201]

Re: the 'white areas' on her MRI...

All he said was that he didn't know WHAT caused them and that they SHOULDN'T be there.

[Mitzi]

Shooter, get another doctor. When you have an illness, you have to take charge. The heck if the other doctors don't like it.
When my son got sick, our stupid family doctor said, "Welll, lets put him on some seizure medication and see what happens." I was astounded!
I said,"Excuse me, but he's going to a specialist." The specialist said the same thing.
I didn't stop there. We took him to the Mayo Clinic. They essentially said the same thing but they decided to operate to get the "cyst" off of his brain. The cyst turned out to be a tumor.
And I didn't stop there. I have talked to dr after dr after dr to find out if there is anyway to stop my sons seizures for good. And now, he has a real shot at being seizure free.
When that dr didn't care about her mood swings, that told me he isn't a very good dr. I talked to my sons new neurologist and told him he had to not only treat my son but realize what this was doing to our family. My husband and I have teetered on the edge of divorce because we can't agree on what we want for our son. I told the dr it all boiled down to what my SON wanted but that the whole family needed him, the dr, to TAKE CHARGE because we were sinking fast.
Well, this one is the miracle dr. He immediately took my sons driving away from him and I can now sleep nights. He sat down and talked to my son and my husband seperately because he could tell they were a team against me. He told them they HAD to get out of denial or someone was going to die if David kept driving. The other miracle is that my husband IS out of his denial and now is steering our son safely with good advice instead of handing him the keys, looking me in the eyes and telling him to drive.
Get a new dr, shooter. And be honest with him about not only what this is doing to your wife but to you and your daughter also. Make a seperate appointment to talk to the dr to tell him what is going on. You can ask him not to tell your wife. I know that sounds awful but you have to look out for your sanity through this.
Please let us know how you are all doing.
It sounds like it is going to get rougher before it gets better. But, I surely would talk to drs until I found one I was comfortable with. And I would tell him the whole picture, not just that your wife is having migranes but that it is negetively affecting the whole fmily.
I was going to email this to you but I lost your hotmail address.

[ 12-07-2001: Message edited by: Mitzi ]

[SGT Dave]

shooter1201:

I hope it turns out okay for you. I AM on your side and hope my PM helped.

In my wife's situation they did take her off all meds, even though she became worse, to see the source of her problems. At least that part seems protocol.

It does sound like he doesn't have a good "bedside" manner though. My doctor impressed me when I first became a patient there because he WOULD sit and listen for several minutes, whereas all others would listen for 5 seconds-jump up and throw the stethoscope to you, slide a tongue depressor in, and write a prescription. So I do imagine it illed you for him to do this on a problem that serious.

Maybe he's got cop cynicism!

Good luck-it does sound like you are on the right track by going to a major place-I've give up on serious problems and local ER doctors here. :rolleyes:

[shooter1201]

I suppose I MAY have irked him somewhat.

He had asked what happened prior to a migraine attack. I told him that my wife's pupils began constricting unevenly...varying between 4-7mm in size(different in each eye)...to which he replied, 'Oh, are you an EMT?' I said 'No...I'm a police officer.'

Then he checked her balance/coordination via a 'field sobriety' test. I commented on the similarities. He said he had been arguing AGAINST the use of 'field sobriety' tests in court.

So......

[Mitzi]

It makes a world of difference when you have a good doctor, shooter, with a good bedside manner.
The neurologist our son has is WONDERFUL. He is good to our and us and takes no crap off the other doctors who give us no hope. It really means a lot when they care about the whole family.

[Joseph]

Shooter find another doctor for a second opinion. The white spots mean something and is probally the source of the problem. Just because he doesn't know find somebody that does. Good Luck.

[Mitzi]

When a woman has a hysterectomy, she goes into almost instant menopause. Just to show you how weird it could be, I'll tell you my experience today. I am on hormones because I had a hysterectomy. I struggle sometimes to stay even.
I woke up today, tearful. I don't know why. I walked into the kitchen to get some tea and as I did, I stepped into the dogs food dish and then on the rug, getting all this wet dog food all over the rug. I had to rush to clean it and just as I got it done, I raised up and hit my head really hard on the counter. That did it. I burst out into tears and cried and cried and cried. My husband came out of his office with his hands on his hips and asked me if I had taken my medication. I yelled at him to shut up and I applied ice to my head.
Only, I hadn't put the ice in the bag and it went all over the floor. My husband came in to help me and put his hands on my shoulders and I pushed him away, crying. He just took my arm and let me to the bedroom and told me to stay there while he got more ice.
I cried and cried and cried and didn't want him near me.
Meantime, he counted my pills and I HAD forgotten to take my hormones for 2 days. He just about poured them down my throat! lol
And that's what it's like for some women!

[jcpaddon]

I think I've mentioned before my years of work in an emergency clinic - I can tell you this from experience in the medical field. Headaches are one of the hardest things to deal with - you rarely see someone with an explanation. If your wife has been to a headache clinic though she's probably in very good hands. Taking her off all meds is a must, many of them create 'rebound headaches' ie. headaches caused by the meds.It's good to take her off them and start again. Anyway, headaches are VERY frustrating to deal with, I've seen patients who can do nothing but come in for injections of demerol,sometimes a couple days in a row because that's all that works. However, then they may get labelled as a drug seeker by inept medical staff who may decide that a 'headache' doesn't warrant these meds (it's often the receptionist or nurse who does this).So that's another problem for the patient to deal with, often quite undeservedly (is that a real word?)
*Ask for a radiologist's or neurologist's opinion on the MRI (maybe it was a neurologist you were talking too, but if he doesn't know then that's not an adequate answer, tell him to consult another colleague or someone from another specialty ie.radiology and FIND OUT)Don't accept I Don't Know.
Sorry for my ranting, I don't like seeing patients who are blown off or talked down to (like when he asked you if you're an EMT)
Hope everything works out, and I hope she can relax. I know it's hard, but the more stressed she is the worse the headaches and migraines will be.

[Naomi]

The latest breakthrough medical advice can sometimes be found on the internet. Here are some links that might help:
http://www.healthfinder.gov http://www.ahrq.gov http://www.medlineplus.gov http://www.healthcentral.com http://www.nih.gov

[ 12-16-2001: Message edited by: Naomi ]

[shooter1201]

Thanks for the info and sites. 'Rebound headaches'...yeah...the doc mentioned those. Arrrggg.....