Feeling really fed up!!!!

Hi folks, don't know if anyone else has similar migraine symptoms as myself but I am now having these episodes every day for most of the day. I have HM migraines but I also have ice pick, goosebumps and headaches without pain, And headaches with pain!! I'm a nuisance eh!!
My current state is that I have constant unsteadiness, legs/ body that feels shaky, nausea plus sickness, tremors and I am very depressed to boot. I am currently taking duloxetine 30mg and I'm beginning to feel unsure when to take triptans, when not to, taking too many OTC painkillers etc etc etc. I have tremendous brain fog and I'm really fed up. Got a neuro appt in December. These symptoms come on when I take an headache, usually one without pain but I feel as if I constantly have auras. I'm even getting vertigo trying to type this topic!!! Hope uz are all keeping as we'll as u can and I'm sending big hugs out.

Thanks for taking the time to have a look.xx.

Your symptoms do have similarities to mine so I do have some idea what you are going through. However I'm fortunate that I seldom have nausea, and although I occasionally get frustrated that my condition interferes with my life so much, I seem to be one of those individuals that has to struggle to create a negative thought. Depression has never been a part of my condition.

I have essentially given up on medication the migraines as we've been unable to find anything that is effective or doesn't have serious side effects. This is possibly because the symptoms are so variable between attacks. All attacks have some level of headache, but less than half of them I would consider severe. It's the other symptoms such as confusion, disorientation, speech difficulties and memory loss along with the physical problems such as staggering, tremors and general uncoordination, and also the always present phonophobia and photophobia that are the most debilitating. I know what you mean by "brain fog". For me it's something that can hang around for days at a time and can span several attacks. Not sure whether it's one continuous migraine with peaks and troughs or whether its a case of one prodrome merging with the previous postdrome.

Like you, I'm unsure when to take pain killers as I'm very sensitive to overuse and get rebound headaches with even moderate use. I tend to leave it until too late just in case the pain isn't going to get too bad.

One thing I have learnt with migraines is that they are extremely variable between sufferers and many of us have quite major changes in how migraines manifest themselves at various stages of our lives.

The one thing I have found most frustrating is the lack of understanding of what a migraine is - even among so called experts. A pain management specialist I saw recently couldn't comprehend that I didn't always have a severe throbbing headache with every migraine attack. As far as he was concerned, a migraine IS a severe throbbing headaches. Other symptoms that can be associated with migraine are relatively insignificant in comparison to the pain. Not in my case, nor. I believe, in the case of many others...

Thanks for your kind reply, piwakawaka!!! Sorry I haven't replied sooner. I ended up at hospital, refused to take anymore duloxetine. My tablets were changed to indometacin 50mg three times a day plus amitryptiline 10mg at night. It's been a week so far but I'm beginning to feel a bit better. Taking each day as it comes. Last Saturday was the first time I've took time off work due to migraines, I'm still having balance problems and dizziness but at least my head feels a bit better, not so weird and heavy. Best wishes to you.