Migraines and medication

I suffer with/from chronic migraines. This is defined as having headaches on at least 15 days per month. I've also been diagnosed with stabbing migraine.

They dominate and control my life.

There is no link with my menstrual cycle, food/drink, travel, lack of or too much sleep.

I know this because I keep a food diary, I haven't had a period for 3 years, they didn't worsen or improve being perimenopausal or being menopausal.

Over the past year I have found a concoction of tablets that will suppress a migraine when it breaks out. It is the first time that I have managed (with support from a new GP) to find something to treat myself at home with. Previously severe migraines have lasted 4-5 days and on occasions up to 9 days where I've had to go into hospital for treatment, these usually happen about once a year..

It involves paracetamol, triptan, aspirin and an anti sickness tablet. To be repeated after 2 hours if no improvement.

This is a record of the number of days since the start of the year I have taken the rescue meds, listed above. Highlighted in pink.

It is not the number of days I've had a migraine or a headache, just the days I've taken the meds, the headaches/migraines will have occurred on the days in-between also. I've also been taking 50mg of Topiramate daily as a preventative since my last hospital visit in November 2023.

The neurologist has booked a MRI and has increased my medication for the past 2 weeks to 100mg and as from today, it has increased to 150mg of Topiramate a day.

I've started to record the actual days of head pain now, not just the medication taken.

The increase of Topiramate has 4 months to take effect before I see the neurologist after my MRI, if it doesn't he'll be referring me to the QE Hospital in Birmingham for consideration of CGRP antagonists.

One of the possible causes for my migraines is stress. I have Chronic Migraines. I've had them my entire life. They drain me, they have a huge impact on my physical, emotional and mental well being. I have auras, I can feel one coming on. I can almost time when it is going to hit. I can hold it off with medication. not fully, it's still there. I can just about function to go to work, or to do things with the family, or get through the housework, or sort the bills, or drive the car, or cook the tea, but I can only manage any of this stuff at 50%. I can't be my usual cheery self. I can't answer a simple question at the same time. I can't slap a smile on my face and just get on with multi tasking. I can't just juggle several things at the same time. I'm short, I'm snappy, I get angry......I'm in bloody pain. 

No I can't go to bed and lie down. it doesn't stop. I can't just switch it off. The light burns, the noise is amplified. I can hear lights buzzing like a vuvuzela in my ear, I can taste metal, I can smell toast. I get electric shocks whizzing around my body, the slightest touch from anyone is like I'm being stabbed. I'm not over reacting.

AND THIS ALL HAPPENS BEFORE THE MIGRAINE. THIS CAN LAST FOR 2-3 DAYS.

Then 2-3 days of pain in my head, like a brick is being hit non stop against my head. I want to smack my head against a wall. I want to rip my head open.

Then relief? NO. 2-3 days of a hangover, tiredness, dry eyes, confusion, I forget simple words like 'cup' I lose the ability to answer a simple question or I answer it in my head. I'm putting all my energy into functioning. Into going to work, into appearing sane and normal, into doing my job, into cooking a meal, into turning the washing machine on, into not looking or sounding weird when I order a coffee or speak to a friend. I'm also nauseous throughout the 3 stages.

So yes, I am stressed, I get depressed, sometimes I find myself crying, I'm exhausted, even when I sleep all night, even when I have a lazy day with no external stress. I'm not sad. 

The side effects of Topiramate at the moment as I increase the dose are the weirdest thing ever. I have this period twice a day within an hour of the meds where I feel drunk, my actions and brain aren't drunk but my body is. I've timed taking the tablets so it doesn't interfere with working. I have a silly grin on my face and feel uncoordinated, but actually everything works together. I also have whole body pins and needles that just come, stay for about 10 mins, then disappear. I've been told all of this is transient and it will settle in a week or two.

I've lost most of my taste, especially with fizzy drinks, they just taste flat and my mouth feels dry. I'm also extremely chilled out, almost switched off/tuned out from things. I can pay attention to what it going on, such as driving, but I've tuned out trival things, such as conversations, TV,/radio, background noises. I can hear them, but I've no interest in them.

I lost a stone in weight in the first 7 months of taking Topiramate and I have been keeping a record of my food intake on an app as I genuinely forget to eat a lot of the time and really don't feel hungry most of the time. I've gone back to meal planning to make sure I get enough of the right calories each day, as it's so easy to just not eat, when your brain tells you you're not hungry. I don't need to lose any more weight.

However at the moment I'm eating and eating lots. Seeking out savoury and sweet foods and drinking all the time. This is a sign a migraine is on the way, but until the auras start, I can't take the preventative as it won't work, I just have to keep a close eye on it and wait for the right moment.

There's no point going to bed and resting, the migraine will come regardless. 

There's no point lying down in a darkened room and resting when I get a migraine, the pain and length of the migraine follows a pattern.

Fingers crossed the new medication settles down and is effective and I can have some quality of life without pain.

Me and my migraines

I've had migraines since I was small. Until a few years ago, there was nothing I could do to minimise them. I am a regular visitor to hospital with migraines lasting up to 9 days. I've tried all types of medications and had all types of treatments from acupuncture to botox.

4 years ago I was diagnosed with a wheat intolerance and my migraine episodes have almost halved, but the intensity of the ones I do get are no better and aren't any easier to treat.

Lack of sleep, dehydration, long journeys, sitting too long, not eating regularly, over indulging with food/drink can all trigger a migraine. Cheese, chocolate, alcohol, caffeine aren't triggers. In fact the last time I was admitted to hospital in November 2023, I was given a can of coke and a coffee by the nurse whilst waiting for the consultant to see me. 

I keep a food diary, I used to keep a menstrual diary, there has never been a link with hormones/periods, I exercise regularly, but not excessively. I also keep a diary of my migraines, symptoms, been doing it for years. Finally I've been referred to a Neurologist so maybe they'll want to see it all, maybe they won't.

I'm 52. I've learnt to live with migraines, I've learnt to not let them spoil family days out, interfere with my work, activities, holidays. I've heard many times that if they don't interfere with the above then they can't be that severe. 

Let me try and explain what a migraine is for me.

It starts with one or several of the following:

The smell of burning toast

Amplified sounds

Lights hurt

Sensitive to touch

Slurred words

Inability to identify every day objects

Inability to answer simple questions

Nausea

These can last for 2-3 days and continue throughout the migraine and for 2-3 days afterwards. This is the point where I MUST take my medication. Triptans, anti sickness tablets, paracetamol. 3 times a day. If by the end of day 1 the pain has kicked in I then take 900mg of aspirin 3 times a day with the above, for up to 3 days, then seek medical assistance. The GP at this point usually sends me to hospital, but  sit for 7+ hours in A&E in pain with bright lights, loud noises, I'm put on a drip, the pain goes away. At this point I go off work sick and I'm literally smacking my head against the wall in desperation. It takes a further 2-3 days for me to recover fully.

I also take regular preventative medication, previously beta blockers, then pizotifin. After a while these meds stopped working and the dose had to be increased, side effects were increased appetite and inevitable weight gain.

I'm currently on topimate, side effects weight loss (which has settled now) but I'm still getting break through migraines, but without the pain. I still have to take the additional meds. I'm not sleeping on these meds, on the previous ones I was getting up to 10 hours a night.

In between migraines I get weird electric stabbing pains around my body that last for a couple of seconds and patches of skin that feel like it's on fire. I get dizzy, have pins and needles and numbness in my hands, but don't have a reduction in strength, I have a tightness around my chest, that squeezes me, I get breathless, especially walking up stairs, I have bad fatigue, but don't sleep and my eyes hurt and are tired (Ophthalmology and Retina Clinic involved for past 2 years) That could be the B12 or the ferritin deficiency or the cause of the migraines, no one seems to be linking everything together, or it might not be linked in anyway.

The pain of the migraines is one sided, usually right sided and forces my eye closed, the back of neck is painful and my shoulders hunch. Pressing on the site relieves the pain as does heat and strangely enough so does sleep, but when I wake up, the pain returns. The pain takes over everything, it is the only thing that is happening in my body. It is so intense that I often feel that the only way to relieve it is to hit my head against the wall. It makes me shout, swear, angry, it isolates me from people, it causes rows because I look ok, I'm functioning, I'm going to work, if it was that bad, I would go to bed. 

But if I went to bed, I would spend half the month in bed, half the month not going to work, not going out, not doing anything and I won't let the migraines control my life.

Living with Migraine

I've suffered with migraines since I can remember, they're not linked to my menstrual cycle, not triggered by cheese, chocolate, wine or caffeine. 

I was diagnosed with a wheat allergy 3 years ago which has dramatically reduced the number of attacks I have, combined with beta blockers, I can go 2 months without an attack, but in the last 6 months, they've returned with a vengeance. 

In the past 6 months I've had migraines caused by travel, lack of sleep, lack of fluids, eye strain from endless tests and scans and just migraines for no apparent reason.

The latest one is on day 14 and showing no signs of stopping despite taking 1200mg of ibuprofen, followed by 900mg of aspirin as advised by the GP or 6 doses of Naproxen which was prescribed by the out of hours GP on Tuesday, so after a visit to the GP this evening there has been a change of preventative medication and a strong pain killer usually used to manage drug addicts withdrawal symptoms.

In the past I've tried all sorts of preventative medications and pain killers, all work for a period of time, some of them have had the most horrendous side effects and quite a few have left me with headaches.

In the past 14 days, I've visited people, been out shopping, cleaned the house, done some sewing, ironing and been to work.

I can function with a migraine, drive, cook, blog, watch TV. What I can't do is sit in a darkened quiet room, because my senses are tightened and I can hear the fridge humming and the slightest chink of light is like a torch shining in my face.

It feels like someone is twisting a hot cork screw in the side of my head. I know exactly what that feels like as I've had a bone marrow biopsy. I find it difficult to find words to describe things, I can't answer simple yes or no questions. The pain is predominately left sided but can switch suddenly to behind my right eye. I also get random shooting pains in my arms and legs that literally cripple me for a split second.

I can sleep with a migraine, which is what people find weird, and when I wake up, I forget it's there, until I sit up and it feels like I've been hit on the side of the head with a brick. Heat pads and hot water bottles dampen the pain temporarily, a bath helps, as does a can of coke and caffeine. 

There's lots of things I can do to lessen the pain, but nothing I can do to make them go away.

Do you have migraines? 

It's not always the menopause.

First off, I’m not in denial, I’m 50, I’m probably peri menopausal, I can’t confirm that though as I had my periods stopped in January 2021 as I have iron deficiency anaemia, it’s a malabsorption problem and I require regular Iron Infusions. Without them I get tired, confused, don’t sleep and my migraines I’ve had since I was a small child get worse. Yep all signs of being peri menopausal and so many people keep telling me this is what it must be.

This includes a GP I saw last week after a ferritin test in December shows my levels are dropping again, not enough for an infusion yet, but my migraines have returned and I merely wanted a repeat prescription of Beta Blockers as I started a new job this week and I’ve been having migraines since Christmas that last 9 days monthly. 

I’ve been on a wheat free diet since September 2019 which has reduced my migraines from 2-3 a month, to 1 a month lasting a couple of days.

I often require hospital treatment for migraines which often present as meningitis and after numerous lumber punctures, I’m grateful my husband is now able to speak on my behalf to get me the treatment I need in this situation.

After a particularly bad migraine in 2016, routine blood tests threw up a high white blood cell count, which was unexplained and led to tests for Leukaemia, a bone marrow biopsy, mammograms, MRI’s and a comprehensive internal examination and biopsy’s under anaesthetic and having a coil fitted to stop my periods, to prove there was no link with bleeding that was causing my iron deficiency anaemia and no link with hormones and migraines.

My medical records are disjointed with the initial treatment starting in Dubai where we were living and the past 2 years of treatment in the UK and Dubai. I was also advised of the importance of regular smear tests as I hadn’t had one since 2009. I’ve had them every year since I’ve been abroad and emailed those plus my other records to the GP with a full vaccination list also, which doesn’t show on my records or the NHS app.

The GP assumed that all my issues are related to me being peri menopausal and that I am in denial. I said yes, I’ll explore all the links you’re sending me but today I’ve come for medication for migraines I’ve had for 45 years. No, I don’t have hot flushes and I’ve already told her that the not sleeping was only linked to low iron or my husband snoring. The rest of the time I sleep solidly for 8+ hours.

So yes, I was defensive which led to ‘do you have a lot of stress in your life?’

Well ‘yes, we’re having a kitchen fitted and selling a flat, waiting for our 3-month-old grandson to have surgery and I’m starting a new job.’ But she pushed ‘well we relocated to the UK last year, husband retired, we had to ship our entire lives, had to do 11 days mandatory hotel quarantine, we were apart for most of Covid in different countries, travelled during the pandemic’ so yes, I think I’m stressed. 

But then she pushed some more back to when the blood cell count was high. ‘Life was good then, we travelled freely, went to Hong Kong, South Africa, Egypt and the UK, then my father died and whilst I’ve come to terms with his death, I’ve never been able to shake the pain of sitting there and watching someone die and being so totally helpless.’

At this point tears were flowing freely and I was sobbing. She then asked about further back and I said enough.

I left with a link for a bereavement charity and several links for understanding and accepting the menopause and my prescription for Beta Blockers.

Two days later she sent me a text asking to book a blood test after she’d read my notes.

They took bloods for liver and kidney function, infection markers, ferritin levels, phosphate, B12. All the things that keep randomly going out of sync. As one gets sorted and falls back into range another one rises or drops, causing concern. All my tests are blood led, the only symptoms I have are fatigue, itchy skin, confusion. All I manage apart from the migraines, which I do need medical help for.

I know many women aren’t getting help with being peri menopausal, I’m also aware of women being dismissed as being peri menopausal. Yes, I’m aware I’m probably that woman right now, but I was upset that the GP took one look at me, decided as I was 50 and I was fatigued and get confused that it was just the menopause and I was to accept it and get the right help.

The right help I needed was medication for migraines, ferritin levels checked again, a possible iron infusion and I’d be ok for the next few months, until the ferritin dropped again, the migraines returned and repeat.

What I don’t need is anyone telling it must be the menopause because they have the same symptoms. I don’t need a t shirt saying I’m menopausal and I don’t need links to websites that help me accept I’m menopausal. I know I probably am and I’m blessed that I had a good gynaecologist who recognised that stopping my periods would help when I reached that stage and agreed that it would help with a medical diagnosis with the ferritin as suggested by the oncologist I saw for 5 years.

So here I am journaling as recommended by the GP to help me get things off my chest. I told her I actually blog and publish online and talk openly about ‘women’s problems’ already. She just said I should try it, it would probably help to talk to someone. I tried talking to her, but she just wasn't listening.

Update: Message from GP, ferritin levels dropped. 

My response: (in my head) this is what I told you at the beginning.

Week 21 One Daily Positive

So much to do before I return to the UK for the summer. There are photos strewn around the spare bedroom waiting to find a home, I have ironing to do, a pile of washing and some paperwork to sort. I tend to work better leaving things to the last minute.

I started my latest migraine on Friday evening, by Tuesday I was beaten back by it and spent the day in bed. I get so many that my life would be put on hold if I gave into them all the time.

140 Sunday Up at 5am to walk Bob and sort the garden watering system out. Had a blood test at 10am and called round to a friends. Received the news that Peter's Uncle died last night.

141 Monday Spent the morning prepping dinner, making jelly and cakes. Popped over to see my friend, called in at the Mall to return a dress that's a little too tight. Had my nails done.

142 Tuesday Everything stopped today for me to battle with my migraine, I'm now not getting any respite from it, so spent the day in bed.

143 Wednesday Still had the migraine, not helped by setting fire to the laundry, rubbish bags, wheat pillow and basket. Caused by a cigarette in the rubbish bag, my fault. Thankfully Peter was going to work later and discovered 3ft high flames in the kitchen, he managed to put the fire out but the house was engulfed with smoke. We discovered we had no smoke detectors in the house which is a new build, we have a CO2 detector but I dread to think how bad the fire needed to be to trigger that. We went out for the evening to the pub quiz for dinner.

144 Thursday I spent 2 hours with Bob at the dog park and did a food shop. The house stinks of smoke. I've been doing a lot of research into my diet and reduced the amount of dairy and wheat, that can prevent my body from absorbing iron. I had cut caffeine out of my diet, but reintroduced after realising my migraine/headache was caffeine withdrawal.

145 Friday A lovely relaxing day, spent the morning lazing around home then met friends for Brunch, had a sleep in the afternoon and spent the evening watching TV.

146 Saturday A leisurely start to the morning, dog walk and breakfast, then a trip to the Souk Madinat for coffee and a spot of lunch. One of the few places in Dubai selling food and drink and allowing you to sit inside to eat during Ramadan.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo - The Paris Hotel Las Vegas. 
TriumphantTales, TweensTeensBeyond, BestBootForward, PoCoLo - I don't have cancer, but there's still no explanation for my blog test results.

You don't have cancer, so what next?

Last June I had a migraine that lasted 11 days. I've had migraines since I was a small child. I present with auras, visual disturbances, metallic taste in my mouth, I start to slur my words. This happens anything from 7 days to 5 minutes before the migraine starts. I'll have an episode like once every 12-18 months. The rest of the time, I get migraines that last 2-3 days, at least once every 6 weeks. They've become part of my life, I accept them and work around and through them. I also suffer with chronic pain in my neck after an injury at work 24 years ago, this aggravates the migraines also.

But every now and then I get one so bad, I need medical attention and in the past when I've gone to the hospital, meningitis has been suspected due to my aversion to light and touch and I've had numerous lumbar punctures. I did have viral meningitis in 2000.

This time I decided to go to my GP, I had visual field tests and an MRI. There's a tiny lesion on my right temple but this is probably scarring from the migraines and not the cause. I also have a cough and experiencing shooting pains and numbness in my thigh bone and around my hip joint. I am tired all the time, not sleepy, not lack of motivation, just tired.

The Doctor ran routine bloods.

A week later and now in the UK, she messages me to say I need to get a repeat test carried out. The white blood cell count, platelets and neutrophils indicate at the very least I have an infection of some sort. The count is slightly decreased and then my father died. My health was put on hold.

I return briefly to Dubai, still coughing and saw a pulmonologist. I'm a smoker, the cough is bothering him. I'm diagnosed with pneumonia, given antibiotics and an inhaler. I was hospitalised for pneumonia in 2007. I return to the UK for 2 weeks.

My blood cell count increases, so back to the GP, more tests, an MRI of my hips and thigh. There is nothing there, a chest CT, change in antibiotics. We move house.

I'm referred to an oncologist. My body isn't absorbing iron, this is corrected, yet still my white blood cells and platelets remain high. She suggests the coughing may be due to a silent reflux and recommends I take a one a day tablet. The coughing eases.

I have a bone marrow biopsy. I wait 2 weeks for the results. I know the oncologist just wants to rule cancer and bone marrow disease out, she says it may pick up the very early stages of a problem that she can deal with. I spend 2 weeks stressing out. I can't help but think the worse. I'm still having more frequent migraines, stopped taking the preventative medication that was prescribed by the neurologist last June, it's not working. The biopsy was one of the most uncomfortable things I've ever had done in my life and 3 weeks on the site is still quite sore, doesn't help I keep banging it.

So I got my results last Tuesday, no cancer, no bone marrow disease, no known cause. Repeat bloods are taken, count still high, body still not absorbing iron so lifestyle changes to diet are put in place, another migraine, medication doesn't work and still having pains in my hip and thigh bone. I'm still tired, even after 8 hours sleep.

I been googling my symptoms, it seems I'm stressed. No wonder with all this going on and my father dying last year. But all this started before he died and still doesn't explain the high white blood cell and platelet count.

I'm back in the UK next week for the summer, I'll be monitoring my levels of tiredness, the bone pain and migraines. I've stopped drinking coffee and reduced my intake of wheat products and dairy as these are the 3 things that can prevent your body from absorbing iron. Other than that I am at a loss as to what to do. I'm glad its not cancer or a bone marrow disease, but it leaves me in the same position I was in last year, I'm just not well and no one knows why.

One Daily Positive - Week 22 Dr's appointments and migraine.

AHHHHHHHHHH

I seriously don't seem to EVER achieve anything, EVER, at all.

It's hot, humid and apart from walking from the house to car to mall and early 5am walks with Bob, there is no outdoor life to be had now it's summer in Dubai. As it's also Ramadan there are few places to eat and drink during the day unless you visit a hotel or one of the larger malls and use the food halls after 12pm. Despite there being plenty to do in Dubai, it all costs money.

After spending last week, deep cleaning the house, cupboards, windows, doors, as well as bathrooms,  hoovering and mopping, after a weekend of 3 adults in the house, eating crisps, meals in front of the TV, spilling coke, beer and wine as they walk with their over filled hands, the house needs bloody cleaning again.

I've deleted my face book account. I'm sick to death of seeing the same crap day after day, slagging other bloggers off in closed groups, criticising and launching attacks on people's political views and the back patting of how wonderful certain bloggers are.

As they say in Arabic 'Khalas' ENOUGH., STOP TALKING, I'M DONE.

148 Sunday. Perfect.
Had a lovely day with the teen at Dubai Mall, purchasing gadgets to improve internet and file sharing around the home. Discovered the new router can only be configured by our internet supplier. By accident I'd deleted the entire contents of my laptop. Apple Mac only allows you to restore files 1 by 1. I was up till midnight trying to move them all back.

149 Monday. Jewel.
I heard rumours that the Souk Madinat was open for food and drinks during Ramadan in the day. Most of the coffee shops are take out only, Starbucks was allowing dine ins and several of the restaurants were open from 12pm. The rest of the day was spent restoring my files.

150 Tuesday. Fly. Up and down the Al Wasl Road to the 3 different Doctors surgeries.
The entire day was filled up with the Doctors, I had appointments with the Neurologist, Ophthalmologist and physio, the teen had 3 appointments also. I've suffered with migraines since I was a baby, chronic neck pain for 23 years and had meningitis 17 years ago. My migraines have had me hospitalised numerous times over the years, so anything different from the norm sees me heading to the Doctors ASAP. By today I was on my 5th day of constant burning pain behind my left eye. I spent the late afternoon and early evening in bed, watching youtube.

151 Wednesday. Amaze. glasses steam up when you you OUTSIDE in Dubai.
Physio and X-rays first thing and by day by midday, every file/photo was restored. How come after 3 years I only just discovered I can enlarge the thumbnails on my MacBook Air? The evening was spent having dinner and enjoying the pub quiz, which we won, with friends. The eye pain is still here.

152 Thursday. Dance.
Dental appointment for the teen, a food shop and nothing much else was achieved other than washing Bob and all his bedding and there always seems to be paperwork to sort.

153 Friday. Hello.
Bob walked, breakfast eaten and the rest of the day spent in bed. My eye pain is getting worse, the migraine threatened to hit full force but dissipated, some exercises were done, but that was it. Peter spent the day watching movies and the teen appeared around 2pm to join him.

154 Saturday. Expand. Not 1 but 2 Ramadan Fridges near us, this year.
Woken at 5am by the cat demanding food, took Bob for a walk and drank tea till 8am when I woke everyone up for the teens physio and Peter's haircut. We did a food shop, bought take away coffee to drink at home and popped to Dubai Mall before it go too busy, just to get out the house for a few hours. Yes I still have the eye pain and headaches.

On the blog this week:

Expat Life - My Sunday Photo - R is for Ramadan.
Life Style - Triumphant Tales - Treat yourself to a make over.
Travel - PoCoLo - Should I cancel my UK trip in light of recent terrorism?
Gardening - My Summer Garden in the sand.

Biokineticist, chronic pain and migraines

I’ve been visiting a Biokineticist and physio since January after yet another referral from yet another doctor after years of medication and surgery to help with chronic neck pain and the side effects of migraines that see me in hospital for treatment at least twice a year.

I’ve suffered with migraines since I was around 5 years of age, the first time I needed more than lying down in a darkened room and over the counter medication I was 15 years of age. The Doctor had to administer medication via an injection and it was put down to hormones and exam pressure. However the migraines continued every few months, until they became once or twice a month after an injury at work.

Over the past 18 years I’ve taken medication from painkillers through to antidepressants and muscle relaxants. I’ve had physio, pain killing injections, Botox, nerve blocks and the most aggressive intervention was the burning of the nerves in my neck under a general anaesthetic.

Migraines for me present with an aura, my vision becomes blurring for anything up to 24 hours prior to an attack, I become confused and my ability to think and do at the same time are diminished. I also feel extremely nauseous before ending up in bed for up to 3 days and often having to visit the hospital for medical intervention that has lasted up to 2 weeks in hospital as the migraines have presented as meningitis and been accompanied with high temperatures.

All treatment has worked, but the effects have worn off quickly and in most cases have been extremely painful, especially the Botox, which although the pain relief lasted the longest, the pain from the injections was unbearable.

The latest referral was as always viewed by me and hubby as ‘we don’t know what else to do with her, she refuses medication’ Having tried various medications and weighing up the side effects, it’s been decided that long term medication isn’t treating the problem, it just eases the pain.

The physio was very aggressive with her treatment of me and each session lasted an hour. This was after an assessment by the biokineticist.

I can’t really explain what a biokineticist is, does or even what qualifications they hold, but I do know that with her help, physical intervention, input from the physio, manipulations now once a week and exercises to do at home, which on paper look simple enough, but leave me exhausted, not only have I lost weight, my appetite has changed and I’m eating less sugary items. My body shape is altering, swimming has become easier, especially front crawl, my breathing has improved, I’m sitting upright, my whole body posture has changed. Long journeys in the car, flights, housework, using the computer for long periods of time have become easier, in fact what I would now consider to be normal, after 18 years of ‘normal’ being severe migraines after any of the above activities.

I’m the UK after 20 hours of travelling, sat in economy and I didn’t have a migraine, maybe a bit tired from lack of sleep but no migraine, the first time ever.  I’ve spent 3 weeks sleeping in different beds, on sofas, using public transport, dragging cases and a 15yo around with me and NO migraines.

I pay around R180/£10 per week to visit the biokineticist. The medical aid covers the cost, but at these prices its affordable and I’d recommend them to everyone suffering with chronic pain.

I received an email from the Biokineticist and she shared the following information:

If someone asks we study BSc sport science degree and then
we do a BSc Biokinetic Hons for a year. Then you have to work a year as an
intern and then you can qualify as a registered biokineticist.

Life without Pain

In September 2012 I had day surgery on my neck to have the nerves burnt off that have been giving me so much pain for the past 15 years after an assualt at work.



Living in constant pain has drained me, restricted my activites and actually prevented me from doing certain things.



I've suffered deliberating headaches and migraines and have been hospitialised on too many occassions when the migraines have mimicked menegitius. Migraines also knocked me out for 3-4 days twice a month. Visual disturbances, vomiting, sensitive to light and touch and the inability to operate above an immediate need.



I'm now in my third month of being pain free, not one migraine, even after a return trip to the UK, spending 12 hours sitting in a confined space, 3 weeks of lugging suitcases, sleeping on sofas and pull out beds.



The operation wasn't easy. I was in theatre under a general anaesthetic, had the most severe head pain imaginable then spent a week in bed unable to lift my head off the pillow.



I still can't use a tin opener or write for any length of time without severe cramps and pain in my wrists and fingers and working above my head is difficult(hanging out the washing) but I can sit in a car for 2 days and drive to Cape Town and back. I can sit in the cinema for 90 minutes to watch a movie without coming out in tears from the pain of sitting still. I can scramble over rocks without the fear of causing more damage if I fell, haul myself up using ropes on a ship.

Over Christmas I've experienced continious pain in my wrists and a niggle in my left shoulder, so I guess I made need to go back sooner rather than later for the next stage. Thanks to medical aid that wouldn't pay for the whole treatment in one go. I'm really not looking forward to going throat again, but compared to how I was for the past 15 years, it's a small price to pay, even if they can't cure the chronic pain, being migraine free is amazing.

From appointment, to assesment, to treatment....6 weeks

15 years ago I suffered an injury at work, I now live with chronic pain in my neck, lower arm and fingers.

It doesn't prevent me from doing anything, it just hurts. I struggle with tin openers and writing and sitting for any length of time, esp driving, but I can manage it, it just hurts.

We moved to South Africa 19 months ago and almost overnight the pain stopped. I'm not working, I'm not doing 100s miles of driving weekly, I can't continue with my studies. The hot weather here also helped.

I was still experiencing pain if I did anything on a loop, but the pain stopped inbetween.

The last few months I've realised the pain is back. I know it sounds silly, but when you live with pain constantly it is possible not to notice it unless it gets worse. My threshold is probably higher than most.

More migraines, the feeling someone is putting pressure on the back of my neck, disturbed sleep and off I went to the Doctors a few months back. I was prescribed Gabapebtin. I refused to take it. In the past I'd suffered side effects. I was irritable, constipated, constantly searching for food and lost my sex drive. I started to exercise more and that helped.

The biggest trigger for my neck pain and migraines is stress. Couple with everyday tasks, writing, hoovering, cooking and baking (I have a guy who does my ironing) So back to the Doctors 5 weeks ago with a variety of issues (inc depression) and today I had my appointment with the pain clinic.

I went armed with a file of treatments and procedures. I accept my pain, I live with my pain, I just want a little help from time to time.

So I was booked in for day surgery, can't remeber what the procedure is called but it involves injection along my spine, from the base of my head to C8. I couldn't make the first appointment in 5 days time as hubby is away so it is rebooked for the following week on the 26th.

I'm so impressed, I know we are paying for it, via the med aid (waiting to find out if med aid will cover the cost) if not we'll have to dig deep. The only issue I had was completing the admissions forms as they wanted to know our car registration numbers...why? and a UK residential address and person to contact in an emergency.