what headache meds to try?

[eman]

Friends, leakers, sufferers like myself,

Help me out with the headache meds. What should I try? My surgery/Myelogram *cries* pokes made my head worse. Are all the meds going to eat up my kidneys? 10 mg of Oxycodone is the only thing that's taken the edge off so far. Please reccomend. Not to condone anything, but has anyone had any success with the old mary jane for headache?


eman

[LauraL840]

My DH has taken:

Tylenol
Ibuprofen
Aleve
Caffeine
Tramadol
Indocin
Neurontin*
Lyrica*
Imipramine*
Percoset/Oxycodone

We could be a walkin' freakin' pharmacy! LOL

Tramadol helped a little for a while. But Tramadol along with ALL the other medications what aren't followed by an * cause rebound headaches if you take them for more than two or three days in a row. DH was on a HORRIBLE rebound cycle that was broken by 2+ months of no pain medication AT ALL.

All the * medications are 'preventatives'. Lyrica is most specifically Rx'd for trigmenal (sp) neuralgia, but the neuro thought we ought to give it a try. It had awful side effects and didn't touch the pain.

Oxycodone has been the only medication that helps lesson the severity of the pain ... it 'takes the edge off', but doesn't give total relief. He can take it again now that he broke through the rebound cycle but has to be VERY careful not to take it more than 2 days in a row.

Sorry not to bring better news, but honestly, the only thing that will bring relief is when the leak stops and the pressure returns to normal, at least that's been our experience with his first episode of PDPH 3 years ago!

[Tamaretta]

First in response to your: will this hurt my ______?

With Taylor being 16 my husband and I definitely think hard before throwing meds her way...we weighed whatever long term consequences with quality of life today...if a child/person is so miserable that she is begging you to kill her or contemplating suicide, then is it worth making her suffer because the meds MIGHT harm her later? It's not a chance we were/are willing to take. Quality of life today with a hefty dose of information is how we make decisions on which meds to try.

She has tried EVERY narcotic and OTC med available. I think the Fentynl patch helped the most; unfortunately, made her a b#$%ch and she hated the feeling - like she was crawling out of her skin - however she was functional. Due to her high metabolism, these only lasted about 2 days NOT 3 days, so she ran out too quickly - per the insurance company) In my opinion, she got the most relief from this med, but couldn't tolerate the side effects.

[guineapig]

Friends, Romans, leakers, lend me your duras; I come to bury lame doctors, not to praise them.

condone! away. most anything short of the final solution.

steroids will work. try a steroid pack: 6 days, starting at about 50mg first day, decreasing down to 5mg last day. this being a trial will tell you if it works for you, i mean YOU. have tried this twice myself with good success. but i do accept steroids as a long-term solution for the side effects. don't know if liver or kidney metabolizes.

ice packs, up to 10, 12, 14 a day. use a t-shirt, tied with sleeves to hold it on.

whacking oneself on the head helps too. oh a good hardy laugh, ehhh. well, i'm still alive. i have found the cardboard rolls/inserts, whatever it is called from plastic or aluminum wrap works well.

and yes, oxycodone works as well.

good humor, even a moment to bully a moment of pain.