24 August 2005

Oh, my aching half a head!

Are you a migraine sufferer? No? Lucky you.

I was in my senior year in college when it first struck. How could I describe the feeling of having this? Pounding in my head describes so little. The left side of my head hurt, including my left eye, left ear, and the left portion of the back of my neck. My cheeks go numb, when I move my eyes it hurts, the inside of my ear hurts, and while my head pounds, my neck has that constant pain going on. It was an all-day affair with the migraine that time. After three days of constant pain, a doctor-friend visited us and diagnosed my condition. He said I had migraine, and this would persist for a week or so. It will subside eventually, but expect it to return at around this time every year. He prescribed mefenamic acid for the pain, which helped a bit with the pain. And that was my introduction to the world of migraines and painkillers.

And so every year at around September - October, the pain would return for a week or more, and I would always have painkillers with me for good measure. I had gotten so used to knowing when an attack would arrive (there are symptoms) that I would pop a pill immediately so as to alleviate any further progress of the pain.

The late 90s was a turning point in my painkiller-popping career. Mefenamic acid no longer worked! I took a couple of 500mg tablets. A third. Nothing. That was when a colleague recommended Avamigran. And it worked!

The migraines eventually disappeared and did not surface for a couple of years.

That was until last Sunday, when I had an attack inside the bus going back to Manila. I had no medication on me, and I cannot go anywhere to buy some. The cold airconditioning must have triggered it so I hid under my jacket and tried to sleep it off. It worked. The pain subsided a while later.

I thought it was just a reaction to the cold, but it came back yesterday in the wee hours of the morning (which prompted me to take the morning off as I stayed inside the room. No lights, no TV. And then it came back last night too!

I went to the local drugstore to buy Avamigran. The counter attendant requested for a prescription. Huh? Uh oh. Now, it's a prescription drug? With no other option, I bought mefenamic acid instead. Then when I came back, a friend and fellow sufferer recommended Flanax, and he gave me a couple of tablets. I have not yet tried Flanax because mefenamic acid seemed to work for this bout. But I'm taking comfort in the fact that I have medicine when it attacks again. Anything than banging my head against the wall.

22 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:08 pm

    grabe buti di ko yan naranasan...

    pero naka inom na rin ako ng painkiller, Flanax yung nainom ko.... di ko lang maalala kung effective sya, medyo matagal n rin kasi yun eh.

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  2. Anonymous7:57 pm

    I know the feeling dude. But my attacks usually happen when it's too hot in my room, or I lack some sleep. Fortunately, mefenamic acid still works for me.

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  3. i, too, have some bouts of terrible headache but they're not as episodic as yours. So maybe, it's not migraine. Maybe you should ask your doctor first before taking any pill. These pain killers may be addicting yata.

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  4. Yun nga DarkBlak. Flanax binigay sa akin nung huli pero di ko pa try. Sabi nung nagbigay sa akin, aantukin ka raw.

    Ah yes. Migraine sufferer ka nga rin. Kumusta na? Regular attacks pa rin ba?

    Hello Tito Rolly. Actually yun nga, naging immune na ako sa mefenamic acid. Recommend din ng mga friends ko na ipa-scan ko na ulo ko, baka something is wrong. May topak ako? :-)

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  5. I've never had a migraine or even a simple headache. But from what people describe, it sounds horrible. I have often wondered if it is just genetics or if my time is coming but my life is quickly approaching half way and I have never felt one... not that I'm complaining.

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  6. a simple headache for me (usually strained eyes or weary contacts) is like a sledgehammer whamming your head... i dunno maybe sa migraine a jackhammer.

    ser, i think you should see a doctor first before taking any pills. take care of yourself. ingats.

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  7. Before, I was a regular consumer of sinutab, dahil sa sinusitis ko that trigger my migraine. After my operation last january, hinto na ang sinusitis kaya wala na ring headaches.
    Consult a doctor P're, maybe there's something that causes ur migraine o kaya naman baka may bulate, mag-combatrin, heheheh

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  8. Lucky you, Mr. Abbey.

    Jeff, grabe talaga ang migraine.

    Bwehehehe. Ma-try nga ang combatrin.

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  9. marami na ako kilala na may migrane... pero grabe sa yung sa yo best friend... and since episodic nga yung case mo, its seems something is trigering you bouts.... better check with your doctor, may health card ka naman yata... before taking any medication... mahirap mag self medicate... lalu na mgayon hindi mo alam kung anong ipang gagamot mo... na immune ka na sa mefanemic acid...baka maadict ka nyan...

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  10. i ... want ... mefenamic ... aciddddd ....

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  11. Anonymous2:20 am

    ...try acupuncture, autogenes training, meditation or Qi-Gong, 'la pang side effects. Vitamin B2 is good prevention, pfeffermintoil sa forehead also helps. Stess lang siguro yan (or too much alcohol, lack of sleep,change of weather, etc...)

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  12. Try throwing up, it helps. For the past few years I would need to throw up 3 times before I get relief. This year I discovered what an aura is. Just before a migraine attack I would see lights so bright I go blind for at least an hour. Mark of true genius ang may migraine. Hehehe.

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  13. natatawa na lang ako when people offer biogesic when I have migraine. stuff does not work when there's a vein throbbing somewhere at the side of your head.

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  14. Anonymous4:42 pm

    i had a fever i take FLANAX...d fever was gone but i had a headache after...d doc said its one of the adverse reactions when taking FLANAX...but mind you d fever was gone

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  15. Tama ba yun Anonymous? In exchange for the fever, you get headache instead? :-) Medyo ok na ngayon si Daddy Nick, baka lumipas na yung for this year.

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  16. Anonymous10:51 am

    Hi there, I am feeling the same thing right now, been suffering this pain for days, been taking mefenamic acid every 2 hours. and just this afternoon sumakit ulo ko, so i took a tablet hoping to ease the pain. After 5 minutes I burped (i didnt eat anything before taking mefenamic)and I was so bothered kasi there's like little usok coming right out of my mouth and it smells like medicine vapor or something. did it happened rib ba sa iyo?

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  17. Anonymous1:40 am

    Well, talk about pain..I have been suffering from intense migraines during the last couple of years. My headaches are triggered from a lot of factors which includes hormonal imbalance, vertigo and an X-Ray confirmed that I have crooked spine endings in my skull, that trigger the nerve endings to generate more pain. Mefenemic acid provided relief for me for a while but Aleve proved to be more effective for me, but it's not locally available. Then I saw the advertisement of Flanax and they have the same active ingredient so that now, I'm relieved both from anxiety and pain. If my symptoms persists I always go to the ER and have a shot of Nuvain as a last resort...is that pain or what?!? hehehe

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  18. Anonymous11:24 pm

    I have been looking for sites like this for a long time. Thank you!
    » »

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  19. Anonymous9:08 pm

    best regards, nice info » »

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  20. Anonymous3:19 pm

    I tried googling for flanax for migraine and I got to your site. I just posted my own bout on migraine in my other site http://jenaspacio.blogspot.com/2008/05/down-with-migraine-again.html

    It's really awful, especially since I've had it since elementary days. Mefenamic just don't work. Flanax din lang tlaga. I'm not surprised anymore when lots of hits came in when I typed in flanax for migraine. Seems like its the only thing that's generally working for migraine.

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  21. Hi Jennie! Thanks for visiting my blog. The good news of this story is, I am no longer having these attacks. Whew! And I wish it will stay that way.

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