There was no question that I wasn't functioning with migraines before I sought treatment. A migraine would leave me unable to function for days...between the auras, which prevented me from driving, to the vomiting, photosensitivity, audio sensitivity,aphasia, balance issues, debilitating pain and exhaustion, I was often incapacitated for 72 hours or more...and my recovery was slow. During the height of the my migraines I have been known to beg my husband, or once a colleague when I was hit with one during a conference, to shoot me in the head, just to make the pain go away. It still happens, but not as often as it had.
After the initial "breaking of the cycle" my neurologist prescribed Topamax, an anti-convulsant drug which helps control migraines. There is a reason why migraineurs call the drug "Dopamax." I was working as a sign language interpreter and found that I could not process language in order to translate. On a personal level, my family had to deal with me repeating things I had told them moments before, and I was forgetting to do things. My family and I could have lived with the repetitions and forgetfulness, but I had to be able to work....so we had to find another option.
Apparently the options are limited for asthmatic migraineurs. Certain medications used to treat migraines can interfere with inhalers. I was finally prescribed Nortriptyline and Clonazepam. Interestingly, this combo resulted in a loss of the auras. In some aspects this is a positive, unfortunately it also means I lose my warning mechanism before the pain hits. And occasionally I have had an aura without the migraine. I have weeks that I am migraine free, weeks where I have what I call "minigraines," or migraines that I can function through, with the aid of my abortive medications, and weeks that I have several disabling migraines. Some days I function better than others, but over all I am functioning better than I was.
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