Inpatient Program for Migraines

I spent a WEEK in the inpatient program at the Michigan Headache and Neurological Institute. It actually ended up being 2.5 weeks total. You do a full day at the clinic being evaluated and then if they feel you need to be admitted to the hospital you have to wait for insurance approval. I also stayed for a follow up appointment after I left the hospital to tweak the program further.

It was an amazing experience! I felt great at the hospital. I was very lucky that the first protocol that they tried on me worked. It was interveneous DHE/zofran given 3x a day. However, they have many other protocols to try, if that does not work. I also was encouraged to try several different abortive medications while I was there. The idea being that they send you home with some new medications that will not give a rebound like triptans.

I had gotten into a bad cycle after my second pregnancy. My headaches had been out of control or barely controlled while pregnant and nursing. I ended up taking different medications way more than the recommended 2x a week limit. As a result my headaches became nearly constant and I was taking drugs just to get through the day with 2 children. I was and am still doing the Tyramine/MSG free diet but at this point the disease had progressed too much.

The downside of this is I am now on a similar ergot medication at home called Methergine. I take it every 4 hours even through the night. The drug is extremely expensive- my copay is 20%- or $412! The cash price is over $5000. The other down side is after 6 months you have to take a 1 month break from the drug to give your body a break. They did say they have some ideas there.

I am also on another preventative called Baclafen, as well as Nadolol, magnesium, and melatonin at night. They also are working on the hormonal side of things as well.  I have DHE  in injection form for when I get a bad headache. I know a lot of people hate needles, but its much better than going to the ER and paying $79 per injection!

Things are better. I get an average of one really bad headache a week. When that happens I give myself an injection. Most of the time I am able to function really well. It's at least an 80% improvement from before! I have been able to go and do things that I was not able to to do with my children and for that I am thankful!