Finding the Right Doctor

When I first started getting migraines my general physician was pumping me full of heavy duty pain killers that were making me sick.  He was treating the pain but not the migraines.  So I decided to seek out the help of a neurologist.  This neurologist tried several different medications but with minimal success.  When I told him I was only getting a few days a month off from the migraines and wanted to try something else he told me that was as good as I was going to get and I had to just deal with it.

 

After this I found a new neurologist who put me on Pamelor  and Calan.  I got a little better results but the Calan was a concern because it could cause an irregular heartbeat so I had to have regular checkups for my heart and that risk along with the elevated risk factor of heart problems from the pain killers was a huge concern.  The Pamelor also cause a lot of weight gain.  It makes you feel like you are starving all the time no matter how much you eat so I was constantly eating.  Even though in my head I knew I couldn’t be hungry I still had that sick feeling from being really, really hungry.

This is when I found a migraine website that helps people find migraine specialist in your area.  After doing a search I found a doctor and made an appointment.  He was the first doctor that brought up Botox to me.  He took me off the Pamelor and Calan, put me on Topamax and started Botox injections.  The Topamax helped but it took away my sense of taste.  Food either tasted like cardboard or so disgusting I couldn’t eat it.  So unfortunately I had to reduce the amount of Topamax I was taking which affected how well it worked.  It also caused bone loss so I was heading for osteoporosis.

Sadly this doctor moved away which left me without a neurologist.  The medical center sent me to a pain specialist for my Botox injections and pain meds but my migraines are so bad that I feel I need to see a neurologist to see if there are any other options for me.  The hard part is finding the right neurologist. 

Not all doctors are equal and have equal knowledge about migraine treatments.  It’s important to find a doctor that listens to you and will work with you to find the best treatment for you.  My first two doctors did not do this, they just handed me some pills and said this is as good as it will ever get for you. 

I am not willing to accept this, this can’t be as good as it gets for me.  I am not willing to give up and I want a doctor that won’t either.  So if you’re not getting what you need from your doctor you shouldn’t hesitate to seek out another one. 

Find a migraine specialist:   www.mychronicmigraine.com/