Stress and headache

Do any of your medical spouses, or YOU for that matter, suffer from migraine headaches? My husband does, and I found that during residency it was more severe (1 to 3 migraines a week). He also suffers from cluster headaches (the worst pain known to medicine), and he had more cycles of them during residency. The cycles of clusters would last 2 to 3 months, with about 2 to 5 cluster heachaches a day.



I am very interested in hearing about your experiences with migraine or cluster headaches, and I would also like to share my experiences. Now that we have finished residency, I have noticed an improvement in Andrew's headaches.



I think physicians are in a unique position when they get sick. As a resident, Andrew felt compelled to go until he dropped. He was reticent to share his medical affliction with attendings and other residents for fear of being perceived as less capable. He worked through all but one migraine in his entire 5 year residency.



Let me know you stories!



In the spirit of information sharing, hoping to find triggers,

Janet

My mom suffered from really bad migraine headaches....they seemed to get worse during periods of stress as well.



I seem to remember that one of the things that helped her was a prescription by her neurologist for an SSRI....actually an antidepressant, but something that many people have found to help the migraines.... I have heard other people say this too, but I don't know if it is common practice to prescribe that for migraines?



Stress can do so many weird things to our bodies, that's for sure! How often does he get those headaches? I am truly amazed that he was able to force himself to work when he had them...it definately speaks to his stamina!!



Kris

Janet,now that you mention it phill also gets headaches....lots of them i think.At least a few days a week he has one.I didn't think much of it...only that he got headaches alot but i bet it is stress!!I guess this doesn't help you all feel more postive tho since he's been a doctor 20+ years and still gets all these headaches.I've never asked him what kind they are...i've just learned to live with it.

Lynn

I wonder how many physicians suffer from stress-related illnesses....anyone know of any statistics on this? What does your husband do right now to treat his migraines?



Kris

Well, Andrew started getting migraines when he was about 9 years old. His mother got them until she reached menopause. While he's always struggled with them, they got worse in his medical training years.



Right now he manages his two types of headaches in different ways. For his "normal migraines", he takes Imitrex ($16 a pill!!!). For his "cluster headaches" (which are so severe they make his normal migraines seem like child's play), he takes Sansert prophylacticly (not sure how you spell that word...). When he's got a cluster headache series, he takes more Sansert and Imitrex when he gets a cluster headache. All this and tons of Tylenol. No codeine. No addictive drugs either, like Fiornol (results in rebound headaches with continued use). This seems to work best. The only problem is, Sansert can cause kidney damage in some people. But what is he supposed to do??? He can't function with the headaches.



My only source of hope is that the cluster headaches (which typically come ever couple of years for a few months) tend to be worse in men in their thirties and forties. That means hopefully they will get better with time. The normal migraines are manageable. They seem to be triggered by stress, but also by some foods, such as peanuts, parmessan cheese, red wine, and maybe other things that we are still trying to test at home.



It's all so complicated.