Hi Bridget,

Wow. I thought I had 'em bad. I don't know anything about the stroke risk; Maxalt works pretty well for me most of the time.

I went through a string of neuros until I found "the headache guy" in this area. This guy really knew his stuff cuz headaches is all he does in his practice. With just 3 questions, he nailed my dx - CTTH/Migraine Complex - Sudden Onset (after several other neuros listed me as atypical w/o aura, status migraine, new persistent daily headache, and "other"). If there's a "headache guy" where you are, or that you can get to...

Ever had Mono (even as a kid/teen)? Mine started with a cold virus - turns out they were caused by reactivation of the Epstein-Barr virus 30 years later.

How's your posture, and have you been to any physical therapy? The headache neuro sent me to the right therapist - one who also specialized in just headaches. We found that a particular chin tuck exercise and a couple others got my numbers down to under 15/month. Another thing that helped - because of some muscle spasm contributing issues - was myofascial trigger point therapy from a certified myofascial trigger point therapist (not from a typical PT or chiro - they don't know enough/the right stuff).

IME, not all clinics are the same; some are good - with others you're just a guinea pig.

Doc