Does anyone get these and what do they do for them?
Any thoughts about imitrex for a tos migraine?

Some w/TOS often get headaches & migraines.

One cause can be severe spasms and/or trigger points , those can refer pain/symptoms to other areas.
It might be worth trying some self triggerpoint therapy to see if it helps for your symptoms o not.
A tennis ball or any small ball or similar object is what I used on the floor or against a wall to apply pressure.

This clickable chart is very handy -
http://www.pressurepointer.com/pain_reference_chart.htm

our Trigger point information {TrPs} for short - sticky thread -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread125577.html

Thanks. I do that but it is a painful hour to work it out. I was wondering if
migraine medicine works given that I have actually figured out which lumpy tight points
cause which head pain.

If it is coming from points on the brainstem would that be a basilar migraine?
In which case imitrex is counterindicated?

Hello!

I suffer from frequent migraines aswell.. From 2 a month to several times per week - i use sumatriptan(imitrex) with GREAT results, i take 50mg and after 1-2 hours my migraine is gone or severely lowered.

These migraines are more annoying than my actual TOS condition at the moment

Hope it helps

Thanks...aren't the migraines part of the tos? When my neck and shoulder muscles
relax after a deep tissue message the headache goes away too temporarily. How about yours?

If the tight lumps in my muscles are around the brainstem,
is that still different from a basilar/brainstem migraine? (In which case
Imitrex is counterindicated?)

Hi again

Yeah, i guess you're right - i just mean they are more annoying than my "regular" TOS symptoms..

I've had some results with chiropractics and trying to relax my neck, im not sure whether or not it works yet. Besides that, i'm using the PosturePump to try and remake the curve in my neck.


I'm not sure what you mean by that last part

True TOS migraines are not vascular for Imatrex to help, they are cervogenic. That is when the triptans don't touch the pain.
For cervogenic you need to calm down the inflammation of nerves. The nerve that flares on me is from the shoulder blade up the back of the head to the top.

Aspirin, or better is Toradol, to calm it along with a Valium foe relaxing the muscles. The muscle try to protect the inflamed nerve by creating a splint. This splint is the spasms.

Calm the spasms, reduce the migraine. I had a head pain 24/7 for several years. Finally after trying trigger points in the traps I had n epidural in the C5. I never had that level of head pain or migraine ever again.

It's about maintenance, prevention of flares, and stay on top of the pain. You would be amazed how fast Aspirin, I take Ecotrin coated , with an Alieve gel cap to get a grip on the onset.
Then sit with ice on the back of my head an neck.

For it to work you need quiet, dark and and breath to relax.

I should mention that I do not have TOS so this is a bit of an outside perspective, but this is what I have observed in regard to migraine, muscular pain with referred headache, and triptans:

I often get migraines that come with muscle stiffness and neuralgia. (It took me a while to figure this out.) In these cases, massage seems to makes things worse. A triptan (such as Imitrex) not only treats these headaches but it also lessens my associated stiffness/neuralgia.

I sometimes get headaches with muscle soreness that are not migraines. In these cases, the triptan does not help but massage does. The primary causes of these headaches in my case seem to be tension or postural problems.

Now, it is possible you could have true migraines as well as TOS... but if, as you say, you find "lumpy tight spots" that cause the pain... it doesn't sound like a true migraine. In that case, I doubt a triptan would help. (And, fwiw, even if it were going to, it would take about that long to work. )

Well, basilar migraines come with a whole set of peculiar symptoms but if you you have any doubt whatsoever that you might be having these, I'd talk to a doctor about it. Definitely, you should not take Imitrex or other triptans unless this possibility is ruled out.

Best wishes to you!

waves