Hey everyone, I just wanted to share with you my experience with this medicine called DHE.
D.H.E. 45® (dihydroergotamine mesylate) Injection, USP is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine headaches with or without aura and the acute treatment of cluster headache
This medicine helped significantly since my ES is causing migraine type pain and pain in the eyes. DHE is prescribed for severe migraine and cluster headaches and it did help with that aspect, even though I still have a lot of other problems going on. It really helped to separate my migraine pain my ES pain to help see what was left.
This medicine is considered as potentially dangerous and it comes with a load of warnings. It gave me a lot of nausea and I was only able to take this medicine in a hospital setting. I stayed 5 days with a constant IV drip.
I figured this might help someone since ES can cause lots of migraine type pain or in my case a huge unremitting migraine. I have also read about DHE being a vasoconstrictor which might help someone with artery involvement, as well.
I’m going to guess that because you have migraines & eye pain that your trigeminal nerve is irritated by your elongated styloid(s). I’ve recently been experiencing similar symptoms as a result of TMJ problems I’m having (unrelated to my former ES condition). Once you have ES surgery, you should notice great improvement with much reduced or fully eradicated pain.
Though I appreciate your information about DHE, people w/ vascular ES already have a problem w/ vasoconstriction in that the carotid artery or jugular vein or both are being compressed by an elongated styloid or calcified s-h ligament. My concern would be that further constriction could be very dangerous.
I’m glad DHE helped you. I can’t imagine having an unrelenting migraine headache. It sounds like your treatment was carried out very professionally & with good vigilance. Hopefully you won’t have to go through that again.
I know it has been awhile, but did you have surgery, and did your migraine pain improve? I have relentless migraine headaches, but wondering if surgery would improve my pain? I’m trying to find out if it has helped others.
It has been 5 years since my surgery in Dec of 2020. The DHE medicine given at the hospital was helpful I think because it was able to dilate my artery. However, this migraine relief was only temporary. I have later learned that all my problems, including migraines, are related to ES.
To answer your question, yes, the surgery did help. It completely changed my life for the better. I was having migraines 24/7 for about 5 years until I had the surgery on my left side. I don’t have migraines very often anymore. When I do, tylenol and caffeine will usually arrest the migraine.
I am still living with certain symptoms like jaw swelling, neck pain, tinnitus, tooth pain, hiccups and involvement with my arms, ulnar nerves and vagus nerve. However, my pains are manageable and I’m no longer taking any pain medications. I still have the elongated styloid on the right side but I am able to live much more normally without constant migraines. I hope this message was helpful for you.
Hello,
This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Thank you so much. Very helpful! The #1 symptom that impacts my life is migraine, so when facing a major surgery it’s important for me to consider everything I can. I could only hope to have the same result as you, but I know every case is personal and unique. I am happy to hear how much your migraines have improved. I know how debilitating they can be. It’s unfortunate that you are still living with symptoms, but I’m happy to hear that the surgery has changed your life for the better. Thank you for taking the time to respond to me, especially after such a long time since posting.
@BlueRiver - Thank you for coming back to answer @jdeltiste. Much appreciated! It’s great that your migraines are so dramatically reduced & you mostly have your life back! Frustrating about the symptoms that remain. Have you considered having your remaining styloid shortened to see if that might help reduce the symptoms you still have?
Thanks everyone, I’m glad to help and share. I‘m not doing too bad, considering everything. I have a regular job and I’m able to care for myself, unlike before.
In regard to a second surgery, it is not likely in my case. From my understanding, this jaw swelling and ear pain I have is a result of nerve damage and muscle hypertrophy which is not really reversible.
Since this jaw and ear problem remains present on both sides, I doubt that a surgery on my right side would do much for this issue. Additionally, I would consider such surgery as a large risk. I do have small lingering pains and muscle weakness/cramps on the left of my neck after the surgery. I will likely seek non-surgical treatments in the future, unless my symptoms become more severe.
