Migraines and vision loss?

My wife has been diagnosed with migrains. She has had vision loss since 7-1-08 it is now 7-5-08 She can see bright lights and shadows but can't identify. She has had a lumbar puncture to check for meningitis it was neg.Cat scan neg. She had MRI MRA both neg. blood work neg.She is very scared and wonders if migrains can cause this for so long. They told her it could be conversion disorder but nothing has tragically happened.Insurance won't cover the imitrex a migraine med. She want's to know if anyone has any answers cause the hospital has done all they could do

Thank Elsie it has been a couple weeks with the headaches.Mon. the 31st the Doc. prescribed Imitrex Mass. health won't cover and 8 pills cost $260.
So they gave her Butal and it makes her drowsy. She then started having vision problems with the left eye.By Wed all vision and just gray snowy vision with shadows. She's had all tests done and seen an opthamologist and neurologist. Today it's Sat she has been sent home with Migraine diagnoses but no explanation. I'm wondering did she have a stroke??? It's scary no one knows what to do. One even suggested conversion disorder which is a mind over matter type of disease

I have migraines, but have never lost my vision completely or for any length of time, so I'm not familiar with what is happening to your wife.

My understanding of migraines is that they have just recently figured out what causes them (swelling blood vessels in the brain), but have no idea what causes the blood vessels to swell, or how to "cure" the problem. Medications like Imitrex, Maxalt and Relpax are a God send for those of us with chronic migraines, but there are horrendous side effects, and if she has heart disease or even a family history of heart problems, they won't let her take it, as it can cause further damage or even be fatal.

If she doesn't have any heart issues, and it's just a matter of being able to afford the medication, I posted a link to Glaxo Smith Kline's website (makers of Imitrex) where you can contact them about getting the medication if you don't have insurance. I don't know what their policy is if you have insurance, but they won't cover that particular medication.

I've also pasted the link to Merck, who makes Maxalt. Imitrex didn't work well for me, because my headaches develop in the middle of the night, and you HAVE to take Imitrex as soon as you feel the headache coming on. Maxalt was much more effective.

Relpax is made by Pfizer. It was listed as a "Tier 2" drug on our prescription formulary, so check with your insurance to see if they will cover it. It worked really well for me, but my insurance company would only cover 6 pills a month (at a cost of $50 per month). I got a free sample from my doctor before I found out there was a limitation on what my insurance would allow. My head aches are less intense, but I get them anywhere from 5-20 days out of the month. Since the insurance would only cover 6 pills, that means I had to suffer for over 2 weeks if I had a particularly bad month. If your wife only gets them occasionally, then this might be a medication your insurance will pay for. If not, I posted the link to Pfizer's webpage that talks about assistance for their drugs.

All three say that they will only provide the assistance if you don't have any prescription coverage. You'll have to contact each one to see if they will help you out, since you have coverage, but your insurance just won't cover that particular medication.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful regarding her eyesight. I can't even begin to imagine how scary this is for her!