For those who take Migraine medicine

[Tigger&Belle]

Jennasis, what type of a med is Keppra? Beta blocker, etc?

 

[luvwinnie]

They TRIED to limit me, until I explained in WRITING that it is up to MY DR. how many I can take each month, that migraines do NOT listen to their rule of "only 9 per month* and that my family would contact them if I committed suicide from the unrelenting pain. Magically, I am now allowed as many as I need.
Keep in mind though, that if you are consistently using more than 9 per month, you might want to discuss a preventive med. with your dr.
I've had success with a supplement called CoQ10.

 

[bavaria]

My neurologist was discussing the various migraine preventers with me, and didn't recommend Topomax for me at all. She said some of her patients call it "Dopomax" because it makes them witless. I like my wits, and I need to keep them about me. She put me on Depakote instead. She said it can cause weight gain, but I'm hoping that once I stop these constant headaches I can start exercising again.

What was pretty scary was the amount of people who don't know about the side effects of Topamax. I joined in a thread on the disABILITIES board about Topamax and Florida heat. I'll admit that I didn't read or wasn't warned about how the body reacts to heat with Topamax, but it certainly explained how I felt at WDW during the year I took Topamax. I swear that I became a different person, and my brain/body almost shut down at times. I now know that it was Topamax.

T&B, I agree with you about the appetite loss/weight loss being great, but I am still worried about the impact on mental function. 'Causes severe confusion' was right - at least for me!

I still wonder if going OFF Topamax is what made my migraines return after so many years - 20 years with only 1 migraine, and suddenly they come back pretty much right after I stopped Topamax (I wasn't taking it for migraines)

Best of luck to everyone with their migraines....

 

[Jennasis]

Keppra is actually an anti-seizure medication (as are MANY of the drugs used to prevent migraines). The dosage can vary from 250mg per day up to I believe 2000mg per day, so there is a LOT of room for tinkering with the dosage to find what works for you. On 1000 mg per day I have had ZERO side effects, and the pain is gone. I get an occassional headache from time to time, but am usually able to take just Ibuprofen (maybe 2x per month). I have only used Relpax twice to rescue me from a migraine since February.

Luvwinnie: you need to be on a migraine preventative if you need more than 9 pills per month. At that rate of occurrence and the pain you describe (thoughts of suicide due to pain) you and your doctors are most certainly not managing your migraines effectively/at all.

There are so many different drugs/dosages/drug-combos out there to try to PREVENT a migrain (not stop one that is in progress, but to actually PREVENT them in the first place), that you can't say you've tried everything. Something out there will work.

 

[2bemarried]

Before I started trying to get pregnant I was on Nortriptylene. That's also an anti seizure medication. It worked wonders for me. Unfortunately it's a class D medication and I'm not allowed to take it while trying to get pregnant or during pregnancy.

 

[luvwinnie]

Keppra is actually an anti-seizure medication (as are MANY of the drugs used to prevent migraines). The dosage can vary from 250mg per day up to I believe 2000mg per day, so there is a LOT of room for tinkering with the dosage to find what works for you. On 1000 mg per day I have had ZERO side effects, and the pain is gone. I get an occassional headache from time to time, but am usually able to take just Ibuprofen (maybe 2x per month). I have only used Relpax twice to rescue me from a migraine since February.

Luvwinnie: you need to be on a migraine preventative if you need more than 9 pills per month. At that rate of occurrence and the pain you describe (thoughts of suicide due to pain) you and your doctors are most certainly not managing your migraines effectively/at all.

There are so many different drugs/dosages/drug-combos out there to try to PREVENT a migrain (not stop one that is in progress, but to actually PREVENT them in the first place), that you can't say you've tried everything. Something out there will work.

Thanks...I pointed out the same thing in my post. Luckily, I no longer get more than about 4/5 a month. If I did, I'd be on a preventive.
I didn't actually have suicidal thoughts...I was making a point to the insurance company.

 

[Barb D]

...Sometimes I'm not sure if the neck pain is causing the migraines or if my neck tenses up and starts hurting after I get a migraine. How did you determine that your neck pain was causing your migraines?

Exactly. (How helpful was that?)

Actually, it's a vicious cycle with me. I have bulging disks in my neck, and I think the neck pain triggers a migraine which makes me more tense which makes the neck pain worse which makes the migraine worse and it never quite goes away.

So now the plan is to get rid of the neck pain and hopefully stop the cycle. I've been on the muscle relaxer for a few days now, and so far so good. I had a bad tension headache Saturday (after getting really upset and yelling at my family) but other than that no migraines or bad headaches since Friday.

ETA: I had an MRI to diagnose the bulging disks in my neck. You might want to check with your doctor and see if they can do that for you.

 

[torinsmom]

This thread has been a wealth of info for me. I have had daily headaches for 16 years! Not much of anything has worked for me. Fiorcet(tylenol + caffeine + bubalbitol(sp)) was great, but of course, the dr. decided that the muscle relaxer in it could be addictive, so they snatched that away from me. I had brain surgery in 2003 for a congenital brain malformation and the neurosurgeon THOUGHT that would make my headaches go away--no such luck!

I'll have to print this thread out and get my dr to try each of these drugs one by one(I'll avoid Topomax, since I don't like feeling drunk) Through December BCBS has no copay on generic scrips, so maybe I can try several by then. Right now I take 1000 mg of ibuprofen 3-4 times a day and have for years(except for when they let me use Fiorcet for a year) That works, but I know it is terrible for me. The dr. tells me that, but what am I supposed to do when me head is pounding like that?

Marsha

 

[mickman1962]

My Dr. switched me to Propranolol (a Beta Blocker) for high blood pressure and my migraines (30+ years 3-10/month) have just about disappeared.

 

[Jennasis]

This thread has been a wealth of info for me. I have had daily headaches for 16 years! Not much of anything has worked for me. Fiorcet(tylenol + caffeine + bubalbitol(sp)) was great, but of course, the dr. decided that the muscle relaxer in it could be addictive, so they snatched that away from me. I had brain surgery in 2003 for a congenital brain malformation and the neurosurgeon THOUGHT that would make my headaches go away--no such luck!

I'll have to print this thread out and get my dr to try each of these drugs one by one(I'll avoid Topomax, since I don't like feeling drunk) Through December BCBS has no copay on generic scrips, so maybe I can try several by then. Right now I take 1000 mg of ibuprofen 3-4 times a day and have for years(except for when they let me use Fiorcet for a year) That works, but I know it is terrible for me. The dr. tells me that, but what am I supposed to do when me head is pounding like that?

Marsha

Fiorcet and Ultracet are narcotic based drugs (due to the butalbitol), so you may have a really hard time convincing your insurance to pay for it and YUP you can develop an addiction. I tried Ultracet when the migraines first started (after crying myself to sleep every night for a month) but all it does it make me tired and nauseous.

Topamax does not make you feel "drunk". It can cause kidney stones, it makes ALL carbonated beverages taste AWFUL, can make sugary things taste funny, and it can affect your thinking (made it super hard to spell things, count things, concentrate or remember names/places/dates etc). HOWEVER, if it works for your headaches, those side-effects would be well worth the relief right?

Also, I cannot think of any drug used for Migraine treatment that comes in a generic form. All of the migraine meds I've tried were the highest co-pay level my insurance offered.

Finally, STOP TAKING THE IBUPROFEN!!!! Your liver may be quite damaged by this point, but you need to get in to have you liver checked immediately. 1000mg 3-4 times a day is literally poisoning your liver. I'm quite surprised your liver hasn't failed at that kind of abuse. Also, you are likely experiencing "rebound" headaches because of the constant ibuprofen. If you are unfamiliar with a rebound headache, look it up online. Basically, assaulting yourself with ibuprofen or aspirin or acetominophen in that manner can cause your body to rebound from one migraine into another in a vicous unstoppable cycle.

You need to get a good nuerologist who will work with you to get these migraines under control. There are so many medications and therapies out there, that I am confident something will work for you. Good luck and please, stop the ibuprofen before you hurt yourself! HUGS!