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Migraines
As many people well know. I suffer from frequent headaches, usually migraine or sinus, but both equally bad and debilitating. Earlier today, in reading the migraine management link from Glitter in my last post, interesting things have come up. Things I knew, but more importantly things I did not know. I really want to stop (or at least reduce the frequency of) my migraines, but some of the triggers are things out of my control...like being a woman, and the weather outside. Currently, I treat them with Excedrin or Benadryl, sometime alternating throughout the day, and sleep (in a dark room if possible). I am going to look into some of the more natural options first, like magnesium and riboflavin (B-2), and maybe butterbur which is something relatively new. I had no luck with feverfew, but mainly because I couldn't stomach it. It tasted horrible (like dirt), but granted it *was* liquid, and I never tried it in pill form. I was also reading about the prescription medicines, though I admit to not having much luck with them in the past. Imitrex sent fire pulsing through my sinuses and made it hurt to swallow, and was just as debilitating as the migraine alone. I was told about a lower dosage clearing that problem up, but that is only in a nasal spray, and I am not good with those. Not to mention it is $50 on my insurance plan, so yeah, I want to try something else. I tried Elavil daily for the prevention of them, but that left me a fatigued emotional wreck and I stopped it after a week. Now I have seen that there are other prescriptions out there and was wondering if anyone on my friends list has experience with any of them and could give me some feedback for if I decide to go that route. I would like to have more info about these medicines before going back to my doctor and asking about a prescription. One further note, for those who have not seen me or know me outside this journal, I should end by saying I am very petite, slightly over 5' and a little over 100 lbs, so I am the size of a teenager, which may be one of the reasons I react to medicines strongly.
Any thoughts tips etc would be helpful. I think I may cross post this into a community, but which one? ah, just found![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
migraines
Any thoughts tips etc would be helpful. I think I may cross post this into a community, but which one? ah, just found
migraines
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For the bipolar--I'm also on Tegretol as my mood stabilizer, which helps some people for migraines, but it hasn't done that much for me. Maybe a bit? I'm on Effexor as my antidepressant, which is sometimes prescribed for migraines as well.
Because I have bipolar, many of my meds often do "double duty" with migraines.
When my sleep is on a normal schedule, and I don't have to get up really early, it helps me a lot. When it goes out of whack (which often happens when my bipolar meds aren't stable), the migraines are worse.
I've tried:
Topamax (twice). The first time I got down to a size 3 (I'm 5'8") and was ill looking...plus it makes me incredibly stupid.
Depakote - my hair starting falling out, and I had memory problems.
Elavil (several years ago), which worked wonders, but I gained tons of weight. I wouldn't go off it though cause it helped so much. Eventually I got to the max safe dose and had to go off it.
Olanzapine (Zyprexa), which is an atypical antipsychotic. Worked really well, but gained too much weight.
I've been on a couple of beta blockers too. I don't remember them being all that effective, but it was so long ago...
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