[lilypup]

I just came off of a two day migraine complete with nausea. I get frequent "medium" headaches, but not too many migraines. I'm 58, and used to get a lot of them but not so much any more. I thought of going to the ER, but then figured they'd think I was drug seeking.

I told my GP about my headaches and she will not prescribe anything because 1) she doesn't want to prescribe on top of my psych meds 2) she doesn't know exactly what is causing my headaches so she wants me to get a brain scan.

I don't want to get a brain scan because they are pretty expensive and I don't need the health anxiety. I don't have a brain tumor..I had migraines most of my adult life and would be long dead if I had a tumor. (eyeball roll). I just have migraines like millions of other people.

I'm calling my old neurologist tomorrow. Hopefully, he's experienced enough in migraine meds and is willing to give me something.

Do any of you have bad migraines? Do you have any answers for me? This place has often been a good place to find ideas to suggest to my docs.

[tecomsin]

I used to have bad migraines and still have them occasionally.

Mine never responded to a migraine medication though. I get other kinds of headaches that respond to indomethacin. I also have been treated for lung cancer so the possibility of mets is a real one but you don't run off and get a scan for every headache even with a lung cancer history.

There's nothing wrong with getting a brain scan and starting some medications at the same time. Or start migraine medications and if they don't help get a brain scan. Those meds don't help headaches from brain tumours so you can exclude them if the meds do help.

I don't understand your gp's logic except for the part about not prescribing on top of psych meds. For that you might need a neurologist instead of a gp. I hope your old neurologist is able to help you. If not I would try another one.

[Blueberrybook]

I haven’t dealt with migraines per se, but you might want to rule out the fact that your psych meds or med combo could be causing them. I had virtually a never-ending migraine that went away once I stopped taking Effexor and Wellbutrin. I am sure your GP is just being cautious and maybe doesn’t want to prescribe something that may interfere with your psych meds. If it is not your meds, the odds are it is migraines like you experienced before and not a huge health issue.

[rwwff]

Interestingly enough, depakote is a migraine medication. Haven't had one since I started taking it.

I had never had any headaches beyond sinus headaches until about 5 years ago, in my early 40s. When I started getting them they were quite bad, but only every other month or so. The head pain was sort of bad, but the extreme vomiting was the worst. They'd usually only last for 24 hours. Then they increased in frequency to every month, then twice per month. I know to many that may not have been that bad, but it was disabling on those days. Tylenol Migraine did nothing. Eventually a neurologist prescribed sumatriptan injections for me. Given the comparitive infrequency compared to some migraine sufferers, it was a good choice. After the injection, it literally took only 20 mins for me to get extreme relief.

Luckily for me, my migraines seemed to fade over time. I think I had only a few in the last 12 months.

[BeyondtheRainbow]

Because I'm on an MAOI my options for treatment of migraines is limited. I saw a migraine specialist who recommended 500 mg of magnesium and 1200 mg of B12. My family dr increased the magnesium to 1000 mg last year and I've barely had a migraine since.

When did they start? What happened at that time? Did you start a new med or increase?

To me, if the med side effects are worse then the illness, I’ll quit taking that med.

Ability and Latuda hurt.

I really do hope that you get the relief that need.

[GoldenSnitch]

This might make me sound like a hippie but I’ve been using doTERRAs frankincense oil daily and my migraines have pretty much completely stopped

[Unrigged64072835]

Originally Posted by rwwff

Interestingly enough, depakote is a migraine medication. Haven't had one since I started taking it.

Actually, when I do get a migraine the ER folks give me Depakote to stop it. I was on it as a mood stabilizer as well but it didn't help my depression much. I may get a migraine every two months or so, depending on weather and hydration.

I also had more migraines on Lamictal than with other meds.

[Merlin]

I get migraines from time to time, but my mood stabilizer valproate helps reduce them. I have a prn Maxalt (rizatriptan) that I take. It’s a dissolvable wafer. I took tramadol in the past, but I still had nausea and throbbing, though not pain, on it.

[Wild Coyote]

Lots of migraines here. I have taken mood-stabilizing meds as anti-migraine meds. I cannot tolerate that drug class.

I hope you find a viable solution!


WC

I do get migraines and have heard a lot of people with bipolar disorder have a migraine problem as well. I had a bad one yesterday with lingering today.

I was taking Topamax which helps migraine. I had to struggle with side effects a long time to get used to it, but the gastrointestinal problem didn’t go away, so I quit taking it. It causes weight loss in some. I didn’t lose weight, but I’ve been gaining weight since I stopped it <sigh>.

I’m not sure what I want to do next.

[AspiringAuthor]

Originally Posted by lilypup

I just came off of a two day migraine complete with nausea. I get frequent "medium" headaches, but not too many migraines. I'm 58, and used to get a lot of them but not so much any more. I thought of going to the ER, but then figured they'd think I was drug seeking.

I told my GP about my headaches and she will not prescribe anything because 1) she doesn't want to prescribe on top of my psych meds 2) she doesn't know exactly what is causing my headaches so she wants me to get a brain scan.

I don't want to get a brain scan because they are pretty expensive and I don't need the health anxiety. I don't have a brain tumor..I had migraines most of my adult life and would be long dead if I had a tumor. (eyeball roll). I just have migraines like millions of other people.

I'm calling my old neurologist tomorrow. Hopefully, he's experienced enough in migraine meds and is willing to give me something.

Do any of you have bad migraines? Do you have any answers for me? This place has often been a good place to find ideas to suggest to my docs.

Yes. Lots of experience here. What ultimately helps me is this:

- BOTOX preventive injections quarterly; not affordable without insurance
- For attacks that I still get, if I catch them early, promethazine, indocin (it may interact badly with lithium, but you are not on lithium), and imitrex. To increase the speed these meds (taken all at once) are absorbed by the body, I take the first two as rectal suppositories when I am at home (the suppositories require refrigeration, so when I am away from home, I carry pills in my purse), and Imitrex as a nasal spray. These abortive/acute treatments act synergistically.
- Since my main trigger is dehydration, I drink two glasses of weak tea with lemon and stevia at least every hour. I do not count how much I drink, though - I make sure that I pee water (literally - no color except for first morning urine or urine after I have been on the go for some time, but not at home or in the office).

It took me years to arrive at this protocol, but now that I have it, I am a pretty happy camper. I had debilitating pain in the past. Note that when I wake up with migraine pain, it is too late to administer acute treatments - the acute treatments are only effective if I catch precursors of pain, but, BOTOX makes attacks that do occur lighter; it makes them tolerable.

There is also a new monthly injectable preventable med. I will speak to the neurologist about it on Monday; I will update you.

Of Migraine prevention daily meds, Zonegran gave me such bad mania that I lost my job and Amitriptyline gave sustained hypomania. I do not recommend them, but of course tolerances and reactions are all individual. Depakote, a migraine preventive med, led to bad weight gain. In me it also induced bad hand tremor and a low platelet count; so, it had to be discountinued. Topomax gave me dizziness, sexual dysfunction, general malaise, and such aversion to food and drink that I actually started having more migraines since I was not eating and drinking enough fluids. I also occasionally forgot words (problems with word recall) even on the tiniest dose. Many people on this forum take Topamax and are happy, though.