I have been having migraines for about 5 years now and finally decided to go the doctor now that they are lasting 3+ days. Well, the doctor said it was probably from me grinding my teeth and referred me to get a night guard made. He also put me on Topamax. Well I was then referred to a dentist who does splint therapy and he agreed with my doctor that my migraines were probably from that too. Along the way the Topamax kicked in I guess because I had 3 more migraines the next week and a half and then no more. One day I had a small pain in the front of my head and took two tylenol and it was gone 30 minutes later. How amazing! Anyway, at the beginning of splint therapy everything was looking good, my jaw and face quit hurting and no headaches. My doctor took me off of the Topamax though because everytime I stood up I got dizzy and almost passed out. Turns out it was front not eating though, I am hypoglycemic and Topamax suppressed my appetite. Now the dentist is saying I probably need surgery because I am back to my jaw, face, and neck hurting, migraines all the time. I can't take it anymore so I called my doctor back and he put me back on the Topomax again, now I am just worried about not getting enough to eat. Has anyone had to deal with this and were there specific things you found to make yourself eat that kept your blood sugar from dropping? Any advice would be so great!
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TOPAMAX AND HYPOGLYCEMIA
Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!
Migraine is a genetic neurological disease. Grinding your teeth may trigger a Migraine attack, but not cause them. Migraine Triggers can include not eating on a regular basis, weather changes and dehydration. Have you ever kept a Migraine diary? This is a great way to find out if you are effected by any triggers.
Topamax is a medication used for Migraine prevention but certainly is not the only option out there. There are over 100 medications that can be used - Migraine Preventive Medications - Too Many Options To Give Up!
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I am in the midst of figuring out my own migraine triggers. The term "hypoglycemic" was just used with me the other day, so I'm starting to explore that. EVERYTIME I get hungry, it triggers a migraine. Over the past few years, I have been on Topomax, Imitrex, and Maxalt. Maxalt provides the best relief, but you only get six at a time, and my insurance will only pay for that once a month. Six pills can be used with one migraine, so that's frustrating.
I've got to be honest, the teeth grinding thing is BS. Everyone I know who suffers with migraines has a mouth guard. It could be part of the problem, but it won't get rid of migraines. All of the studies that I have read from the big clinics say that there are multiple triggers to migraines. I never knew that. One thing I read was to keep a detailed journal. I got a day planner, like an appointment book that went hour by hour, and filled in when/what I ate, the times that I slept, stress level, etc. Then I drew a big red line in at the time that I first realized I had a migraine. I realized they were more frequent than I had thought, and I also realized I had gone without food prior to the onset.
I suggested this to a friend, and told her I knew it wasn't because I was hungry that the migraine was triggered, but it had to be something in my body that depleated due to the lack of food. I never talk about my migraines, because people who don't have them don't understand. My friend's mother suffered for years, so my friend understood, and she said "You're Hypoglycemic." Her mother was too, and as long as she controlled her blood sugar, a migraine was never triggered. Let me ask you this: Do you drink alcohol? I used to be a party animal in college, but since the migraines started, I can't touch alcohol because I will trigger a 3+ day long migraine. It's the blood sugar thing.
Have you really looked at the hypoglycemia as a possible trigger? Keep the journal, I know it sounds ridiculous, but it helps you understand what is causing them. The drugs suck. I took Topomax 6 years ago, and then it was pulled from the market. It was an anti seizure med then, that neurologists were realizing could help with migraines. Now I hear it's back on the market being advertised as a long term migraine med. You have to be careful with that kind of stuff. I know how bad migraines are, and how they will disrupt your life. To me, using an anti seizure med to curb the symptoms of what is really wrong doesn't seem like a long term fix.
It seems amazing to me that modern medicine can cure so many terrible diseases, but millions of people still suffer with migraines. Perhaps it's because there is no one fix that is for everyone. There are so many triggers, how could they find a cure that could be a "one size fits all"? Anyhow, sorry to ramble. If you're anything like me, you'll listen to anyone who can offer insight to a possible cure. Bottom line is that you will never get rid of them if you can't figure out the cause. Long term medication is not the answer. I wanted to write to you because I was curious that you had mentioned the hypoglycemia and I am looking into that. Let me know if you have explored that as a trigger yet.
Thank you for your comment. I haven't had the time to check this lately because I have been having problems with my gall bladder which they just removed on Feb. 1st. I read somewhere else that that could be a side effect from the Topamax too. Don't you just love medecine? I really haven't explored the Hypoglycemia thing that much but I guess I will start paying more attention to it. I do pay attention enough to know that when my head does start feeling weird I will eat and about 30 minutes later I start feeling better. I have also read on Dr. Mercola's web site that birth control pills can cause migraines and gall bladder disease too. I had a car wreck in 01 and always just assumed my migraines were from that. But I also had a tubal pregnancy in 01 too and have been on birth control since. So I guess there are so many different things that could be causing them huh? Have you found out if your diet is the trigger to your migraines? And that is funny that you mention that nearly everyone that has migraines has a mouth piece for grinding their teeth. What a mess! Anyway, please write back and let me know about your diet!
Thanks!
Suzanne
I have been on Topamax twice now; once unsuccessfully and once successfully so far. The key to avoiding as many side effects as possible is stepping up the dose very slowly over weeks. We cut my pills in half and I took 1 1/2 pills then 2 then 2 1/2 then 3 and 3 seems to be working ok so I stopped there. When I was on 4/ day (75 mg) I had major trouble, but it was also started much more quickly. I forgot to eat and had no appetite so I didn't realize I wasnt eating and lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time, plus had a lot of cognitive troubles. But so far the topamax is holding the migraines at bay mostly and I think I am going to try the "Heal Your Headache" diet and program. When I was on the topamax initially I kept those little 60 or 90 calorie snack packs with me and wrote the time and date I was supposed to eat them (every couple of hours) on the package so I'd know if I had eaten them or not! It helped while I was so forgetful and not hungry.
Just for background: I am a 26 year old female who has had severe migraines for about 20 years. Currently, I am on 50 mg topamax/daily and use imitrex injections as an abortive medication. I have tried amitriptyline, nortriptyline, atenolol, propranolol, atacand, pindolol, celexa, feverfew, and vitamins through the years. I have also used maxalt as an abortive as well but had better results with the imitrex recently. I have read amazing reviews about Healing Your Headaches and I can't imagine a pain free life or even a mostly pain free life...it would be amazing. Any dietary sacrafices are worth it.
Hello. I went on topomax too, for about 5 years. It does work well for my migraines too. I also have the mouth guard, etc.... Topomax did supress my appetite and I got so thin I was taken off of it. I ate the best I could, I just couldn't get the weight stable. Along with that, I got a host of side effects from the medicine that I still have today...tremors, shaking, etc.... I am on zonisimide now, but it doesn't do the job like the topomax. According to my specialist, there is too many side effects on topomax. Which sucks, because it works really well. But the hypoglycemic thing is a huge problem, along with the other effects you get.
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When I started Topamax, it surpressed my appetite and made me really nauseated. I basically ate whatever sounded good. The B.R.A.T. diet is alwasy a good try. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, Toast. It is bland, easy on the stomach and didn't make me nauseated. But, actually what I ate for almost every meal was hard boiled eggs and cooked rice. That way I got protien and carbs. Eventually the sick feelign went away and I worked up to "normal" foods. :)
If you are able to eat "normal" foods just not a lot, maybe try to "graze" on them all day long. Like always have something near you. Or have a Kashi bar that has lots of good whole grains in it.
Hope this helps.
Good luck!