Why can't I have more than 6 Relpax a month when thats the only thing that works for me?

You certainly are not the only one who sometimes feels as though the migraines will never improve.  But please don't give up.  Nowadays, there is a great deal that can be done.

 

If you are having frequent migraines, it may be time to seek out a migraine specialist.  Take a look at this list:

 

Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists

 

In the meantime, ask your doctor why you are only allowed 6 Relpax a month.  You are entitled to an answer.

 

It's possible your doctor is concerned about Medication Overuse Headaches.  Click on the blue words for more information about this problem.

 

I hope you will come over to the discussion forum for further information and support.  To get there, hold your mouse at either Manage or Connect at the top of the page, and click on Migraine Forums when the menu comes down.  Registration for the forum is separate from the registration for this page, but you can use the same info to register.  You would find the forum a place where a great deal of reliable information is shared, and a lot of support is given and received.  We would love to have you.

Hi, Ronda,

 

You had also submitted this question to Ask the Clinician. Did you see the answer last week? If not, it's HERE. 

 

Teri 

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

 

It looks like you have your answer to your triptan question. I hope it helps.

 

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I know exactly how you feel. I am going through exactly the same thing. My neurologist has me on preventatives that don't help much. relpax does. they give me 6 relpax and maybe 10 fioricet a month. plus i am in nursing school. NOT GOOD FOR MIGRAINES!!!! Did I mention I have 3 daughters and 2 of them have also been diagnosed? one is 7 and the other is 5. They are given phenergan and motrin. But Everybody looks at me like I am crazy when i tell them tylenol doesn't help anything. I am on blood thinner so I can't take advil.So I get the feeling they don't care if i suufer!!!! LOL

                                                 I hope the topamax gets better for you  It makes me dumb.

Hey Ronda-

 

I can only get 12 relpax every 25 days per my insurance company.  The insurance is through my husband's employer and this is how it is written in the plan they purchased.  No is, ands, or buts.  But my doctor gives me a prescription for Relpax and Imitrex and I get them filled at different pharmacies, a couple of weeks apart.  Hopefully, the insurance wont catch the 2 RX's for different migraine meds.  Relpax definitely works the best for me, but the Imitrex I can take in a pinch and usually it is enough for a month- depends on the month.  I was also on Topamax- 2 different times.  The first time, for 3 months, it didnt work.  Then I was prescribed Depakote and it worked great until I developed tremors in my hands and gained 10 lbs.  So we tried Topamax again.  This time it worked, but after a year, I lost my taste bud sensation and was sleeping soooooo much.  I had quit my job and went into a state of deep clinincal depression.  I was taking 2 hour naps in the morning, then 2 hour naps in the afternoon and almost 12 hours at night.  It is called somnolence and, come to find out caused by the Topamax.  Because of the loss of interest in anything sweet, sour, savory,salty  and a known side effect of decrease in apetite, I lost 15 lbs in 8 wks.  So, being down to a size 2 from a size 6 and none of my clothes fitting, I had to change meds.  Now I am on Namenda and it is working ok- not great, but ok.  so, until I can convince my husband's HR department to buy a better plan (maybe next year) all I can get is 12.  Call your insurance company and ask them how many you are allowed per month.  I have also heard of situations where you can get a case manager assigned to you who can authorize extra tablets if you got into an emergency situation.  My insurance will not do this; I tried. 12 every 25 days- that is it.  But I have heard of other companies that do this.  So you may have to make some phone calls, but you may find out you can get 12 a month, yet your doctor only prescribed 6 because that is what she thought they would cover.  That was my case, until I made a phone call.  Now I refill every 25 days whether I need them or not.  Now I have a little stockpile if I dont have to use them all.  And with my doctor playing around with my horomones, I never know when I will need more one month and less the next.  Plus, the back up of Imitrex helps mentally with the anxiety that I may get stuck with nothing and end up in the ER.  Hope this helps-

 

Cheryl

There could be many reasons to only prescribed 6 Relpax per month.  However, the only person who could tell you why that is all your doc will prescribe for you is your doc.  Did you ask her?  You should discuss it with her, and then go from there.

Hi Ronda:

If you arn't yet seeing a neurologist who specializes in migraine, find one. Your Dr. should be prescribing 12 Relpax per month. That's a dosage of 4 rescue meds per week which is all you should take to avoid rebound, which I'm sure you know is something you don't want.  If your Dr. won't prescribe that much, find out why and without a good explanation, I'd find another Dr.  My Neurologist started me on Topamax in December. At first, I hated the side effects of memory loss and peripheral neuropathy, but it was helping with the severity of my daily migraines.  The last time I saw the Dr. I was up to 100 mg per day of the topomax and taking Relpax as a rescue med 4 x per week but still suffering 3 days per week with migraines I rated at a 7 on a scale of 1 - 10.  The Dr. has increased my dose to Topamax to 200 mg. and I am a different person.  I no longer wake up every day with a headache.  I still get headaches in the afternoon but they are rated at a 3 or 4 instead of 7 or 9.  The 7 or 9 headaches only come  once or twice a week now. But be careful with the Topamax. You have to eat a balanced diet. It really does take away your appetite. I needed to loose weight and it has helped me to do that, but I wanted to do it the healthy way and when nothing sounds good, you really don't want to eat, but you have to and you need to do it the right way. Do not starve yourself or you'll be in for some really big trouble.  But, there is hope for your headaches.

-Ask your Dr. why he/she is only prescribing 6 rescue meds when you clearly need more, if only 3-4 per week are taken will not cause rebound(Do not take any other pain medication as this will cause rebound as well)

-Ask your Dr. if increasing your dosage of Topamax would be a good idea for you.

Good luck,

Bryn Nick

Migraine sufferer, Living with it

 

 

 

    Hi Ronda...I am not sure if I am totally correct on this (there may be something else besides this)..but to answer your question about why you can only have 6 relpax a month; depending on your insurancecompany and your coverage you may only be covered for a certain amount on prescription costs (of course they aren't going to tell you that). The monthly price of my relpax alone is $350.00 for 12 pills, cut that in half and it's $175.00 (both are really steap prices). Migraines as you know are unpredictable, because you may have 4 in one week or even more, the likelyhood of (either one of us) using more than 6 relpax in a month is definate. Your aura is defiantely different...lol I have the tunnel vision and some dark spots with pressure that makes by eyeballs want to pop out of my head. But an aura is an aura and I am greatful (oxymoron I know) for them, it lets me know when to make my grand exit from the building, room etc. lol (no sense in vomiting on the floor in public) Anyhow, I hope that helps you out, you might want to find out the limit on your prescriptions as far as spending goes, you might have to pay out of pocket for more pills than they cover. In the meantime good luck. :)

my doctor prescribed two boxes at a time for me. it might just be an individual decision made by your doctor.

  I, too have suffered from bad migraines since I was 3 yrs old.  I am now 52.  I am  now on Topamax 2 yrs, and finally figuring out that foods DO trigger the migraines, but it doesn't happen til 4-16 hrs later.  Most of the food trigger lists don't include onion or garlic, and they KILL me.,but I'm triggered by almost every other food on those lists. The good news is I'm FINALLY getting my head tamed.  Diet is sort of  blah, but I can live with that. I REALLY reccomend that anyone with migraine problem start out on aboiled chicken and rice diet for a couple of days, then SLOWLY add foods to see what triggers, and keep a log, 'cuz like I said, it lag by sometimes 16 hrs.Keep tryin.   It took me a long time.     JC

I have the same issue, I take relpax too and it is the only thing that works.  In my case it is not the doctor but the health insurance, even when my dr writes a prescription for 18 pills, the insurance company will only let the pharmacy give me 6