A Drug Holiday

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Wed, July 23, 2008

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I went to my neurologist last week and we decided I would go on a drug holiday. It sounds much more glamorous than it really is.

Enter - daily migraines! I was doing well while on the Topamax and Amitriptyline, but there were some side effects that I could no longer deal with.

From the Topamax, I got side effects consisting of: no libido, overheating and not being able to sweat. We have an article about Topamax and the sweating side effect.

And from the Amitriptyline I had the even more lovely side affects of: an even lower libido then just the Topamax alone, weight gain, and uncontollable twitching at night. The twitching one drove my husband crazy, (then again so did the no libido! )

I have been off of all my preventive medications now since 7/1/08. I go back to my neurologist on 8/19/08. We are thinking my next preventive will be Wellbutrin.

Since going off my preventives, I have had about 6 Migraines and 4 Tension Type Headaches. I just keep telling myself this is not perminent. I WILL find the preventive that is right for me. I know it may be a very long road of trial and error, but I WILL keep trying.

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Leeloo

7/28/08 11:48pm

Oh Eileen! Phooey! I'm sorry you have to pull off of what was working for you. It's always a decision between how good it makes us feel versus the side effects, isn't it?

I hope your next med works better without any twitching, or libido loss. Can't we at least enjoy one thing?

Jamie

7/29/08 4:45pm

It must be totally scary to leave something that may have sorta worked behind without a safety net. You're really brave to do that.

Hope the Wellbutrin does a good job for you. At least it doesn't have the anti-libido thing going for it. I wish I could go down that road, but t'is already a road very badly taken for me. I must be a glutton for punishment if I'm even looking at it and saying "that wasn't THAT bad."

Seriously. You WILL find your magic medication. Or two, or a cocktail. But it's definitely possible!

Eileen Gray

7/29/08 8:42pm

The things I looked for in medications when approaching my doctor were that none of my selections had what I call now the "tanking libido effect". I think the Wellbutrin may be good for me. If not, I can give Effexor a go....

I'll let you know on the 19th.

betsyb

7/30/08 1:00pm

Keep trying, Eileen! I too believe that you will find the right thing or combination that will help. And I'm going through similar motions with you. I'm currently trying Namenda (the Alzheimer's med) to see if I can confirm whether I have MOH or true chronic migraines. I have had some improvement, down to about two migraine days a week, but I will have to wait and see what happens when I taper off it to know anything for sure. It takes so much patience and optimism to not be discouraged when something doesn't work, but we have to stay on the path! Doesn't it seem weird/funny/sad that we can "shop" the list of potentially helpful medications and decide based on side effects which one to try next! Wishing you less migraine attacks,

Betsy

Barbara

7/30/08 1:31pm

Eileen,

I sympathize with your plight. I've had migraines all my life and I'm now 55. They've changed over the years and thankfully, medications have changed as well. Glad to hear that Wellbutrin won't give you that "tanking libido" effect, but be sure to ask about weight gain issues. Also, a caution about using Effexor, since I've found out that getting OFF of it can be troublesome. I recently quit taking Effexor myself (for reasons other than migraine) and had a few weeks of not-so-fun "oddness" in the way of nausea, dizziness and emotional upheavals. But---my libido came back!!! And...I've lost a few pounds, as well. Currently, I'm taking Verapamil 40 mg, 3x a day...as a preventative and it's working quite well (as long as I'm diligent about getting all 3 doses). The migraines I'm getting (possibly once a week) are not nearly as severe and can be handled with Imitrex. Considering my history, this is an improvement all the way around.

I wish you the best in your search for something that works for you.

A Drug Holiday

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