Because I am limited to 9 pills per month, I don't want to take an Axert if it's not needed.
Because I am limited to 9 pills per month, I don't want to take an Axert if it's not needed.
Hi Rodney,
It would be better if you asked your doctor this question, and here's why. There are factors to be considered in addition to possible interactions between these two medications -- any health issues/conditions you may have, and ALL other medications you are taking including prescription medications, over-the-counter medications, dietary supplements, etc.
How many days a week do you take something to relieve these headaches? There are a few reasons that triptans are limited to nine a month - one of them being taking these Migraine abortive meds (triptans) or ergotamines or any kind of pain medication -- prescription or over-the-counter -- more than two or three days a week can make matters worse by causing medication overuse headache (MOH), aka rebound. See Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires for more information on this.
Anyone who has three or more Migraines a month needs to be talking with their doctor about prevention. There's growing evidence that Migraine is a progressive brain disease. A recent study showed that Migraines can cause brain damage, and that people with three or more Migraines a month are more susceptible to this damage. For more information, see Is Migraine a Progressive Brain Disease? and Yes, Migraines Can Cause Brain Damage.
So the best thing is to try and keep the number of Migraine attack down to three or less a month. Have you been able to identify any of your Migraine triggers? There may have some triggers that you can avoid, thus preventing Migraines brought on by those triggers. When working to identify triggers one of the best tools is a good Migraine diary. You can read more about this and download a free diary workbook in our article Your Migraine and Headache Diary.
I hope this helps,
Nancy
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