Wednesday, September 16, 2009 MaryAnnH asks

Q: What's a frequent migraineur supposed to do about MOH?

I'm usually pretty careful about not over-doing on medication. But, I slipped up last week medicated headaches Monday through Friday (I kept forgetting to write it down in my log--big no-no). I'm relatively certain the daily headaches I'm having are MOH. So, on Saturday I ceased the Imitrex and Naproxen.

It is Wednesday, and I'm miserable--how am I supposed to handle MOH while I'm waiting for my body to detoxify? How long does it take to detox from Imitrex and Naproxen? Are there any detoxifying teas that would help speed up the process? I've been trying some other herbal remedies (feverfew, buttebur, hot/cold packs), but they're not getting the job done. My scalp is so sore from the muscle spasms that my hair hurts--probably just the hair follicles, but you get my drift. Nausea is often a problem, although I never vomit. Sometimes I wish I would vomit because then the nausea might go away. I'm not talented enough to gag myself into vomiting.

What's a frequent migraineur supposed to do about MOH? I feel so hopeless and helpless that I'm ready to cry, and we all know how much THAT will help my headache (NOT!). I average 13 migraines every month. My neuro and I are working on prevention, but so far have not found the magic pill combination.

Part of the problem is our lack of money. I have not worked since May 2006 because of migraine disesease, and my salary was the larger of the two (just me and hubby, thank goodness! I don't know how women with children ever cope). The hospital and connected doctors groups have been most generous with financial aid. But, not all doctors are connected to that group and the medical bills are pileing (piling?) up. I used to have such a strong, cognitive brain. Now I'm a useless piece of mush.

I've read Teri's excellent article on MOH. I know that ceasing the medication was the right thing to do...I just don't know how long I have to wait before resuming medication.

Answers (2)

Notify me when there are new answers

Teri Robert

9/19/09 1:54pm

Hi, MaryAnn!

Girl, you do love to ask the hard questions, don't you?

The Imitrex and naproxen are out of your system by now, but how long you need to stay away from them to avoid MOH varies from person to person.

One thing to discuss with your doctor is a plan to give you releif as many days as possible while looking for effective preventives -- without getting into MOH territory. At one point, my doctor had prescribed Imitrex that I could use two days a week and a pain medication that I could use two DIFFERENT days that week. That gave me a way to treat Migraines up to four days a week. That's how I survived until we found effective preventives.

You might also discuss with him taking Imitrex without the naproxen because taking them together sets you up for double rebound with the two meds being taken together.

Hope this helps!
Teri

MaryAnnH

9/19/09 4:57pm

Hi, Teri! Yes, I love a challenge, ha ha. :) I managed to hold off for 5 days before re-starting the Imitrex/naproxen. The reason for using Imitrex and naproxen was to try to mimmick Treximet (expensive new drug), which works pretty well and is a combination of those two drugs. However, Dr. Winegarner said that the Imitrex molecules in the Treximet are arranged in a slightly different way that could make them more effective and which explains why there are only 85mg of Imitrex in Treximet vs. the 100mg of Imitrex I take now.

I scraped enough money together to refill a prescription for Maxalt ($81.21 my co-pay). I won't be able to do that every time, but managed to do so this time. Maxalt works much better. I sleep longer, but it is a much more restful sleep and I don't wake up with headaches. Doctor Winegarner combines the Maxalt with naproxen, also. There is something about the combination of the triptans and naproxen that makes them work better together. And, when I'm using the Maxalt/Naproxen combination, my migraines are much less frequent, and again, my sleep pattern is much improved, not as many muscle spasms, etc. I should recommend Dr. Winegarner for our migraine expert list. He works in the Kansas City metro area (Overland Park), and he is a good man and a great doc. :)

Dr. Dana Winegarner, Mid-America Institute of NeuroScience, www.neurokc.com. 913-894-1500.

purplekris

9/16/09 10:44pm

I am new to this site and just learned what MOH is, and know that is what I have been doing. I just started chiropractor who said use ice if my neck or back got sore. I said no way that's the worst thing for me I use heat. He suggests Niacin Flush which is just a regular 100mg pill found at the grocery store. I am toughing it out with 2 treatments and a migraine in between. it's hard to relax for an adjustment when every place on your neck and head screams with a touch, like your 'hair follicle' pain. My daughter has the flu and it's all I could do to keep my own nauseau down while helping her. My sinus allergies trigger as well, so i try to at least just use antihistamine and maybe supplement with plain aspirin to stay off the nive tylenol sinus that takes me through the day until after the kids go to bed for me to take maxalt. Try the heating pad and ask your doctor about niacin, good luck.

MaryAnnH

9/16/09 11:55pm

Hey, PurpleKris...thanks for the heads up about niacin. I will mention it the next time I see my neurologist. He is a migraineur himself, so he understands the pain and frustration. The one thing he won't do is treat over the phone. He wants to see and study my logs, looking for clues on what to do next. Heat works wonders for my shoulders--usually. My normal habit has been heat to the top of the shoulders and cold to the forehead. It doesn't seem to work any more...or maybe it is all just part of the MOH thing. I almost caved tonight...but I didn't. Now if I can just get some restful sleep, I'll have made it one more day. Every day above ground is a good one, right? :)

Q: What's a frequent migraineur supposed to do about MOH?

Related Questions

Ask a Question