I have been having migraines on avaerage 3-4 times a week for the past 25 years. I have been on two different antidepressants, Inderol, Verapamil, Topamax, and Depakote. All seem to work well initially, but I just must get used to them. I use Zomig, which works great, but my insurance only allows for a couple a month. My doctor now tells me he is at a loss, and can't do anything else for me. Are there any other suggestions of medications out there? I have had a run of headaches for two weeks straight. Is there anything else I can concider?
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Q: Multiple Migraine
Answers (1)
11/17/09 2:33pm
Hi YamahaRN,
First, how about see a Migraine specialist? A "true" expert who devotes their entire practice to treating Migraines and headache disorders. While neurologists may be fine doctors, they treat so many different conditions like MS, epilepsy and stroke, it is hard for them to be experts in any one area. Migraine specialists are just that, experts who treat patients with one disease- ours - Migraines and headache disorders. Continue reading more about Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special? and then take a minute to look for one on our Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists list.
There are many other medications to take other than the ones you've mentioned, so don't lose hope! In fact, there are over 100 medications that can be used for Migraine prevention. You'll see what I mean in this article: Migraine Preventive Medications - Too Many Options To Give Up!
Speaking of preventive medications current thinking is three or more Migraine a MONTH and it is time for prevention, let alone three to four a week you poor thing. 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.
If you're taking Migraine abortive meds such as triptans or any kind of pain med more than two days a week, a big part of your problem may well be medication overuse headache (MOH), aka rebound. See Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires for more information on this. If you're in an MOH situation, nothing you take is going work, neither prescription nor "natural" medications nor over-the-counter. If that's the case, you need to work with your doctor to stop the medications causing the problem.
I hope this information helps,
Nancy
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