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prophylactic migraine medication

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Emily1106
Emily1106

Hi,

I have suffered with migraines since I was about 13/14 - I am now 22. When not taking medication I suffer with at least 3 migraines a week.

I have so far been on four different types of medication:

Sumatriptan - which I still take now when I get a migraine, however, it is increasingly becoming less effective.

Amitriptyline - which decreased the occurrences of migraines by about 1 a week initially and then stopped working. It also made me incredibly tired throughout the day.

Propranolol - These worked great, but I suffered terribly with cold extremities (fingers, toes and nose) to the point where my fingers and toes would turn white.

Atenolol - These have worked really well now for around 5 months, but I am now finding my migraines are starting to slip back through the net, and in the past 2 -3 months I have suffered with horrific nightmares every night which are now leading to me (and my partner) losing sleep, they are also quite terrifying and are getting me down quite a lot.

I went to my GP today to discuss the nightmare situation as it is a side effect of the Atenolol, he went through some other beta-blockers with me, which he eventually decided not to prescribe as these are likely to give me side effects that will effect my vision (Glaucoma) , and the risk of this happening is increased due to the said side effect already occurring within my family, and due to the fact that I am under observation by my optician for it as there was a query regarding it last year. His next suggestion was Topiramate - an anticonvulsant (antiepilepsy) drug, however, he would like me to speak to a neurologist before proceeding with this, but this means waiting until I have moved house and changed Doctors to ensure continuity of care.

So in the meantime I was wondering what other peoples experiences with prophylactic medications were and if any one who has had a similar experience to me has any suggestions of medication that has worked for them?

0 likes, 3 replies

3 Replies

  • georgem
    georgem

    Posted

    Hi, just wondered if you have thought about migraine surgery ? My son had migraines since he was 12 and he is now 16 and had surgery recently,with great success.Of course,it does not suit everyone,but if you are curious about his experience,my blog is http://www.migrainerelief.org.uk/blog/

    Just another option for you to consider?

  • Tarun
    Tarun

    Posted

    Hi emmy

    Not a personal sufferer of migraines but just offering a professional opinion - topiramate would be a good choice if the neurologist agrees. It is a medicine which should be used with caution if someone has glaucoma, though I gather from your post you aren't diagnosed with it, but under observation ? The other alternative would be sodium valproate but we tend to avoid this where women would like to start a family. Good luck with the neurologist review and hopefully you find something which not only works but you tolerate as well !

    Tarun (hospital pharmacist)

  • LouF
    LouF

    Posted

    Emmy,

    Unfortunately I'm aware you posted here a few months ago but I do hope you see this. I suffer from "Atypical Migraine" (the best diagnosis a combination of doctors can come up with), which involve visual disturbances to my right side, mobility difficulties and twitching of my right side and absences like that of absence epilepsy and have tried numerous prophylactic migraine medications.

    I had exactly the same problem with Propanolol with my fingers and toes, and I have also tried Pitzotifen (excuse me if the spelling is not correct) which did not help at all. I am currently taking Topiramate (as of yesterday!) for the second time. Previously when on topiramate it reduced my symptoms dramatically, however I had to come off this medication because I was taking final A level exams and they were causing me to have terrible nightmares and subsequently making me lose sleep. After speaking to my GP and neurologist we decided Topiramate would be the best medication to try again as these side effects are known to reduce after a few months of taking them, and now is a better time in my life to be able to deal with them. Also as Topiramate is an anti-epileptic it would make sense that they work with my "non-epileptic epileptic" attacks.

    Basically what I'm trying to say is that the nightmares might not necessarily disappear on Topiramate but I have been told that they will cease eventually. I'm really happy to be back on Topiramate because of the results I got last time.

    Lou x

    (I'm sorry if I've confused the points about the medication with my migraine symptoms - the only way to describe them is highly unusual. I hope the overall message helps though.)

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