Migraines…preventatives and abortives

[katfco]

I've been on a preventative for years. For several years it was topirimate, but that started giving me some nerve issues, so now I'm on the monthly injection of Aimovig. Anyone who's concerned about the cost, ask your pharmacy if there's a drug discount. Our CVS got mine knocked from 50 to 10 a month.

I've also found that Excedrin migraine and caffeine can help with in progress migraines.

[gemini79]

I also wanted to add one thing--which is a plug for headache specialists/ migraine neurologists. I totally understand that there are often long waiting lists-I've also been on them.  It probably goes without saying but these types of doctors are often up to date on the most current research and understanding of migraine--and not just migraine but headache and pain management. 

When I got on vyepti--my migraine with aura and headache days stopped almost completely but all the sudden I just started getting a lot of auras--no headache. It completely freaked me out b/c I've never gotten that before and the only thing I could think of was "oh shit they are going to take me off vyepti!" 
I went into my doctor and they were like, "the strongest research says that aura is a separate phenomenon from the migraine and you can treat it separately." They also told me that triptans don't really do anything during the aura stage at all because it is a separate phase. THIS BLEW MY MIND, because it challenged everything I knew and also made me realize that I did not know everything lol...what a hard concept.   They had me try a drug that works specifically on aura--not the headache, and low and behold they got better almost right away. 

I'm pretty convinced that an ENT or my primary care doctor would NOT have been able to identify what was going on OR then that there was something very specific to deal with that issue. 

I've also realized that my migraine neurologist staff knows and can spend direct time working with insurance on specific medication requests. They get them all the time and know the codes exactly, know what it means if a "medication fails," they know what the notes on my chart mean and how to phrase a letter to get success. 

My husband also has migraine and he uses his primary care doctor. He also is at baseline sumatriptan (imitrex) for abortive only. I've noticed that while I'm on 100% a more complex care plan, everything I have works and I have like almost no side effects. Imitrex "works" for him but he has rebound headaches and the imitrex is like unfiltered gasoline--it blows through him and is ROUGH. He has nausea during the headache, it doesn't always work... He looks like shit, and feels like shit after migraines--the post drome can be hard.  I think he could try a different medicine but his doctor isn't really understanding or knowledgeable about all the options and my husband hates going there--so he muscles through with a lesser option and that's hard to see--because the doctor is the one who kind of opens that door to see what's out there. 

[doctoranda]

I take propanolol and sumatriptan. I always try a pain reliever before a triptan as the triptan takes a while for it to kick in in my body and I do experience all sorts of side effects. Overall it works good enough but hormones and stark air pressure changes cause headaches that are extremely hard to combat. So I have nothing to rave about unfortunately. I understand that it is a lot of trial and error.

[yourmother]

I've had headaches since the age of 16 and then added migraines to the mix when I was 29. After trying many different migraine medications, my doctor and I found that the only one that helps is Amerge. I think it's an older medication (naratriptan), but it's the only one that would even touch a migraine.

All that to say, I was hoarding/stockpiling the medication because insurance would only cover 9 pills a month and I could have a migraine that lasted for 4 days.

However, my life changed a year ago when I went to the hospital for high blood pressure. I had been in denial about my HBP for years and turns out that either taking care of the HBP or the two meds that are helping my HBP have completely eradicated my migraines AND headaches. It's been a game-changer and I don't ever want to change or go without these HBP meds.

[sonrisa]

Sept 13, 2024 5:58:07 GMT -5 felicity said:

I don't have the answers but I've been trying to get my headaches (and other aches and pains) addressed and it's so frustrating.

I went to see a neck Orthopedist the other day, and he gave me some muscle relaxers to help with my neck pains while I wait to get more imaging and treatment started, and it's helping with my chronic headaches/migraines. I think one of the triggers for me is tense neck and shoulders. I don't think it's the only answer for me and I think I have other triggers as well, but it helps with some of the headaches at least.

My main headaches these days are cervicogenic headaches. Pain concentrates behind my eye(s), and wraps around my head. It's accompanied by vision issues, extreme exhaustion and nausea. Until I knew what they were, I'd take pain killers and need to sleep/be unable to sleep for days on end. Now that I know what it is, I need to do stretches and massage the base of my skull/spine at the first sign of onset and sleep for a few hours. I'm rocky for the next 24-48 hours and still need to rest/stretch, but the pain never gets as bad and I can usually manage some activity between naps.