diagnosed with mav over 5 years ago, been having vertigo since 1998. have a lot of migraines that i think are food related ( smoked meats especially ) and alcohol, my neurologist has put me on almost everything to prevent migraines but i had bad reactions or they just did not work, stayed on propranolol for 2 years and still got migraines but i think it lessened the severity of the vertigo. insurance company raised my prop. to tier 3 so i quit taking it.
DOES anyone have suggestions of a migraine preventative that would work even if i eat or drink the wrong things ? OR, am i going to have to give up everything i like ?? thanks in advance.
forgot to mention that i do take clonazepam 0.5 mg every morning due to the fact that the vertigo has caused me to have anxiety / panic attacks every morning since i am scared to sit up in case all hell breaks loose.
Hi Paulj. Verapamil knocked my migraine headaches on the head but, and it is a BIG but, I did give up all known migraine trigger foods at the same time except for tea and a cup of coffee a day. I gave them up later when I was diagnosed with VM along with cheese, alcohol, msg, meat and fish as I can’t digest them and nuts with the exception of almonds which I am ok with. I know some people can eat and drink whatever they like once on meds but sadly I am not one of them.
On Ami @ 20mg I can eat and drink what I like. Not had a migraine since using it at this dose. Only annoying side effect like Nori is middling constipation. I hated propranolol btw. Best of luck in finding your perfect med.
I read a piece written by Dr Silver who wrote that the reason a lot of migraine preventative drugs do not work is because people don’t fully give up caffeine and over the counter pain killers.
Migraine is caused by loads of triggers, not just one so if you knock out a lot of the known triggers like caffeine etc they can stop. My sister switched to green tea caffeine free and hasn’t had a migraine since. I personally have given up all the things I’m told I shouldn’t be having.
Sure. I was lucky. I still can get ‘brain wobbles’ from caffeine and artificial light but it now never escalates to a full blown migraine. If I wasn’t on migraine meds I’d have to be FAR more careful.
when you say AMI is that amitriptaline ? i was on a light dose of that for anxiety and i did well except for two things, it interfered with my sex life and if i remember correctly it said to avoid direct sunlight, & i’m an outdoor person. but i would try that again, it also helped with a lot of my aches & pains. anyone else do well with it ?
Amitriptyline. No issues with sunlight though I live in London ;). Not heard of that being an issue.
Have noticed a minor dampening of libido mostly when I started taking it but tbh the symptoms it controls are a much bigger passion killer!! I’ve read that the SSRI’s (eg Celexa) have a much bigger impact here.
For that other board members would need to chime in or you’d need to talk to your neuro. Some combos are ok. You might find you only need one drug though, so might be worth trying in isolation just for that opportunity.
hi paulj I take nortriptyline which is amitriptylines cousin med,i did fantastic on this med 5yrs ago infact I was 99%well for 2 years I then cam off it and did well for a further 2yrs, im now into a four week relapse and im back on the nort im only up to 37.5mg at the min where before I was on 50mg so im aiming to get back up to 50mg,im hoping it works its magic soon im seeing little improvement at the min but I have faith (well sometimes ) I also take 100mg of propranolol and 2mg of diazepam,jeeze im a tough cookie haha!
mellybob, funny you mention nortriptyline, i was looking at my insurance drug book & amitrip is a tier 4 which would cost me $$$$ but the norti is a tier 1 which is free. i would be glad to hear from others who had experience with nortitriptyline… OH, and by the way, it looks like any alcohol with those is a no no, i would sure like to have a small glass of rum in the evenings. any thoughts on that ?
ohhhh loads of experience on drinking alcohol on nort and propranolol I drank two bottles of wine every sat night and one glass every night in the week
i wasn’t thinking that much, but maby one or two rum’s. and yes this wellcare insurance is raising the tier on a lot of stuff so they dont have to pay !
you will be fine to have the rum,get on the nort or ami you will be fine but please give it 3 months at a decent dose some people are lucky ie james who can see results at 10mg but the average dose is 30-50mg or maybe more and do it slowly!
you are right on the price, when i took it before it was $4 per month supply. dang insurance companys, but it sounds like norti may work out at no cost for me.
I’ve read that the SSRI’s (eg Celexa) have a much bigger impact here.
) I also take 100mg of propranolol and 2mg of diazepam,jeeze im a tough cookie haha!