thanks Kelley and yeah you’re right i get headaches but m ore like allergy/tension - i don’t recall ever getting a migraine headache just a lot of the other symptoms so that’s why he prescribed that but could always try it if the celexa doesn’t take away my constant dizziness and all that - like you said menopause is lack of serotonin too.
man aging stinks!!!
chris
Chris - Menopause actually is much more aggravated by the enormous drop in progesterone levels in addition to dipping testosterone and estrogen counts. Progesterone starts dropping in our thirties much before the estrogen, thus more women experience estrogen dominance which causes problems way before actual menopause. However, when a person experiences prolonged anxiety whether it’s hormonally related or not, you can deplete your serotonin levels over time and voila!! You have a bit of a problem, no?? So, what EVERYONE here on the forum is trying to tell you is: TAKE THE CELEXA before you drive yourself insane. You’ll be glad you tried something and if it works… well, then you’ll be glad you did. If not, then on to the Cymbalta. It really IS just that simple!!! Get going!!!
Gail
— Begin quote from ____
low serotonin in your case most likely…so MAV, meno, or anxiety…=low sero… the odds are in your favor…don’t worry!!
— End quote
Kelley – I was thinking about this driving to work today. We’ve been discussing how there appears to be a lack of serotonin or dopamine or we need more GABA etc. I’m thinking that a migraine brain may be a lot like an “over-clocked” CPU in a computer. Geeks do this to their computers to get more grunt out of them in terms of speed. To do it requires increasing the voltage etc in the chip. But the consequence of doing so causes the CPU to become very unstable unless modifications are made – the main one being a better cooling system, sometimes requiring a water cooled system on the motherboard for the super geeks.
So what I’m getting at is that there may never have been an “imbalance” in the first place; rather, our brains are running too hot and are too sensitive because of the expression of migraine genes (the expression of which was kicked off by some sort of big bang – possibly a virus, age, stress, etc). And so we need more coolant in this new state of being which might be the need for more serotonin hanging around the synapses for example which we get from an SSRI. More sero brings about more stability in the new brain state.
What I would like to find is a drug that kills migraine activity in my brain – an anticonvulsant I can handle – and watch to see if I then no longer need the extra serotonin (coolant) and could thus dump the SSRI.
Scott
Exactly, Scott. That may be why topamax is working for me at only 60mg. I feel more perky, happy, less moody, etc. than I ever did on an antidepressant (and I’ve tried quite a few). Topamax got in trouble for trying to market the product for bi-polar conditions some years back, but seriously I think I am a bit “cooled down” and this stuff is just plain working for me… I remember what I nightmare you said it was for you. Have you tried any of the other anti-seizures medications??? There’s quite a few.
Gail
Hi Gail,
I think your suggestion is a good one. I have been very reluctant to try any other anti-convulsant because, to be honest, they scared the shit out of me with the sort of acute depression I experienced. Topamax was just off the charts with one solid day of horror and Lyrica also caused a very, very depressed day but nowhere near what happened on Topa. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean the others will cause the same side effect. Not all SSRIs are alike in this way and so maybe this applies to the anti-convulsants too.
It would be marvelous to have something else nipping this in the bud rather than taking an SSRI which feels more like a band-aid approach to me. It seems the ACs actually prevent the “over-clocking” of the brain in the first place and so there’s no need for more sero or dopa to cool things down. Not sure if this logic is sound. Increased serotonin might itself also prevent the brain from revving up.
Scott
Hi Scott
One thing is for sure, low serotonin levels can really mess a person up… anxiety and dysthymia all the way to severe depression. So, it can be calming. I was thinking that maybe you could tolerate low dose neurontin better than lyrica or topamax. I’m sensitive as well, but took Lyrica 3 years ago and was sedated back into the dark ages at the smallest dose made. Don’t remember what happened when I took neurontin. Ofcourse, there’s always depakote and gabitril (can’t remember the brand name - that one is often tolerated when some of the others aren’t). Seems that there’s just gotta be something out there or a combination of things that can calm the beast. Having said that, last night I took a few flakes of lorazepam to take the edge off in the evening after trying to get too much done. You were so right about the benzos being so helpful in a pinch.
Gail
Gail – another attractive option is Lamictal.
Check this out if you haven’t seen it already:
http://migrainiouslyyours.blogspot.com/2006/09/lamictal-lamictal-lamictal.html
It’s used a as mood stabiliser (my moods are definitely whacked) and calms the brain.
An interesting comment here:
— Begin quote from ____
I just saw a headache specialist in Plano, TX, Dr. Sorin at the North Texas institute of Neurology and Headache. He was wonderful, he started me in Lamictal and swears by it. He told me that he could make a career of just taking people off of Topamax, which made me stupid and too skinny.
— End quote
I keep reading about more people trying Lamictal. I have clients who use it as an adjunct mood stabilizer and do beautifully on it. That’s worth a try, and I’ll keep that one in mind should the Topamax become a bit much. Let us know if you give it a whirl, Scott. I think mood instability kinda goes with the territory with this junk. It’s really hard to modulate your mood when your brain goes absolutely bonkers, goes spastic with food/light/noise/smell triggers, etc. I often forget what it was like to be a “normal”… LOL
Gail
Gail,
Sorry if I’m the only one who doesn’t know this, but you say you have “clients” on Lamictal? Are you a doctor? Just curious…also, when it comes to TOpamax…did you have any problems acclimating to it? What was your titration schedule?
Scott, the whole computer geek stuff was lost on me… I Guess I"m too cool…hahahhah NOT!!! :lol: Yes, calming the brain could be in the electricity, so no SSRI is going to really help totally. Are you going to see the Migraine specialist in Bondi?
Lamictal prob in my near future…still can’t believe I"m missing you in Sydney!! Darn it!!
Kelley
Hi Kelley
I am a marriage and family therapist, and most of my clients are medications of all sorts. It’s fascinating what kinds and combinations help people for different conditions. Re: topamax - I started on topamax just almost one month ago at 15mg (lowest dose sprinkle cap made) once per day @ night. Then it was increased to twice per day, then raised to 30mg. once per day and so forth until I reached 30mg twice per day. I sometimes have to throw in some cyclizine for dizziness or Advil for severe neck ache. But, so far by really monitoring my foods, stress, etc. this is the best I’ve been in 3 1/2 years.
Gail
Kelley - sorry, forgot to answer your question about acclimating to topamax… at first I was sedated and a bit fuzzed out by it… helped me sleep at night. Then I noticed that it just sort of lowered the “buzz” and frequency of my brain I guess. It gives me energy in the morning which is what the doctor had predicted but I did not expect at all given how it affected me at night. I never got the tingly numbness. Maybe a bit odd taste in my mouth, and it does cool me down some. At night I feel ramped down which I what I really need so it works with my natural body clock. And, these days I just feel so much more normal than I have in so long which is what I was hoping for. Hope that helps.
Gail
Gail,
Thanks for the info. My best friend a MFT as well, and we talk meds sometimes as loads of hers are on meds too. Where do you live?
Sounds like you got lucky in that this is the first drug that you’ve tried and you are getting success. I really believe most people, once they’ve gotten a good diagnosis, get better relatively quickly. It’s the “problem children” that
find themselves on the web looking for answers. This site has been a Godsend for me…I can’t imagine how alone I would feel without my mvertigo peeps.
Kelley
Correction - my clients are ON medications of all sorts… not medications are my clients… LOL. Geez, you have to admit we talk about meds so much on this forum, a person could begin to wonder! OK, it was a busy day. I really should pack it in…
Gail
Hi Kelley
I live in California. I really believe that I’ve actually been trying all sorts of things all along by being misdiagnosed for three long years. I’ve seen 10 doctors and had 7 diagnoses only to end up with migraine variant. I’ve been on muscle relaxants, lyrica, neurontin, cymbalta, celexa, lexapro, etc. etc. etc. all for the fibromyalgia/chronic fatigue stuff. I’ve had a few things take the edge off but nothing just nip this like the topamax does. It just squashes it for me. Kinda like Scott’s computer analogy - like powering down. I totally buy the overactivated brain theory and love love love David Buchholz’s book. I think that my year around allergies compound it all a lot as well - I’m really allergic to molds and a number of outside plant junk so the antihistamines really help me. I’ll probably have to start allergy shots next year because this Fall was a total meltdown for me. However, I’m on the upswing now and so happy. How are you doing and what are you taking??? looking for a new medication?
Gail
I think you are in Australia, right??
Gail
just blame it on the Topamax!
Kelley
Kelley
Good idea… I believe that I will !! The nicknames are for good reason ie Dopamax, Stupamax, and Topamax Tongue.
Gail : )
wow interesting at least i know there are other drugs out there in case ADs don’t work for me. Topamax works for you Gail - that’s great. Only side effect sleepiness, grogginess???
this forum is great - can learn a lot from it.
thanks all
chris
Hi Chris
Actually, the side effects for topamax are a bit different for everyone though there are some ‘typical’ ones that you read about. Most of the ones that I experienced a month ago are gone. So, you really need to keep that in mind about using medications - many side effects can be transitory because the body needs to adjust the the meds. And, then some side effects are just worth trading off for the huge improvements in your life as is the case for many AD’s and anti-seizure meds as well. And, Chris there has been mention in the forum lately of Lamictil as well so there’s quite the vast array to try. Be not so afraid.
Gail
Gail,
Im in Las Vegas, but I travel to CAlifornia all the time…we have a condo there…my daughter is in College at Chapman.
So you tried all those other meds to no avail? Ive tried a lot of them on that list. May I ask how old you are? It seems a lot of ladies start getting this junk around their early 40’s…which I did. I’m now 44 and going into year 2 of this.
I think I read someplace that you consider yourself quite med sensitive, so it’s good for people to see that Topamax, which generally produces some unwelcome side effects, really can work…and fairly easily. I think it really has to do with
finding the right fit. We all are on here comparing med stories, but the irony is, one person’s perfect med, is another one’s nightmare. So all the comparisons are really for nothing at the end of the day. I’m the biggest culprit, as I’m always
researching these meds.
Where in Cali are you? My MFT friend practices out of Corona del Mar.
Kelley
Hi Kelley
I’m in Northern California in the East Bay. I’m in my 50’s. I actually started getting ill around 3 1/2 years ago but the dizziness didn’t hit until 3 years ago. In the early days I had chronic pain, achiness, brain fog, terrible fatigue, and eventually the dizziness got worse along with the severe neck pain. After working very hard on my immune system I was able to get rid of the pain, achiness, and most of the brain fog. But it would flare along with the fatigue when the dizziness would worsen, and ofcourse the neck pain has stayed. It wasn’t until a month ago I got my diagnosis from a neurologist. The other medications I’ve taken never took away the dizziness for more than a few hours and/or the side effects were prohibitive.
I think that because I am so sensitive to meds that may be the reason that 60 mg. of topamax is doing the job…??? Not sure. I am just as shocked as anyone that I can actually take the stuff. However, my daughter is on the same med, so I was optimistic that I may be able to tolerate it. Oddly, because my brain has been so ramped up, I’ve had sleep issues for almost 4 years… now I think I see the clear correlation. Even though I previously thought I was a chronic fatigue patient (and that is a very complex condition) migraines perhaps even more complicated conditions indeed.
Gail