Update on pitzotifen

Hi Erik
This is one of my worst symptoms…its all day every day sometimes pain sometimes pulsating and throbbing…its terrible. Did your meds help you with this problem?
Jo x

Yes, when I got up to 360mg of Verapamil it was starting to get less and less. Many months of patience on Verapamil and it continues to go down (on average). I still have a little bit everyday now sometimes a lot depending on what I eat. Low tyramine diet helped me. Zero caffeine too…

Strangely enough any hot drink sets mine off…even decaf tea…
Jo x

i think even decaf has caffeine… maybe drink just water? i know, boring but… :woman_shrugging:t4:. My right ear is not good today, got my period and I can def feel migraine acting up (head pressure/ ear pain).

Hi

The Botox just sorts the headaches, eh. I wonder if it needs more time, or it’s because the levels in your body wax and wane between treatments. I don’t pretend to understand Botox at all but You’re right, you do need something else, med-wise, to help now, particularly as it’s gone on so long and so acutely, Hope it appears soon for you. Helen

Thanks Helen
Funny you should say about giving the Botox more time because last time i contacted my neuro when i was having a really bad week she asked me to ā€œpersevereā€ with it…and i trust her 100%. But im struggling Helen with daily life. The adjustments ive made particularly work amount into dozens…dont know what else to do now
Jo x

Thanks so much @dizzy3 I feel a bit more positive and I’m praying this is the med that’s gonna help me :blush::pray:t3: It’s good to know it took a while to kick in and calm everything down my bf thinks this symptoms will be the last to go as long as it goes il be happy . My rocking went down on dosulepin and ami it’s become more present since coming down on dosulepin so I’m hoping the pitz helps with this but it may mean at some point il have to add something in.

However the fact it can go up and down is promising it’s not too bad today and I’m due on so I expect it to become worse . If the Effexor is helping the rocking it will only continue to do so :slight_smile:

That’s good to hear @sputnik2 I do think our partners are better at judging this than us :slight_smile: my bf said I am much better so il take that as a good sign . It has been very up and down and yesterday I had an actual right sided headache so bizarre as I never get headaches but I’m hoping it means the pitz is doing something .

I am so sorry you’ve had this so long , I have had this for 17 years BUT I went 10 years symptoms free inbetween flare ups. I trust dr s and I know he will get us all on the right path .

He said to me 4/6 weeks at 1.5 to see big improvement seeing small improvement in 10 days. So I only hope this is a good sign :slight_smile: he said to me most people are 70% better with 9 months on the right meds .

Tbh as long as I’m improving and not going backwards il be happy :slight_smile: anyways keep me updated and I’ll kee my fingers crossed for both of us!

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Thanks @ander454 it’s such a hard thing to explain unless you’ve felt it . I can feel driving become a bit easier so I pray this is a good sign . Even being able to watch a film felt like the biggest achievement :slight_smile: I assume Winnie the Pooh was with your kids. ? :nerd_face:

I am happy to hear this eases and given ur time line it seems I’m on the right path . How r u doing these days has verapamil gotten you to 80-90%?

Well both seem like great meds jo def give it s fair shot I am so sure one will help you and get you back to being stable . Def keep us updated :slight_smile:
Xx

You tried the ā€˜daily walk’? Outside. Works wonders. Level, flat and even surface, hard for preference just don’t fall on it and to start off absolutely mininum stuff in peripheral vision, ie not along busy road, busy shopping precinct.

The Migraine Diet? And get that neuro to suggest a med, and, the most difficult of all, take a sabbatical. No point in meds and excessive triggers. What you need is some trigger avoidance. You and I seem very similar cases. I couldn’t hv done it keep looking at a screen. I went months, no screens. IMHO. Helen

We are very very similar Helen…i do take our dog out for a walk but not far…shes too old…and another thing i seem to have developed chronic fatigue…i went to sleep in the taxi home from work at 2pm…:roll_eyes:
Jo x

Well, don’t take pills for CF! I suspect your body just gets exhausted trying to keep you upright with wonky balance. Been there. Used to Sit in chair nearly all day then sleep 10 hours nearly like the dead. Once yr balance improves, energy will re-route. Walk dog good. That’s enough, so Diet? Meds? Helen

Never told to do a diet…just cut out caffeine myself…need a new med to go with the Botox…need NOT to work as long hours??? Do u agree with me?
Jo x

Hi

No, neither was I. (Mind you I could list all I’ve ever been told about MAV ~in half a sheet of A4, and still have space). In fact, I emailed the migraine specialist neurologist I saw specifically to ask about dropping caffeine and doing Migraine Diet, and she replied (which was quite astonishing in itself) there was no need to do either. However, I am not ā€˜recovered’, not to the point I want to be so seeking other non-medication interventions I thought again about this. Back to the drawingboard as they say. More research revealed I’d been doing Dr S’s 6 C’s more or less, for decades already by just limiting possible food triggers as they seemed to appear.

Well, Iā€˜ve been steady at home and in familiar settings, not 24/7 dizzy 95% of the time, more perhaps for months now but what about the rest? A week ago I ate a sandwich midday, and was as dizzy as a duck 40 minutes later, so now, I’m strictly on The Diet. Probably total coincidence but yesterday afternoon I walked out in bright sunshine and I was totally steady, even outside and with triggers! Best I’ve been since before chronic MAV kicked in - two months short of four years ago! Trust typing that, doesn’t jinx it! Might be tempted to write it up in new post.

Agreed.

No. The migraine neurologist told me to:- up the meds dose, walk outside daily, and avoid all triggers. Just like @Janb, you need to take time out. I’m sure mine would never have settled without trigger avoidance. Helen

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Like a few of our fellow sufferers on here i have almost 24/7 daily symptoms and cant even begin to pick out triggers…all i know is the ONLY trigger i dont have is lying down resting…so if i lie still for the rest of my life i will never be ill1šŸ˜€
Im still having good headache and neck pain free days…i csn go 10 days at a time without having to take rescue meds to thr Botox is helping…just need that xtra bit of help. I think reducing my hours may have to be next on my list
Jo x

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Go for it Jo! @Onandon03 is right. If work is a trigger you need to stop or cut down. I was so luck that Dr S told me to rest, do the diet, take the pills and avoid aerobic exercise as it gave me permission to look after myself and forget about work for 5 months. I think if I hadn’t been improving Dr S would have signed me off for longer. Jan

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That’s great Helen. Jan x

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Well ive already had ALOT of time off Jan 6 months plus dozens of early finishes and sent home unwell…ive used chunks of annual leavre and my flexi is maxed out!!! None of that time away from work has put me anywhere near 100%. Idealy i would like to be retired on ill health but its extremely hard to get that…plus im only 53 and still have commitments financialy. But i know health come 1st…always.
Jo x

I think what MAV needs is a consolidated chunk of ā€˜time out’, away from triggers. Once it’s got a grip a couple of weeks here and there is nothing. I don’t see why if Dr S can sign @Janb off for long enough for her to adapt to the drugs and for the drugs to really take effect and give her a baseline to work from why your hospital neurologist can’t follow suit. You are too young to go out on health grounds. You’d be bored to death in a while once recovered, You could so easily go back once you are better. It would be easy.
You need time out for the treatment to take effect. That wouldn’t be a problem if you were undergoing Chemo. Helen