Migrains & Rebound

I am new around here but hoping for some help from you fellow headache suffers. I have had Migraines off and on for years with the exception of when I was pregnant with my my son that have come back so bad. I have been self medicating with advil, tylenol, asprin, goodies, excedrin ect. for a long time for these headaches to only get minor relief which is turning into less and less. I finally broke down and went to the Neurologist on Tuesday and she told me I was in headache rebound as well as suffering from migraines. She told me to come off ALL meds I was taking and put me on 25 mg topamax, maxalt ONLY 1-2 times per week, a muscle relaxer and a nausea medication. She was very honest and told me that for 2 weeks nothing would work well & it would be miserable for me - and I am. I am waking with a dull headache that as the day goes on turns more throbbing and stabbing on one side, I feel sick to my stomach and do not feel like doing anything. I am not sure if I can take this non stop pain for 2 weeks. Has anyone else experienced this type of rebound and what did you do to ease the pain?

Thanks for any suggestions.  

Hi, I am for the upteenth time were you are right now.

It's miserable having to go off of everything for 2 weeks.

But I'm there again. Ive been taking midrin for 2 months straight. Also the doc gave me

Lortab for when my migraines are intolerable and can't sleep. That also is not working for

me anymore. I'm trying to get by until I can get back on my topamax when my insurance

kicks in so i can afford it , which will be December 1st. Topamax is the only thing ive

tried that helps. Also til I can see a neuroligist, because my doctor suspects a Chiari

malformation. So for now I can only take Soma, which only helps slightly. Needless to

say i'm not getting much sleep.

My thoughts are with you. You should see a change in your condition on the Topamax

within 2 to 3 months, yeah I know, a long wait but well worth it if you have the severe

migraines I have.

Hi headsore1,

My advice is to tell your neurologist exactly what you've been taking and what you've been experiencing and then try what he or she recommends. Your neurologist will know what the best medications are based on what you tell him or her and his or her experience.

You've heard the horror stories about Topamax (and I am one of them) so if s/he recommends Topamax ask about the side effects and the percentage of time they occur. It may be that you're hearing all of the horror stories here and not all of the success stories. I know that when I went back on Topamax and increased the dosage very slowly I didn't experience the problems I had the first time.

I have found that being open and discussing my concerns with the neurologist has been very effective. There are many medications that s/he can prescribe. Don't feel bad about taking too many pain killers and suffering rebound headaches. Many of us have been through that, it's very common among headache sufferers. It's not so much an addiction as a physical dependence. As my doctor says, you wouldn't take them if you didn't have a headache would you. It's not the same as taking medications to get high, which is an addiction. The funny thing is that at first the neurologist will try all of the non-narcotic medications and then (if s/he believes in prescribing narcotics) if the non-narcotic medications don't work the neurologist will try narcotics (strong pain killers).

Trust your neurologist. Ask lots of questions and be comfortable with what s/he prescribes. Taking too many painkillers isn't a weakness. It just demonstrates to your neurologist that you have severe migraines and need something to fix them.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

You're welcome. Weigh the side effects with the effects of the migraines on your life.

My life had come to a complete stop because my migraines were so debilitating and I was willing to try anything. I made the difficult decision to take narcotics earlier this year because I have been suffering from these severe chronic migraines for five years and we couldn't find anything else that worked. I went through a lot of soul searching before I went ahead with this decision. I was afraid of the stigma, side effects and being addicted. Now I'm glad I did it. I'm starting to get my life back. I'm having more days in a week without a migraine and I have more energy than I have had in a long time. I'm not addicted, I'm not getting high, and I'm not worried about the stigma.

Good luck.