Argh these migraines - has anyone tried a prophylactic ?

[gbaj]

I’m really suffering. I’m having a couple a month and they last between 3 to 7 days. It’s ridiculous.

I’ve had one on and off now since Monday.

the doctor wants to prescribe a daily medication for it. Has anyone tried one? Any experience if it actually helps ?

I’ve always had migraines but it’s ramped up during the last year.

I take Triptans, Ibuprofen, cocodamol for it. But it’s just no life.

posting shamelessly for traffic !

Could some sort of deficiency cause this ? I also have MS btw.

I take propanolol as a preventative and whilst it’s not stopped them completely it’s definitely reduced the frequency and severity.

Candesartan for me is a game changer. It took a while to build up but it's reduced mine to a the occasional random migraine as opposed to being wiped out on a weekly basis.

They could be hormonal headaches, I would ask your doctor to test for hormone deficiencies. This is the route I'm currently going down at the moment. Hope you get some answers soon 🙏

Same for me - it dialled mine right back. No more vomiting and a triptan if taken quickly enough will see off a migraine and mean I can go to work etc. It’s years since I’ve had one that’s so bad that I can’t get out of bed .

I take Nortriptyline. People are usually prescribed amitriptyline but Nortriptyline is supposed to have fewer side effects. I'm up to 40mg daily and it definitely lessens severity significantly. I had low level symptoms yesterday but didn't need to take any medication to treat (had upset stomach and all the carb and sweet cravings but no headache and less fatigued).

Just like other people my GP suggested Propranolol daily which I wasn't happy about, but decided to try 20 years ago and I haven't looked back! Started on 20mg daily and now take 80mg slow-release as one tablet a day.
Occasionally I will get the threat of a migraine rumbling away in the background and can take a sumatriptan and head it off at the pass...by which I mean, I can function and actually go to work.

I really want to ask my GP for Topiramate for this but will probably get fobbed off with Propranolol.

I'm on Ajovy but getting 17 migraine days a month. Failed on the usual preventatives. Hoping to try Botox next, depending on what the neurologist says. Feel like im running out of options.

I also take propranolol and it has definitely helped with frequency though I still get them and have had an uptick recently. I’m reducing my hrt so don’t know if that’s affecting it. If things don’t stabilise I will be looking to review with my gp. Migraines are awful, really debilitating.

Sorted mine out. They were weekly. I took a blood pressure related med- though my blood pressure is low- for a year and it sorted it. I get them occasionally but not even once a year,

This sounds exhausting. Migraines for days at a time is just relentless. Before committing to daily medication have you explored any drug-free options? I've been looking into cold therapy recently and it seems to work really well for a lot of people as a complement to whatever else they're doing. Curious what your GP said about non-medication routes?

Propranolol here too, stopped them entirely

Sgss sws

I take Amitriptyline for mine, just 10mg which has massively reduced frequency and severity. I can’t take propanol as it lowers blood pressure and mine is already too low.

speak to your gp and get the ball rolling as it may be you have to try several different things before you get one that works

For the migraines specifically — I found cold therapy made a huge difference. There's actually a gel cap you freeze and wear when it hits. Drug free and works in minutes. Happy to share more if anyone's interested?

You're not getting "fobbed off" it's a perfectly reasonable suggestion and part of the nice guidelines.
Topiramate is good too but has a lot of side effects and many patients don't tolerate it.

Chronic migraine sufferer for the majority of my life.

I have tried every preventative. First propanalol, little relief for me. Topimarate but the side effects were too much. Botox. You name it.

I was getting upto 3 a week at one point and living on triptans. It was no life. My GP referred to Neurology in the end, Ive now been prescribed rimegepant.

I still get migraines but far, far fewer and I can manage them. Its changed everything for me.

Be careful using opiates for migraine, they can cause rebound or overuse headaches super easily.

Throw away the ibuprofen and co-codamol. Analgesic overusage actually causes headaches. The new cgrp drugs seem good but are very expensive. The prophylactic medicines often work so worth a try. There are several to try.