I am just coming off of Amitriptyline 50mg which I have been taking for 5 years nightly for hormonal migraine. I have a prescription for 300mg of Gabapentin and wondered what experience others have had with Gabapentin. Did it help? Have you put on weight with it? Does it make you fatigued or drowsy? would love to hear your experiences.
View 11 RepliesI am 20 years old and have suffered with migraines for a few years! I had my worst one a few months back which resulted in me being physically sick a number of times! Anyway I went to my GP as I was worried because my Mum suffered with migraines and she died from a massive stroke when she was only 33, so I was worried, as was my Doctor! So she referred me to a neurologist at Guys Hospital in London and he doesn't seem to think it is related what happened to my Mother but he wants me to have an MRI just to see if anything shows up! Anyway he has put me on Gabapentin as I am diabetic and he didn't know what else to put me on! ...3 a day for a week and then 6 a day for a week and then 9 a day for 6 months! I took my first lot on Saturday and it gave me such a terrible migraine similar to the one I had a few months when I was sick but this time I wasn't physically sick....luckily! I seem to be okay now though!
Anyway, is anyone else taking this?
I have been taking gabapentin 900 mg a day for about a year. The Doctors decided to increase it to 3600 mg daily... Oh my! I have the worst migraines with this high dose!
View 2 RepliesMy wife has had migraines every day since January 2014. The last 9 months have been very difficult. We have tried many types of medication/treatments.
Currently she is trying Gabapentin (600mg per day).
Does anybody know how long it can take for Gabapentin to have an effect?
Is it possible for Gabapentin to make migraines worse?
My husband has been suffering with unbearable headaches for 15 years. Over the last few months they have become so much worse to the point that he is in a ball, crying in pain, he can't see, can't walk, he was ranting during one attack that he was going to take all of the tablets he could find. He has no memory of saying these things when the headache has eased. He tells me the headache is there constantly but gets worse really quickly. He usually wakes up with the headache although they sometimes come on during the day. They are usually at the sides of his head above his eyes but swaps sides and sometimes goes down his neck. He gets them everyday for a week then has a few days to a week then they start again. He has had a number of GPs all of which have said he doesn't need to be referred to a specialist it is migraines as if it was anything 'serious' we'd have known by now ie nOt a brain tumour. He has had many preventative medicines but none have helped. His latest GP has prescribed gabapentin which was prior to his last and worst attack so far. When we explained what happened she merely raised the dosage and gave imigran for pain relief. I just wondered if anyone has been prescribed gabapentin long term for migraines and if there are any long term side effects as I've heard there are a number namely vitamin B 12 deficiency, pulmonary problems, long and short term memory loss.
View 29 RepliesI have suffered from migraines since I was 9. These are the drugs I have tried:
-Metoprolol which did nothing just lowered my already low blood pressure
-Topamax, it worked amazingly until my hair started falling out
-Amitriptyline which worked but all I wanted to do was sleep and eat
-Nortriptyline which gave me a headache
-Wellbutrin, worked until I had a Steven-Johnson reaction and am still waiting 4 weeks later for my taste buds to grow back.
-Botox, total waste of my $280, except that I had couldn't move my forehead muscles, lol.
Then my doc wanted me to try depakote, which I drew the line at! All of these toxic medications and I was back at square 1. My hubby did research and out of 300 reviews of BUTTERBUR (all natural), they were almost all positive. It did say might take a month to work also. I was having migraines daily. The first day I took it, no migraine. I was shocked and relieved. I am now on day 8 and yesterday I had the teensiest migraine ever so I also took a feverfew, which according to Dr Oz and internet research, helps with migraines. It went away. I hope this is the solution. So tired of medications with horrible side effects. Butterbur is also used as an antispasmodic/muscle relaxer and I have noticed since taking it i have had no back pain, and I sleep so sound at night (used to wake up 4-5 times a night).
I had to wean off Lexapro due to severe side effects and it made my anxiety and fear so bad I couldn't go to the store. I was on a few other SSRI's with no luck. I was on Zoloft for 12 years and it was my life saver. It eventually stopped working 2 years ago. So my Dr put me on Xanax .5 mg 3 times a day and 1 mg before bed. My sleep was still pretty bad 4-5 hours a night so he put me on gabapentin only at night. Then he decided to try it during the day, 100 mg in the am and afternoon. I have to stagger the Xanax or I'm just a zombie ( yet I still can't nap during the day) well now I'm getting terrible depression and break through anxiety even with the Xanax. It seemed to work maybe for a week but now not so much. I can't imagine after only two weeks my body would be used to the Xanax already. He said he would eventually start to wean me off the Xanax and totally on the gabapentin. But the terrible depression is making my anxiety worse. Anyone else have these kind of issues with this med?
View 1 RepliesI have been on gabapentin for about 5 years. I have suffered from trigeminal neuropathic pain since a botched dental operation in 2003 and have tried a range of different medication that made me feel either spaced out, dizzy and sick or made no difference what so ever. Finally the pain clinic at Pontefract Hospital prescribed a combination of Gabapentin, citalopram and pain relief, zomorph. I can honestly say that it has saved my life. The pain had been so unbearable that I just couldn't see an end to it.
I take from 600g up to 2400g per day when the pain is at its worst. My memory has been affected but is nowhere near as bad as when on other similar medication. I do think it's like anything else in that people react to it in different ways and if it doesn't suit change it. During the summer, the pain recedes and I have gone on for days without any gabapentin and have suffered no withdrawal effects at all. Although I am not pain free, and I know that is never going to happen, the gabapentin makes it bearable.
Has anyone of you used this drug for symptoms of fibro? If so did it help? I read weight gain can be a side effect.
View 2 RepliesI never suffered from migraine attacks until I was in my mid-40's.
They seemed to be linked to the beginning of hormonal changes related to the start of menopause. I would get a pain over my left eye (usually, though right occasionally), with a feeling of nausea and sometimes slight numb feeling on the side of my face. I would turn quite a pale white colour, and also feel very tired, yawning a lot. I would take medication, migraleve tablets and lay down in a darkened room. Usually, I would recover within 24 hours, though I would feel 'worn out' for a few days after the attack.
Since I have discovered by self analysis, that citrus fruits, especially orange juice (which I no longer drink), chocolate and strong coffee all seem to be triggers, which I try to avoid.
For the last five years, I have been clear of migraines, but have now started to get them again. I have passed the menopause but have had a lot of stress in my life recently, so I wonder if this is the cause of the recurrence? My last attack was quite different from the others I have experienced, in that I was feeling fine (though had been really tired the day before for no apparent reason) when I suddenly developed black zigzag lines across my left eye (very frightening at first). These went on for about 10 minutes and then slowly I developed a severe migraine, though this was not over one particular eye, but both. I had feelings of nausea and also felt cold at times. I took Migraleve pink and yellow but the headache is still persisting the next day. I wonder why I developed these other symptoms of visual disturbance. Can stress really do this to your body?!
PS I know there is a family history of migraine.
I had classic migraines through my teenage years which stopped for a couple of years before continuing at on average one every couple of months with the odd instance of a back to back cluster of 3-10 at once. They were always the same 20 minute aura then axe in the head pain and repeated vomiting for 6 hours followed by a 24hr hangover. Over the years I have tried all preventers with only Epilim and Topiramate working for 18 months. I built up tolerance to Epilim and Topiramate gave me side effects that ended in a blood disorder so cannot take either any more. Beta blockers and antidepressants never worked and Lisinopril was also a short lived waste of time. The only triptan that ever worked was Maxalt rizatriptan but again it lost its effect after 6 months. Something weird has now happened and I wonder if others have had this? I am now 36 and in the last 6 months my migraines have totally changed. I still get the aura but if I take Express Nurofen and an anti sickness tablet straight away or use a heat pack on the back of the neck no pain or sickness comes just 6 hours of extreme tiredness. I always used to throw up any tablets so this is a miracle however the frequency has stepped up to between 5 and 20 a month so it is really impacting on my life. I have had an MRI and all is normal. I have also tried supplements and alternative therapies with no success. Botox and nerve blockers are the next suggestion but will they treat this scenario if there is no pain? Will it stop the aura too and prevent the whole episode? Help!
View 13 RepliesBeen suffering from migraine since I was 18. I am now 41. My migraines are changing and at the mo the pain is coming from my neck and back pain. I have had this horrible migraine for more than a week now. Pain in the neck, back of my head and side of my head. I feel sick and dizzy. I have been signed off from work, but need to get better as I can't afford to be off work. I am at the end of my tether. I feel so down and to top it all I came on my period today and am in pain with that. I don't know what to do anymore.
View 1 RepliesAs of late I have been suffering with a multitude of symptoms, starting about 4 months ago with stiff neck. From there it progressed to chronic "brain fog" (or feeling like I had one too many beers) sinus pressure, now a 4 day "head ache" on my left temple, behind and above left eye and left side of neck. The pressure is insane, I went to the doctor about it yesterday and she told me to just take an antihistamine and get massage. I have seen a neurologist for the brain fog and have an MRI schedule but not until September. I am due to go away in a week to work at a camp for 3 weeks and wondering if this pressure persists if I should go to the ER before I go away to get checked. My name sister died from a brain aneurysm and so I am nervous I have one! Any info or advice would be helpful. Oh I also have had stomach pains like dull ache, my eyes are also sore but I got t eyes tested and they are fine a little dry that's all.
I should also mention I just had a baby 6 months ago.
Is anyone else getting headaches like constantly? I literally get headaches every day sometimes more than once. Some times like a migraine, sometimes just like a little pinch in my head, I don't know what to do.
View 5 RepliesI suffer from headaches quite frequently. I also get episodes of a numb feeling down my right side. The headache is not always there.
My GP and a neurologist think it's migraine. I take propranolol and it doesn't stop it.
Could it be migraine?
I'll start at the beginning last December I woke to go to the toilet and the next thing I new was my husband asking me if I was ok ( I had fainted) . Passed no remarks thought I had stood up to quickly, went to work the next day and felt lightheaded and even though my colleagues were talking to me I couldn't process what the were saying. I went to the doctor and explained what happened and she said it was vertigo. At this stage it was xmas week and I started taking serc but the didn't seem to be working. Went back to work in the new year and after 1 hour I was totally disoriented so I went back to the doctor and she sent me to a neurologists who said I had migraine. He prescribed me with amitriptyline starting at 10mg and I have slowly worked up to 40 mg but still not feeling right in the last few months I have facial numbness. My neuro is sending me to see a a neurophysiologist but my appointment isn't until February of next year and that's going private.
symptoms:-
Lightheaded /dizzy
Stiff neck
Blurred vision
Extremely tired
Stiff ankles and hip joints in the morning
Facial numbness
Pain in my head sometimes like ice cream headache but only a few times a day. Have had mri which was clear and all my bloods are normal
A week ago I went to the restroom and was in the process of a BM and got the worst headache starting from my neck to the top of my head. I went straight to ER and cat scan was performed and showed nothing. 3 days later I was having stomach pain went to the restroom didn't make it to have the BM and got the same headache went straight to ER given meds and home. Yesterday morning stomach started hurting went to restroom sat down to have BM and same headache went straight back to ER this time they gave another cat scan and it came back normal and they decided to do a spinal tap all four samples had blood which isn't supposed to. They shipped me to a bigger hospital for a different cat scan nothing showed up some an mri nothing showed up. They discharged me. I am now to the point where I an afraid to have a BM. The doctors never looked at my rectum or my stomach. Please someone tell me I'm not alone and what I can do to prevent these headaches from coming back. I can't hold these bm forever.
View 2 RepliesI'm in my early 20s. I get severe headaches and the pain goes down my back and down my right arm. I don't lift anything heavy and the pain does not go away with over the counter medicine. I do get migraines every so often. The pain is much worse then a migraine. After about a month it tends to go away somewhat at least.
View 1 RepliesI'm 36 weeks now ,at the first trimester of my pregnancy i had severe migraine then it's disappear at 5 months but now it's come back.
View 5 RepliesM.29. Good health and have been getting serious headaches while masterbating. This has happened before and but never on this magnitude. I was in the shower mas. And as I became closer and closer to ejactulating this headache appeared and became so strong I could not continue mast. I have never had a migraine before but this headache hurt so bad I couldn't move. I had to call for help to my wife in the other room. Long story short. Aspirin ib or whatever was in the house I took. Hot caffeinated tea. Coffee works too. Quite dark room. Focus on relaxing and breathing. Lay down and put ice pack where on your head. Feels like u wanna get up and rip ur head off but don't do it.
View 1 RepliesI am someone who suffers from tension headache as well as occasional migraine and I have found that any antihistamine with a combination of paracetamol induces sleep and controls pain.
Medications that control pain the best are:
Codeine 30mg (prescription only)
Solpadeine Max - contains paracetamol
Nurofen Plus - contains ibuprofen
Syndol - contains paracetamol
Those medications that cause sedation but don't necessarily control pain as well are:
Covonia 'Night time' cough mixture - contains diphenhydramine
Allergy relief (Chlorpheniramine Maleate)
The medicine that works best in my experience is Syndol, although it has less codeine than Solpadeine Max it is effective and non addictive.