General discussion - Anti Depressants (TCAs)

For example; Amitriptyline, Dosulepin or Nortriptyline are often prescribed in low doses as a prevention of migraine, being given these does not mean you are depressed! In the same way as being given Epilim does not mean you have epilepsy!

Serotonin (5-HT) is a chemical occurring in the body, which is thought to play a key role in migraine. TCAs are thought to, block the re-uptake of 5-HT and may block 5-HT2 receptors.


Have you tried any of these? How did you find them?

I was given Amitriptyline in the early stages of my treatment plan and found that I was very sensitive to it. At the time I was still fighting the effects of a minor stroke and could not sleep very well - I would wake all the time - I found that Amitriptyline helped brilliantly at keeping me asleep, but it did nothing for my migraines.

Tee wrote:I was given Amitriptyline in the early stages of my treatment plan and found that I was very sensitive to it. At the time I was still fighting the effects of a minor stroke and could not sleep very well - I would wake all the time - I found that Amitriptyline helped brilliantly at keeping me asleep, but it did nothing for my migraines.

My Mum has migs (although not a chronic sufferer) and she has started amitrip..she's having an excellent response to it so far.

I took it for a long time without much luck but it did help me sleep. I have also had a little help for about a year with Mirtazapine. I did reduce the pain levels and help me sleep and I know of one other person who it is helping. Sadly I am no longer getting the same level of success with it..my brain seems to be able to 'over ride' most drugs once it's got used to them. Or it could be the placebo effect I guess. It too helps even the most hardened insomniac like me sleep so serves a very useful purpose.

Jane
x

I was given Amitriptyline as one of my first preventative drugs, it turned me into a total zombie and so trying to study at school was horrendous. So I was taken off it.

However, I have been taking it again for the past 3 years but solely to aid sleep, although Dr S did increase the dose as high as 90mg with the aim of taking it higher to see if it was beneficial migraine wise but I couldn't tolerate it. Dr S started me on it due to my pain keeping me awake at night, however, I do find that over time it's effectiveness wears off so need to increase the dose. Although due to side-effects I can't increase the dose and have to reduce it. I am currently taking 45mg but Dr S has added Melatonin to help aid my sleep again.

Michala
x

just seen that mirtazapine can help i take this anyway as well as escitalopram (for depression) and propananol now for migraine surely something should be preventing it! oh well perhaps it will help in time x

Give it time sweetie - I will be honest with you - finding a drug that works takes time - its one of the most frustrating things, but preventatives take time to build up in the system. There are lot of drugs and treatments you can try - push for that consultants appointment - I assume its a headache specialist you are seeing? Are you keeping a migraine diary?

I was put on amiltryptiline in 2007/8 after my diagnosis of FHM and it seemed to be very good at curing the aura and held the migraines off really well until 2010, I could still feel when I should have been having one (if that makes sense) but it prevented it going full blown. It also cured my irritable bowel and burning patches of skin. However it does seem to have stopped working as the migraines are becoming more and more frequent and severe. I have been referred to migraine clinic in bath - has any one been there? are they any good? My GP is fab, but doesn't know enough about the condition to help x

In the early days when I was self refering myself I spoke to bath and they were really helpful and because they felt I was such an "Odd Case" they told me to contact UCHL which I did, but I had the cyst as well!!! But they all were so nice there and spoke to me for ages, and didnt brush me off.
Hope it goes well. GPs can only do so much x
Sheena x

I am currently taking nortriptyline. I started out at 25 mg, upped to 50 mg, had serious insomnia, and went back down to 25 mg. I was just upped to 50mg again last week. I don't think it's doing any good, but I am hesitant to pull the plug, because I don't want my neuro to think that I am not going to do all I can to find a better way to manage these headaches. I will give it 3 months, when I go back for Botox injections. If there is no obvious change in frequency and/or severity of headaches, it is time to move on, I think.

Totally agree with you - if you have given them a 'good' try and they have done nothing - time to move on.

Have you ever tried Flurarazine?

No, I haven't tried that one. I haven't even heard of it. So, maybe they call it something different here?

Oh That's interesting, because it is not licensed over here we have to get is from the states LOL.

Its a calcium channel blocker - it has the most evidence of being effective in treating migraines.

It works by reducing the calcium entry into neurons making them less 'excitable' and block dopamine receptors in the brain.

There is a thread on it - https://migrainetalk.forumotion.co.uk/t27-calcium-channel-blockers-flunarizine-verapamil#1749

Its the one drug which I had very good results on, only down side it made me very sleepy. But defo one to add to the list

Botox is another one I would recommend - in fact I think I would recommend Botox over the Fluarazine - less side effects

Oh, now I have tried Verapamil and of course had no positive effects, but all the side effects. Maybe the docs just figured that I had tried one calcium channel blocker, so none would work.
Oh, I would definitely recommend Botox to anyone who can get it. Insurance is just now starting to cover it here, as the FDA approved it back in October or November for use in migraine patients.

I have taken amitriptyline 25-35mg for a couple of years.
It does'nt do much for my chronic migraine but it does help me
cope with the pain .If I don't take it I get depressed.

Angela do you take any other preventative with it?

Yes I do ....but they are not for migraine.

They are pills for restless legs ( dopamin inbalance)
and pills for reflux (omeprazol 20mg x2)

I live everyday with chronic tranformed migraine.
Any advice ?

Oh bless you - transformed migraine is no fun at all - been there!

There are a lot of preventative medications out there - and you need to be under a neurological headache specialist (Remind me where you are - we have a list of doctors for the UK and I can get names for the USA) - you do need a consultant these are not GP drugs.

The one I had the best results on was Flunarazine, a calcium channel blocker - but everyone is different. And it takes time to work out which one can help.

To break a transformed mig a lot of doctors use DHE, this is given via IV in hospital. As will all treatments it has side effects and is not for everyone. But some people get great results from this. GONB is another treatment that may work - this is an injection in the back of the neck to block the greater optical nerve.

BUT The one thing that gets my BIG vote at the moment is Botox. It is the only thing that has brought my pain down and even given me the odd pain/aura day free days in 5 years Plus the side effects are small as it does not enter the blood system. If you are able to get this - I would highly recommend it.

My neurologist / headache specialist has me on 160 mg of Pamelor (Nortriptyline) in the hope that it will help with my daily migraines; I have dry mouth syndrome at this level of Nortriptyline. We tried 200 mg of Nortriptyline, but the dry mouth at 200 mg was intolerable. At 200 mg, my nasal passages were so dry that they began to bleed and my fingernails began to crumble. I'm sure that some of my other meds contribute to the problem, but at the time the only medication change was the Nortriptyline. It does help me sleep, but I don't see any improvement with my migraines (with aura or hemiplegic). I have been taking Pamelor off and on for 15 years, but only in the last year have I taken it at such high dosages.

I hope this is helpful to some one.

Miss Scarlett

Well, I just came off the nortriptyline after telling my primary care doc that it is doing nothing but making me feel like a slug. My doc ran some blood tests because I told her that I have been feeling run down for quite awhile and found that everything is normal. She then decided that I am either in the early stages of fibromyalgia or headed towards it. (I have all the symptoms except for the pain.) So, I just started on Savella. I am hopeful that I will start to feel better. I have thought that I needed a SNRI instead of a SSRI for awhile now. I also started taking magnesium. Fingers crossed that this does the trick. I am ready to start feeling better!

Fibromyalgia and migraine is often linked - I a so sorry to read you ay be heading down that road.

I do not know anything about Savella. But I hope it makes you feel better and soon.

Magnesium on the other hand I can give a thumbs up to - it needs to be a natural plant one and not a synthetic one. Higher Nature do a good one.

Please do let us how you get on ?

x

I'm taking 500 mg of calcium along with my 500 mg of magnesium. I read that the calcium helps it get absorbed by the body. I was lucky enough to find a calcium + magnesium supplement at GNC (a vitamin chain here in the US). It was only $9 for a little over a month's supply.

Here in the US at the Cleveland Clinic, they are treating people who have chronic migraines with magnesium sulfate IV drips on a daily basis. It did not work for me, but I don't have a magnesium deficiency (so far, nothing works for me). It is, however, working for many people. There is even a book, The Magnesium Solution that was published in 2004 that touts the use of magnesium for migraine patients. I have included a link to the book on Amazon (US) below. I certainly hope it works for you and maybe others that are suffering with migraines.

http://www.amazon.com/Magnesium-Solution-Migraine-Headaches/dp/0757002560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316484233&sr=8-1

Hugs to all,
Miss Scarlett

Thanks, Scarlett.

I think if I was to post my opnion on this group of drugs right now I might break any swear filter attached to the forum program.
For a drug that is supposed to improve my quality of life its doing its damnest to pull the complete opposite. I seriously object to not being able to think in between headaches. Migraine and ECH is an absolute pain and yes during the headaches which do eat more than 50% of my life I may as well be a stunned aubergine propped up a wall. There are no polite words to describe the effect two primary headache disorders have on my life BUT surely I should be able to function in between times. This drug totally disables me all the time and I now have remembered why I went on strike over it last time I tried it. I only agreed to give it another go as nothing else has worked.

As far as I am concerned it can go join the huge pile of also rans and they can jolly well put me down as a 'TEETH' on my files. [Tried Everything Else; Try Homepathy?]

Oh, I was pretty much a couch potato while on it. I have been taking Savella (which is a serotonin reuptake inhibitor and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) for over 3 weeks now. I can think more clearly, I have more energy, I actually want to get up and do things. I am not sure about its impact on my migraines so far, though. If it does nothing but make the between headache spaces more tolerable, I am ok with that. TCAs made me a miserable lump and did nothing for my migraines.