Migraine Headaches Support Group

Topomax.

I have heard some mixed reviews. I myself am weary of it.

What else do you do that is preventative??? Do you take a magnesium supplement???

Involved in more than 325 biochemical reactions, some of the early symptoms of magnesium deficiency include body aches, chronic constipation, headaches and migraines, insulin resistance, PMS, leg cramps, muscle twitches, and more. Left untreated, a magnesium deficiency can lead to more life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and others.

http://www.jigsawhealth.com/produc...

Give it a look. Learn more about migraines and decide what is best for you...

Topomax.

I have heard some mixed reviews. I myself am weary of it.

What else do you do that is preventative??? Do you take a magnesium supplement???

Involved in more than 325 biochemical reactions, some of the early symptoms of magnesium deficiency include body aches, chronic constipation, headaches and migraines, insulin resistance, PMS, leg cramps, muscle twitches, and more. Left untreated, a magnesium deficiency can lead to more life-threatening conditions such as heart disease, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, and others.

http://www.jigsawhealth.com/produc...

Give it a look. Learn more about migraines and decide what is best for you...

Topamax did zero for me but works great on other people -- one happy side effect, which also didn't happen for me, is weight loss.

I take Pamelor with fair results. It cut down the migraines from all day, every day to once or twice a month.

I take magnesium but never knew it had anything to do with migraines.

Thanks guys for your input. I do take magnisium and it was helping for awhile. I think Its stress and hormones. I do have a hard time relaxing. I am seeing two Dr.s ones a naturopathic. Im trying to do everything poss. but I may need somthing temporarily untill my life maybe gets a little less stressful. I hate this I just want to feel normal again!

I swear by Topamax. My sister and I both take it. It's changed me from having almost daily migraines to less than one migraine per week. My son was also just put on Topamax. He is 19 and has been having migraines since he was about 12 years old. The only side effect he's had from the Topamax is a slight loss of appetite. He hasn't had a migraine since he was put on the medication. I'm sure it works differently for different people but for our family it has been a godsend.

I take 200mg of topamax now.I think it has helped to some degree but I am thinking of taking a break from it, because I am now starting to experiance those effects I kept hearing about linked to the drug.I have been on it for 2 years now and am just now in the past 6 months been feeling some side effects.I can be sitting here and swear I feel my cell phone on vibrate in my pants pocket when I see it on the desk in front of me, it happened once in a while at first then all the time.I wnet off all drugs but Topamax and docs say it is from Topamax that if I stay on it the twinge could get worse , stay the same or I could get off and it may go away , maybe not.I don't know if 18 migrains a month verses 25-27 is worth it yet.

I've taken Topamax for about a year now. Its side effects can be wicked for some people, depending on the dose (50 MG is the lowest 1000 MG the highest said my neurologist). I take 100 MG daily. I take it to control seizures first off, then migraines. It works great for both! But like I said, the side effects can be wicked. When I started it I had fainting spells, dizziness, numbness/tingling in my hands & feet, nausea, fatigue and mental slowness. But lots of seizure meds do this, so it comes with the territory, I'm used to it. It does help with the migraines for me. I have fewer headaches. I used to have horrible migraines, a few week. Now I have maybe one bad one a month. So I like Topamax and stay on it. But I don't have seizures, another plus! ;-) When I have a migraine I take Maxalt, another Migraine drug (not a preventive) which works well for me. Imetrex made me nauseous, hallucinate, and like my brain was numb. Weird stuff! I haven't heard of taking magnesium, but its worth looking into! Best of luck with your headaches y'all!

I take Topamax 200MG 2x a day. I can tell you that this has helped with my migraines. I get daily migraines. DAILY. Some last a few hours, some last 3 or 4 day NON STOP!!!! I have tried all the triptans. I have tried Neurontin 300MG 4x a day as a preventative also which did nothing. Since being on the Topamax, it has cut down the ER visits for me from 8 a year to 2. That is wonderful! I still get the headaches, but I can control them now with the triptans and then the Firoicet as a backup. I was not able to do that before the topamax. I consider this a wonder drug. I am not missing any work, I am not afraid of it ruining any more time. I am thankful for this drug.

I did experience some side effects in the beginning. The dr increased my dosage too quickly, which was horrible. I went off it. But then I went back on it myself, slower than she had me going on it and it worked wonders that time. I had NO side effects at all. I did lose weight, you will lose weight. That was a good side effect though.

It has slowed my mental capacity a bit though, I was quick witted, and I have to think harder where that never happened before. I say some strange things now, words that shouldn't be there and my kids laugh at me all the time. I say it is the Dopamax! They say it is oldtimers disease.

Anyhow I will take those side effects over those 72 hour killer headaches any day. The last one I had I wanted to die. I literally felt like dying. I wished I was dead. Only a person who has experienced that can know what that is like. I went to the ER twice in 3 days and they could NOT get rid of it. They kept giving me shots of dilaudid. That does nothing. I wanted to die.

So depending on how bad you feel you would try just about anything. I hate drugs. I absolutely hate having to take anything at all, but I hate the pain even more. Everyday I want to wean myself off of the topamax, but then I do not want to suffer again. So I don't.

So I guess my advice to you is try for yourself. If it works for you and the side effects are not bothersome, then it is a wonder drug for you too and you will feel the same way I do about it. If it isn't, then there are more drugs on the horizon that might work better for you.
Good Luck

Thanks everyone for all the input!! I go see the Dr. tomorrow. I guess Its worth a try. Migraines suck!!! I just want to feel normal again, whatever that is. LOL.

Topamax worked great for me for a while. Sadly, it lost its effect for me. My doctor wanted me to switch entirely off of tegretol (the gods of monotherapy) and within a day or two off of tegretol I started bouncing off the walls. Pamelor worked great for a while too.