UKC

hello

does anyone out there take amytriptyline (sp?) for recurring migraines?

ta
TC

In reply to Tall Clare: Yes, and no; I take them (10 - 20 mg/day) with another drug for facial and head pains related to MS. Though the general utility seems to be as an antidepressant, I know of others who have had them prescribed for neuralgic reasons such as migraine, and also period pains. There should be a range of information about it online.

HTH,

T.

In reply to Tall Clare: Amytriptaline i often prescribed in low end doses (circa 20mg) for Neuropathic pain, I do not know enough about migraines to comment beyond that.

In reply to Tall Clare: A friend of mine takes this on a regular basis to help her sleep when suffering from chronic endometriosis pain and raves about it.

Personally when I was taking it to help with my own sleep issues I hated the stuff and stopped taking it, I felt worse the next day than if I'd only had two hours sleep - extremely dehydrated, nauseous and headachey.

In reply to Tall Clare:

I used to be prescribed this for recurring headaches.

I took it for about 6 months and it helped a bit (reduced the regularity of them but not necessarily the severity, I could still be knocked out for a couple of days but at least it wasn't every day any more). The downside was that they made me really tired, thankfully the headaches stopped when I moved house and the cause was assumed to be the massive amount of mould in the house I'd just left, so I could stop taking them.

My old house mate also used to take it as a preventative for headaches for a longer period but eventually had to stop because of the drowsiness that came with it.

That's the only side effect I remember and we both found it got worse over time.

In reply to Jaffacake:

thanks everyone. I've been talking to some people on another forum and they've mentioned side effects like these, and a very sweet tooth/carb craving that led to breathtaking weight gain. It's not for me, it's 'im indoors having migraine problems, but it seems that he's going to give the amitryptiline a miss for the time being.

In reply to Tall Clare:

I found that my digestive system shuts down to quick for migraine tablets to be effective, due to this I now get a nasal spray which is much more effective for me... might be worth a try, depends on what sort of problems/migraines/how often he is suffering.

In reply to Tall Clare:

There's a sweet tooth that comes with it?

I mean I've always had a very big sweet tooth, but my episode of eating icing for dinner a couple of times a week did coincide with my time on amytriptyline...

In reply to Jaffacake:

Apparently so - one woman mentioned gaining 50lb and another gained 80lb in 6 months. Mind-boggling!

In reply to bunny head:

he'd been getting them twice a year or so, and they've steadily ramped up over the last year or so to the point where he's had four in the last three weeks or thereabouts. He's got his triptan tablets, and we think it's most likely to be stress related, so he's going to try to manage it with existing drugs, exercise and sleep rather than the amitryptiline.

In reply to Tall Clare: Hi Clare, my wife suffers from horrific migraine she initially tried Amytriptyline with limited sucess. She now takes a combination of Topiramate, Citalipram and Lisinopril, she hasn't had a migraine for well over a year now. GPs can't prescribe Topiramate which is a rather strong anti epileptic, for this you need a referal to a neurologist who has to OK it, might be worth getting Mr TC back to his GP. Hope all goes well.

In reply to Tall Clare:

I have taken the drug in the past for epilepsy, worked a treat and had headaches. The only side effect was i sweated a lot which was ok at times but rather unpleasant whilst eating. I came off it because of that.

Never gained weight but perhaps each person is different.

In reply to Tall Clare:

Sounds a little like an excuse rather than a genuine cause, does the drug prevent you seeing things in mirrors?

In reply to balmybaldwin:

No, increased appetite and weight gain are recognised side-effects of amitriptyline (although not everyone taking the drug will experience this).

In reply to Tall Clare:

I was prescribed a very mild beata blocker for migraines it worked but I felt really strange when I went out walking so stopped them right away. I saw a doctor who manipulated my spine that seemed to ease them a lot.I just seem to get them when at work staring at a computer. Anyone out there tried computer glasses? do they work?

In reply to trish1968:


They used to work very well with old CRT monitors. Since moving to an LCD-type I find I can turn the contrast up and the brightness down enough to stave off most visual migraines.

In reply to Tall Clare: Severe weight gain is less common with tricyclics like amytriptaline. Very common with some anti-psychotics such as olanzapine and some anti-depressants such as mirtazepine. Dependent upon the drug as to cause. Some cause metabolic disorders some increase appetite for sweet things and carbs. I would argue that possible (especially rare) side effects are not a reason not to try a medication But may be reasons to stop. If you read the full side effect profile for aspirin, paracetamol, brufen or even antihistamines you would not take those. I hope you find a medication that helps, I more suncerely hope you have the kind of relationship with your prescriber whereby you can discuss your concerns openly, have those valued and you feel able to access the expertise on offer without feeling as though your values thoughts and concerns are ignored. Good luck, trust your doctor or change doctors.
James

In reply to Tall Clare: Oh yeah, also talk to pharmacists for advice. An underused resource they are.

In reply to trish1968:

From what you've said here it sounds like yours could be postural thing otherwise it's likely manipulation wouldn't have worked. It is also fairly common for computer users to have poor posture - slumped hunched shoulders for example - could be worth reassessing your DSE set up and being consciously aware of your posture and seeing if correcting the basics helps.

In reply to puppythedog:

Cheers for this - it's actually for my boyfriend, and he works in the drug industry so he's au fait with the hilarious (!) range of side effects listed on medicines. (my favourite, on a drug prescribed for me, was 'sudden inexplicable euphoria', closely followed by 'lactating')

He's going to give them a miss for now, and check out any physical reasons, e.g. teethgrinding.

In reply to Tall Clare: Not for migraines but I had Amytriptyline for neurological pain and found the side effects really grim. Sleepless nights and did nothing whatsover for the pain. Doc said they'd up the dose, I said no thanks.

In reply to Tall Clare: took it for a few months after a mountain bike accident. Really works, b ut you have to be patient for a week or so.

In reply to littleduck: and my weight is the same!!

In reply to bunny head:


Yep I'll look into that thanks

In reply to Tall Clare:

I know not everyone believes such things can be addressed without drugs but you might be interested in this theory:

http://cep.sagepub.com/content/17/2/127.short

I used to experience a few migraines a year, of the "I am being stabbed in the back of my eyeballs and riding the wave of nausea until I puke until there is nothing left in my stomach and then puke some more" variety.

I haven't had any since I added essential fatty acid supplements (and other supplements) to my diet (fish oil and flaxseed oil daily) 9 months ago.