What is the best migraine medication you have tried, and why is it the best?
I’ve had migraines off and on for years, due to a car accident. The last 2 years, the migraines have cropped up more often and my doctor will prescribe a migraine med for me to have on hand. The problem is, she says that they are all very similar.
So, the question for yahoo users is, in your personal migraine experiences, what prescription migraine medication worked best, and were there side effects, etc?
Thanks!
Best answer:
Answer by IndyMom
I have had migraines for 30 years. None are the best. The question is in finding the best one for you. You are the only one who can determine that. Ask the Doc. to prescribe the migraine abortive medications one at a time until you find the one that works best for you.
I personally use Imitrex. I have also tried Maxalt, Zomig and all of the others that I don’t remember the names of. Imitrex has been the best for me.
The key with any of these is to take them immediately, as soon as you realize that the pain is coming or expect that it is heading to migraine level. If you wait until you have a full blown migraine, no medication will work.
Keep a daily headache diary when you try the new meds. At the end of a few days, or weeks depending on how often you get them, you will have the details for the Doctor. Help them to help you.
Best of luck.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
I have suffered with migraines since I was 14, I am now 39. Last year I was prescribed Lyrica for postherpetic neuralgia after a nasty bout of shingles. Since then I have had hardly any migraines at all and definately nowhere near as severe. When i asked my pain consultant about this he said others had said the same thing but it wasn’t usually prescribed for migraine. It is actually an anti epilepsy drug and my understanding is that it works by changing the nerve pattern.
It is a med that you gradually build up the dosage, the side effects are pretty extreme to start off with but they have settled now. The only way I can describe the side effects is that feeling when you have drunk wayyyyyyyyy to much, the room is spinning, the floor seems to move when you walk, you try to lay down but the bed moves and feel very nauseous! For me the benefits now made the side effects worth while to begin with!
I had tried pretty much every migraine drug available before all to no avail and my migraines would put me in bed for 2 to 3 days at a time.
I tried daily meds – the anit seizures and the anti-anxiety ones, but they didn’t really help and the side effects made me crazy – dry mouth, dizziness, memory loss, tiredness… yuck.
These were Topomax, Neurontin, Propranolol, wellbutrin,
Imitrex did nothing. Axert usually works, and Maxalt is slightly less effective for me than Axert.
I get frequent, severe migraines. I have tried numerous different ones and while they are similar I find that Imitrex works the best, I use the higher dose (although I can’t remember what that is at the moment). I take 1 Imitrex and 1 over the counter Excedrin Migraine at the same time and that really kicks it in the butt. I asked my Dr. if it was okay to take them together and she said yes.
I’ve had Migraines since childhood and I get them less as I get older. I’m sure the answer is different for everyone, but for me it’s Advil Migraine. (I know they say it’s the same thing as regular Advil but this is just what works for me.) I’ve tried other meds over the years. Many people say Imitrex works good, although it made my heart race and it didn’t work for me. I also took an ergot based medication years ago and it made me ill, although the headache went away. Good luck!