Help with migraines please.

[Sweetmoonflower]

I'm bipolar and taking fluvoxamine, trazadone, risperdone, lyrica, Flovent, and pro air. I've been having migraines that won't go away with ice and sleep. They are lasting for days. My dr doesn't want me taking anything for pain. Any advice?

[DGWR]

I too was recently dx with Migraines.  My Neurologist put me on a supplement that he says "Helps prevent Migraines for some people".  It is vitamin B-2, a little hard to find in 100mgs but if you do the dose to take is 2 100mg tabs. twice a day.  It does take about one month to show improvement but it has helped the frequency of Migraines for me. It would be worth a try!  The Neurologist also gave me Zomig to take for the migraine but I am allergic as I quickly found out !  He gave me an old drug called Fioricet for pain.  
Hope I have helped !!!

[Maniacat5am]

Imitrex Nasal Spray One Spray Dispensors- work for migraines better than any other new migraine meds out there Try it you will be amazed!

[ILADVOCATE]

  Agree with other posts. Just adding that it would be worthwhile
to ask your psychiatrist to do a search within their physician's only database to see if any of the medications you are prescribed
either by themselves or in combination through interactions have
the potential to cause migraines.
   Some of this information would be available on the medication websites
and the P.D.R. (Physicians Desk Reference.) You can find the second manual at the reference section of your library. Also your pharmacist should be able to be of help. However the Physicians only Database
that all doctors and psychiatrists have would have the full information.
Then they could make an informed decision as to this specific concern
within their clinical discretion.

[persephonedemeter]

Sorry gin. I meant your migraines need to be addressed.

[persephonedemeter]

Sorry again, I meant Ambien has a longer half life and takes a longer time to get excreted out of our systems. That is why we feel sleepy longer after tking Ambien.

[persephonedemeter]

Sorry for awkward sentences. I also  meant age also matters as far as drug dosing is concerned. To clarify, Ambien is required to have different gender written dosing for men and women. Women have a lesser dosage, and it is because the drug stays potent longer and is out of women's systems longer. A lot of drug research is tested out on men, and the standard before was, generlly, to think that was works for men applies to women. Lately, that way of looking at drug studies has been challenged to be biased.

[persephonedemeter]

I meant cover my face above my nose with a towel...usually just dry.

[persephonedemeter]

I really feel for you. Migraines can be disabling. I know once they hit, it is impossible  for me to see, work or concentrate. The nausea and inability to handle light is tough to deal with. If I don't notice the vivid change in vision or being unable to read and take couple of aspirins as soon as the vision changes, it's hard to stop a migraine from blossoming.  When the migraine happens, the only way for me to  have it a little bearable without pain meds is lying down in a very dark smd quiet room, close my eyes and over my face above my nostrils with a towel, and hope sleep overtakes me to cut the awareness of the pain while riding it out. Then, after nearly a whole day has passed, the migraine is gone but I'm pretty out of sorts, tired, hungry and thirsty afterwards. Most people knock themselves out with a strong pain med and retreat to the dark, quiet room. It has to be aspirin for me. atylenol or any other over the counter pain relief med won't work.

I wasn't allowed pain medication too because I had such a bad mental reaction when I took pain  meds for other pain conditions. I can put up with a lot of pain but a migraine is not one of them.  You are not alone in this dillemma. I have to say that when pain  is excruciating and unbearable, I don't care what my psychiatrist wants or don't want, I'll take my chances with pain medication. If I was in that kind of pain all the time and debilitated by it, I know it ould be impossible for me to keep a positive attitude when I'm feeling so miserable with pain. Dealing with pain is exhausting. I can't eat lso, so it just adds up against me. I tell my psychiatrist I couldn't take it, and my primary octor orders my pain medication. You are right ice and sleep won't cut it.

It is not a good sign to have migraines frequently, especially if you are a woman. There is strong research data that show a lot of women who had  cardiovascular disease such as strokes and myocardial infarctions (or heart attacks) had a history of migraines.Recent research also points out that women experience heart attacks differently from men, and doesn't always follow the classic signs of pain radiating down the arm or an elephant aitting on the chest. We also require different dosages of some medication than men. Ambien is the first med that the FDA now requires to have a lesser standard dose then men. All this came to light as recently as this year and last. That a person's gender really does matter as far as medication requirements and how certain diseases and disorders manifest is going to change how drug research is done besides how people get treated. People's  also matters. If your doctor is not up to date with this knowledge, go ahead and inform him. This isn't "radical" or "left field" information. He can look it up with the FDA or do a medical research search.

I suggest that you consult with a neurologist or talk to your primary care doctor. If you haven't had a physical exam in awhile, you need to get one, and your constant  migraines needed.

I hope this info helps you, Sweetmoonflower. Btw, I find that when I have regular headaches, eating crimini mushrooms (basically, baby portabella mushrooms) can relieve the headache. You can eat them anyway you want...cooked or raw. It's definitely a balancing act when dealing with mental disorders and/or psych meds.

[thatquietgirl]

Ask her what supplements you can take to prevent them because there are supplements.  Also, is Tylenol (acetaminophen) off the table?  Because OTC migraine meds (such as Excedrin migraine) are caffeine and acetaminophen.  I do know that caffeine is best to avoid with bipolar disorder, but ask her about if taking that for your migraines is too much because there should be no reason for you to simply have to put up with them.