New Migraine Meds

[ScorpiaAutumnRose]

My doctor prescribed me Propanolol. The side effects are horrible. I am experiencing lightheadedness, a slight drop in my BP and excruciating sinus pain. I am having to check my BP, HR, oxygen and blood sugar daily.

Anyone else on this drug with side effects? If so, how long to the side effects last? And is it worth being on this drug?

[Doggywalker]

I tried propranolol. I felt light headed for a couple of days but that lifted fairly quickly.

I have underactive thyroid and was getting other complications with that so had to stop it after a couple of weeks, but they had also changed my thyroid dose at the same time and I now realise some of the side effects were from that!

The propranolol definitely reduced my migraines. Take it easy and see if you can stick with it for a bit longer. Take care. xx

[Lovecake]

Hi, I have UA thyroid and get migraines. Propranolol was not good for me either. I tried amytriptaline on 2 occasions for about 6 months, didn’t make any difference to the migraines and I put on loads of weight. More recently they got me to try Candesartan. For migraines they start you on 2mg then increase by 2mg every 2 weeks. I couldn’t get past 4mg, the side effects were awful. Put up with them for 6 weeks and then my GP said reduce to 2mg and she referred me to the headache clinic. The nhs neurologist wrote and said that the headache clinic would be quicker. I got an appointment within 8 weeks! I’m now having the monthly epipen injections of Ajovy. So far it’s been amazing. I get bad reactions even with the generic sumatriptan and paracetamol puts me into a migraine if I have a headache. It seems the injections suit me better. I get the odd symptoms, but now a couple of ibuprofen will usually suffice on the rare occasion of some head pain.

You could persevere with the propranolol, or go back to your GP and ask for something different if you haven’t tried 3 preventatives. If you have tried 3, then ask for a referral. Good luck, I hope you get some relief soon 😊

[ScorpiaAutumnRose in reply to Lovecake]

The propranolol seems to be working. The side effects are less except for the sinus pain now, but my GP said that is temporary ( I hope so). I am still using Imitrex (sumatriptan) ejections when needed. I tried Maxalt at one point, but that made the migraines 100x worse. :/ So far, Propranolol seems to be the winner.

[Cb1963 in reply to ScorpiaAutumnRose]

I was tried on different medication for my cluster headaches , I didn't have any particular symptoms with the propananol and it worked for around 6 weeks , I was than put onto topiramate and that helped for quite a while, however the headaches returned with a vengeance, I went back to the neurologist who suggested nerve block injections in the base of my neck, 3 sessions later and still struggling I was put on verapamil, what a relief, but I was still using the sumaptrapin injections as back up until these headaches subsidised and the verapamil got on top of these awful headaches, these are one of the worst pains known to mankind and are sometimes referred as suicide headaches,there's numerous types if migraines and headaches it's trying to find out what yours is and let a specialist decide your treatment as doctors haven't got the same knowledge sometimes when it comes to getting a diagnosis, best of luck!