Muscle relaxer

[glamourpuss]

Hi , has anyone ever been given a mild musle relaxer to help with chronic daily tension headaches or know of anything natural but stronger than tiger balm and deep heat ? It's a constant battle of migraines causing stiffness , tension and fibromalygia. Nortriptylin on its own is not enough . Thanks

[Emma1024]

Firstly, when I last looked, Nortriptyline had not been proven to be effective for migraines or headaches - but it can work for some people. I was once prescribed amitriptyline with a muscle relaxant and it worked. However, it was not recommended as a long term treatment. It also made me extremely drowsy. Some relaxants are addictive, so you definitely want to avoid those.

[glamourpuss in reply to Emma1024]

Hi , I have been on all medications over 25 years but when I reserched nortriptylin I read many good reviews and it has improved my life style hughly since going on it . (18 months now) . But we all know meds effect people in different ways and its trial and error !! Can you remember what the relaxer was that you went on and did it help? Drowsy is not a nice side effect and I certainly don't want to get hooked on one . Thanks for your reply .

[Emma1024 in reply to glamourpuss]

I was given a medication with a combination of 20mg amitriptyline and 5 mg chlordiazepoxide. I think I took it 2-3 times a day. I think the combo was better for headaches than just amitriptyline, but in my country the above mentioned combo is not available/recommended.

[glamourpuss in reply to Emma1024]

thank you . Which country are you in? I will look this drug up .

[LindaPhoenix]

I had some steroid injections into the base of my neck two weeks ago for the first time. I've had awful migraines for about 8 years, I think they're mostly hormonal, but have had painful lumpy neck too. I take no preventatives now (as everything I've tried - Propranolol, Amitriptyline, Topiramate, Pizotifen - hasn't worked & given me intolerable side-effects). Magnesium is brilliant and has helped a lot, I take 400mg Magnesium Chelated per day. The steroid injection though has been really good too, my painful neck and shoulders instantly became much better, looser and hardly any pain at all. This was carried out at my local hospital, by the neurology department, I was referred by my GP. I had 4 injections into the base of my skull (unpleasant but not painful) and one into my shoulder. No side effects at all and I will have it repeated at the end of April. Hope that helps.

[Pvancourt in reply to LindaPhoenix]

I too can't tolerate the topamx, etc. medications, but the steroid injections sound interesting. I get Botox injections, but I dont think it's helping enough. I'm in constant pain in my neck, back of head and around eyes. I always feel like if I could ease the tension in my neck I'd feel much better. Do you know what type of steroid they used?

[LindaPhoenix in reply to Pvancourt]

I'm afraid I don't know what he used, it was a steroid with local anaesthetic, so the whole of the back of my head, neck & shoulders were numb for a couple of hours afterwards, which was very weird! I am now getting a migraine about once a fortnight but am completely well in between. I've had one come on this afternoon after work, had a sleep & taken a Sumatriptan & it's now worked almost completely & I'm feeling quite a lot better. Have you looked at Magnesium, Vitamin B2 & Soya Isoflavones? I swear these have had the biggest impact on my migraines. I'm now 48 & only had about 5 migraines in my life before I turned 40! Since then, I've been plagued by them so I'm convinced it's partly hormonal & partly my neck. I found this information on the Migraine Trust website: migrainetrust.org/factsheet...

[glamourpuss]

Hi , I know we have spoke in the past . I'm pleased to hear it's helped you. I'm very interested in your story and results . do you get a lot of pain in the base of the head as well as this lumpy neck ?

I'm a little scared to have these injections as when I had the botox it made that pain at the base of the head much worse and it went on for about 8 wks . When I asked about injections at the pain clinic she said it can flare up fibro ( they say I have this) so a bit hesitant . But living with this every day is awful . Look forward to hearing more .

[babs1234]

The only thing that works for me is imigran but I try and only allow myself 2 a week. Not enough really

[LindaPhoenix]

When I'm well, I don't really get any neck pain at all. I have upper arm pain when I stretch like putting on my coat or reaching for the car seat belt, but it's ok the rest of the time. The steroid injections seem to have helped that too, from within a few hours of having the injections. It wears off so I wasn't too worried about having it done. I've had one horrendous migraine nearly two weeks ago where I was throwing up all day, but I haven't had any of my lower level migraines, where I tend to just carry on, go to work, but feel awful for about 3 days. They seem to have gone completely. I've got to ring the neurology dept mid April and book more steroid injections, which they left up to me, they said if it worked to rebook but if it didn't then not to bother. The neurologist felt my neck and where there was a tender spot, he stuck the steroid injection into it. It was fairly horrible having the needle go in to the base of my skull, but not so bad that I wouldn't go back! I can still feel a bit of tenderness in my neck now if I have a poke about, but it's not bothering me day-to-day. The neurologist explained that migraines can be caused by a problem with the neck which refers the pain elsewhere, so the pain isn't actually in your temple or eyes, it just feels like it is because of the pain signals from the neck. He's given me neck exercises to do as well, just gentle stretching really, but he said my neck was quite knotty. Re Imigran, I've lived on Sumatriptan for years and it's really not good for you, especially the older you get. I haven't taken any at all for 8 days now, which is pretty unheard of. Sometimes if the pain isn't that bad, I try to get away with 3 aspirin, sometimes it works, other times not.

[babs1234 in reply to LindaPhoenix]

Very interesting. Thank you. I have my first appointment with the neurologist on Tuesday I will let you know how I get on but your symptoms are very like mine

[glamourpuss in reply to babs1234]

Good luck with your apt I hope it goes well . I'm currently now under the pain clinic doing an 7 wk optimise programme . ( been passed on again!)

I'm not sure who's symtoms yours are similar to - mine or Linda ! But mine sound v similar to Linda's but I also have fibro ( don't think Linda does)

Pls let us know how you get on . Are you hoping for injections ?

[babs1234 in reply to glamourpuss]

I'm hoping for anything that relieves this constant pain. I do wonder whether it is fibro as the pain in my neck and across the shoulders might be because of that and maybe that is causing the migrains. Thanks and I will let you know

[babs1234 in reply to babs1234]

By the way what are the tests for fibro and who do you get diagnosed? Thanks for your help

[glamourpuss in reply to babs1234]

Mine was a physical examination by a rheumatologist which I paided for . Have you joined fibro action on this site ? For many years I thought I had it but now I'm in denial !

[lcb10]

Only a doctor can prescribe you a muscle relaxant, I think, so you could ask him which is thought to be best for migraine.

I am prescribed diazepam, which you can't take frequently like every day (I have chronic migraine, which means very frequent), usually. Although, eventually my prescription now says I can take it daily if I need to. (I've been prescribed it for a few years.)

However, I'm trying hard not to take it even every two days - first because taking diazepam over a long time will reduce its effectiveness (so then, what's the point?). Second because, the larger doses work better - so I can take a 4mg dose (2 pills) every 4 days rather than 2mg (1 pill) every other day. It works better for me - the more noticable relief, and it is something to look forward to. In the meantime, I take chamomile with spearmint tea, Kalms tablets and general herbal relaxation supplements such as "Super Calm Advanced" and "Total Calm".

One thing which might help you, which I know helps a lot of people, is Doxylamine Succinate.

It was one of the active ingredients in the Syndol formula, which has now been discontinued. Syndol has been reformulated without doxylamine, so there are many, many migraine sufferers who think the new formulation of Syndol is awful, and a con.

Syndol had caffeine, paracetamol, codeine (20mg or so per 2 pill dose) and doxylamine (10 mg per 2 pill dose).

Doxylamine was the main ingredient that had migraine sufferers buy that drug, Syndol. You can still get the old formulation with the Dox. from some sellers in South Africa, for example, and other places, online, buying about 100 tablets in one go for the price vicinity of £50 or so.

Or, you can actually buy Dox. on its own, cheaply.

Some people do actually confuse doxylamine as a "muscle relaxant", and I've read people describe it as such. It is an anti-histamine known to work as a sedative, though - while it MIGHT be correct to describe it unoficially as a supplement relaxant rather than a medical relaxant, as anything which performs that action in you can be considered a muscle relaxant. It's just that you don't know if it will work that way for you - apparently it does for some people. Sedatives, if they work well enough, can have a function of helping muscles to relax in many people.

The easiest way to obtain Doxylamine legally on its own (to take by itself as a sedative / potential muscle relaxant if it works that way for you) is from people selling the formulation "Kirkand Sleep Aid". There are a coupe of sellers in the UK, and others in the USA, selling in Ebay.

I bought mine through Ebay from a US seller, for less than £10 including postage to UK - 92 pills of 25 mg doxylamine. So I can cut the 25mg pills in half using a pill cutter, for 12.5 mg dox - near the Syndol dose, and combine this with something like Panadol Max (which has higher codeine than the former Syndol), and a tea, small coffee or half a Pro-Plus tablet for the caffeine.

Paracetamol is said to be able to relax muscles itself to a degree, but I suppose some feel this and some don't. Therefore, it's good to combine it with this sedative which might help this function some more noticeably.

The good thing about having Doxylamine by itself is - you can choose to combine it with paracetamol + codeine, OR with an NSAID instead - Aspirin OR Ibuprofen OR diclofenac, for example. NSAIDS are known to quell inflammation, which can include muscle inflammation if you have that, in your head, neck or anywhere else.

The good news for me is that, cycling treatment with the medical muscle relaxant diazepam and these other relief pills, can help to keep me able to cope with chronic migraine more. (For me this means bearing things mostly, I'm still seldom able to do anything much, having also developed quite severe neurological cognitive and act-related problems.)

I don't doubt any migraine sufferer coming to this site who has suffered for a while or longer knows all about NSAIDs and paracetamol. But for those who've decided not to use them, and you do need help with relaxing muscles, you may want to rethink. Particularly if you try to add a sedative which works as well as the supplement Doxylamine to those drugs. It can help.

The former Syndol formulation meant a great deal to many migraine sufferers, but it can still be obtained by combining the generic ingredients.

Doxylamine (former ingredient of Syndol, now removed):

* biovea.com/uk/results.aspx?... [Biovea]

* tinyurl.com/py932lp [Ebay shops / sellers]

* tinyurl.com/ojtv9dp [Pill cutters]

[glamourpuss in reply to lcb10]

I just want to say thank you for so much useful information . I need to read it all more than once and will send you another reply later . Thanks again

[Patfisher in reply to lcb10]

I suffered from migraine for over 30 years and tried just about everything going. I am one of those who found Syndol the best OTC drug and was devastated when they discontinued it. However, I now take half of the Kirkland Sleep Aid mentioned above every day, as well as 2 Nortriptyline tablets as prescribed by the Migraine Clinic in London. I rarely get migraine now, 3 or 4 a year, and they are nowhere near as debilitating. I have my life back. They do make me feel drowsy, but I am fortunate enough not to have to work mornings. My only concern is the possible side-effects of taking them long-term, but I would have to weigh that up against the really positive effect they have had on my life for the last 3 or 4 years. Would welcome anybody's knowledge with regard to long term effects.

[designer111]

Not sure if this is helpful but currently taking 750 mg of magnesium everyday as it is a more natural muscle relaxant. Needs to be taken 3-4 months at least to be effective. Im on 3.5 months at the moment and hoping it has calmed them down.