triptons

[andersonmrt]

Does anyone know if taking triptons regularly will diminish their effectiveness as I have found that they don't always work when I take daily.

If I leave for a period then they are OK again

[manofkent]

Definitely so... For me anyway. Also, i changed from Zomig to Relpax (my idea not from GP) and there followed an unheard of previously, 5 MONTHS migraine free! But... Gradually they came back and the new triptans are getting less and less effective now and the side effects worse.

[Hidden]

Medication over use I would say. If you need them daily have you tried taking a preventive medicine? Like Amitriptyline or beta blockers. I would go and visit your GP for advice x

[designer111]

HI, would agree with you and the other two replies here. Definitely wear off. And medication overuse for sure. I ended up taking far too many early year and then felt like I had a headache that lasted a week. Then I started looking for more natural therapies and went cold turkey as advised by my doctor. I did that for one year. Was hell! Ended up sitting at work for a day several times a month with sun glasses on when my migraines were bad, but barely OK for me to go to work. I do feel that a year of cold turkey (and perhaps with other life style changes) made my migraines calm down, but I thought if I wasn't taking meds for a year and still getting them and being miserable I may as well be back on them! SO I have done so for several months. At least the pain does not last as long, but I hate taking them and what they are doing to me.

Out of interest, consultant mentioned downing a glass of coca cola with 3 aspirin dissolved within it, ad that hot of caffeine should rectify the beginnings of a headache. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. Yesterday it worked a treat. I was expecting to go to bed early but the coke sustained the headache and the it just went. Miraculous!

Hope this info helps!

[Claudie4]

My triptons are causing me to have rebound headaches daily. Dr. Said no more and to take Benadryl, eat 5 small meals a day and plenty of water. I ended up in the ER, went to my GP who now has me on triptons, topomax & 3 asprin. Can' t live w/out them. Today was a bad day threw up until 5 in the afternoon. Too sick to swallow any med.

The Benadryl Dr is w/ the headache clinic. At a loss, 65 years old, afraid to go to bed, get one every night...Anyone else living this way?

[Cat00]

Hello I'm really surprised you have been able to get enough triptans to take daily. I've had migraines for thirty years and for the last ten I have only been able to have 8 painkiller days a month with only 6 of them being triptans. Even with those restrictions I am still at risk of medication over use headache or rebound as they are sometimes called. They really are not designed to be used that way, you should be on a migraine prevention medication daily. Any painkillers can cause rebound used that frequently. I would definitely go back to your doctor and get a referral to specialist, GP' s are not could enough for chronic migraine. Good luck xx

[babs1234]

I took amitriptilyne for nearly a year. Worked great at first but then the pain started to come through so yes I do believe you can get too used to them

[andersonmrt]

Thanks for the feedback, however my partner was typing for me as i cant look at the screen due to sensitivity to the bright screen. NOT DAILY i asked him to ask if anyone finds the same as myself . I find that if i use more than once a month they are not so effective if i have have a long break from them they work very well at least 6 weeks. The longer the break of them the more effective they are.

[Stace79]

Having just been diagnosed with chronic migraines and IIH I am seeing which tripton I can take that won't interfere with my other medications which is tricky I have to wear sunglasses have lights out and the brightness turned down on everything at all times I find 3 aspirin lots of water ice pack round my neck helps a little as keeping my head really cold seems to work really well but get your GP to send you to a specialist

[LindaPhoenix]

Hi, I've been taking triptans for about 8 years, sometimes I don't need one for 3 weeks, but other times (like this weekend) I've taken 5 tablets in 4 days! I hate taking them, I worry about the risk of stroke and only take them when I really feel I have to. I probably average about 300mg a month, sometimes less. I take magnesium, vitamin B2, soya isoflavones & Benadryl daily as preventatives, as well as 20mg Amitriptyline. I couldn't tolerate any of the other preventatives (I've tried Topiramate, Propranolol & another one I can't remember), also tried acupuncture. I am sure the supplements I take have helped a lot. I don't get the dull fuzzy background migraine every day that I used to have, I now tend to have between 1 - 3 weeks of no pain at all then will be violently sick for 13 hours with terrible pain behind my right eye & in my temple. I'd rather have that than the constant dull pain where you don't feel well enough to do anything much.

I started having steroid injections in my neck with a local anaesthetic in March this year and that's amazing, I usually have at least a month of no pain at all, before the migraines start coming back. I have about 8 injections in my neck, shoulder, base of my skull & even one just below my eyebrow (in that pain spot that I get when I have a migraine) - not pleasant but worth it!!

I think we all have to take what we have to take, I'd rather have no triptans, but really couldn't imagine living without them. I don't take anything for the sake of it.

[seawarrior]

I was advised by Dr Elrington at the National Migraine Centre not to take more than 9 sumatriptans a month or they would create rebound headaches. Taking a break from medication if you possibly can is better than over-dosing!

[Sewnsew]

My Triptan use gradually increased as my migraines increased. I ended up with medication over use headaches. I eventually had to go cold turkey and just stop them! The pain was awful over one weekend! I'm thankful for the GP who told me to stop them though. I then took Topiramate, propranolol and nortriptyline for the migraines and eventually had Botox which worked well.

I stay away from Triptans now! They worked well for a time but in the end caused more pain.