New to this!

[brackballet1]

Have just joined on behalf of my 15yr daughter who suffers from migraines. Only got diagnosed in march but has been suffering for probably 4 years. Problem with her is she is often sick before this starts and although she takes sumatriptan we can often take this too late, then it has no affect. Can not give it to her everytime she has a stomach ache. Any advice before we head back to the docs?

[KatherineM_PBC]

4 years?! Did it start with her monthly cycle, lots of girls seem to be affected at that time :-(. The standard treatment is triptans, if Sumatriptan is not effective there are others but of course they have to be taken at the right time. Your GP may tell you “this can be treated in Primary Care” meaning they should be able to advise you correctly without referral to a specialist, but I would push for referral. There’s no 1 cause for migraine and therefore no 1 cure but the specialist will have a better idea. In the meantime do lots of reading, about diet especially, some people even believe the a full moon and atmospheric pressure can bring on an attack, it’s a minefield! Good luck x

[Cat00]

Hi,

I have my triptans in the form of a nasal spray because I was always too sick to keep the pill form down, plus a lot of the triptans gave me stomach aches anyway. The triptan I have is called Zolmatriptan and in nasal form is called Zomig but there are others in nasal spray form. Sumatriptan comes in an Injectable form also. Do they also give her a anti-nausea med aswell? This is standard practice for migraines although recently they have linked too much anti-nausea med with heart problems so they have lowered the dose, a very common anti-nausea is called Domperidone. Your guts more or less shut down during migraine so meds can be partucularly difficult to absorb. Anti-nausea meds have also been found to have pain relieving properties for the migraine itself also and so were prescribed together for this reason too. So you were often encouraged to take them together even if you didnt get sick with your particular type of migraine. Either way you need to go back to a doctor to get these things prescribed, you have to be a squeaky wheel as these drugs are more expensive than standard Sumatriptan.

[Kathybishop]

1. Give her Naproxen as well as sumatriptan also Amiprazole to protect her stomach lining. That works wonders for me

2. Google pain safe foods /migraine and read the article. I’ve only ate pain safe foods ( plus a few others ) for the whole of October and only needed 1 gram paracetamol. It’s dull but worth it!

[jezzamck]

I agree that seeking specialist advice is worth it ... I found coping with my migraines much better after a session at the national migraine centre a few years ago ... It gave me more confidence in taking sumatriptan including understanding how my body was telling me I was about to get a migraine and being able to take a tablet before I felt too sick, or was sick

Good luck with this

[Rachelcar]

I have had migraines from being a young girl and I am now 44. If I am nauseous I have a wafer (it melts on your tongue or in your gum) called Rizatriptan. I also take sumatriptan in tablet form. In time, she will learn to know when a migraine is appearing and be able to take something earlier.