In my recent post, Migraine Misery, I was complaining about my frequent and painful migraines. I finally got around to going back to my GP and asking for some help. On the day of the appointment I was on the fifth day of a migraine and my left eye was pulsating with pain and felt very nauseous. Although it is never good to be ill, I think my GP could tell simply from looking at me that this wasn’t just an ordinary headache. During the past year I have had migraine pain on more days than not and has really been getting me down. My migraine attacks became much more frequent during my peri-menopause but improved after my periods stopped but, once I started taking HRT, they were back with a vengeance. I stopped taking HRT months ago but there has been no improvement. I am keen to restart HRT for some of the long-term benefits that it offers.

I don’t have time to go and lay down in a darkened room and, even if I could, it wouldn’t make me feel any better. Sometimes I sleep with an ice-pack wrapped in a tea towel balanced precariously on my temple. Paracetamol won’t make any difference and I don’t like to take Co-Codamol unless nothing else has worked, it will usually relax the knotty, tight feeling in my temple but don’t take it if you are hoping to go to the toilet in he next week! There is a roll on menthol medication called 4-Head that may work with a mild headache but, if my migraine pain is at 100 it will maybe bring it down to 99.9.

I was hoping my GP would agree to send me for a MRI but, as the pain has not changed the way it presents, she said it is not necessary. I have been taking a drug called Sumitriptan for about fifteen years but lately it has not been very effective. My Doctor has prescribed Zolmitriptan instead. Triptans don’t prevent migraine but, if taken at the onset of an attack, they can be very effective in treating it. As a preventative measure my GP prescribed a beta-blocker called Propranolol. I have to take 40mg, twice a day, every day. There was some delay with the pharmacy having the medication in stock and I have to admit I was very reluctant to start taking the tablets, a daily medication feels like a significant step. I have friends who take Propranolol for anxiety and my dad takes beta-blockers since suffering a heart attack. The pharmacist telephoned me twice within the first fortnight of me starting the beta-blocker to check I wasn’t experiencing any unpleasant side effects such as “vivid dreams”. Well, three weeks in and I have never had such strange dreams in my life! I dreamed about my childhood bedroom and the detail was incredible right down to feel of the anaglypta wallpaper that I thought I had forgotten ever existed. It is amazing what our sub-conscious can dredge up.

A month into my new treatment plan and I have only had one migraine and that was on a day when I was dehydrated, always a trigger. The Zolmitriptan was extremely effective and I only needed one dose as opposed to three or dour doses of the Sumatriptan. Usually in this time period I would expect to suffer from as many as five migraine attacks so, so far, the results have been excellent. Other than the weird dreams, I haven’t had any side-effects other than feeling much better.

Thanks for reading,

Samantha

Cover Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash