Posted by Anna Laura on December 27, 2001, at 23:44:43
In reply to Migraine , chronic headache w/ Effexor or others?, posted by cmcdougall on December 27, 2001, at 10:48:49
My questions for you learned friends are:
*Could that small dose of neurontin, along with the other stuff going on trigger psychosis? Or is my pdoc probably right about the effexor withdrawal...
*Have you ever heard of Effexor making migraine or FMS worse?
*Has anyone had luck using Neurontin to prevent migraines?
*If you suffer headaches, what is your drug of choice?
*What ADs gave you headaches or made them better?
*And last but not least, what do you think of my current drug cocktail, and how should it relate to my headaches? 4 weeks into it and I really like it. Feel better now than in a looong time. Just wish I could get rid of the migraines and headaches for good....Sorry this is so long. Thanks in advance for your input.
Carly
Hi Carly
I wanted to answer your question pertaining Neurontin triggering psychosis: i don't know about that specific drug but what i do know is that some people can definetely have an odd reaction to meds.
A friend of mine told me her brother had a severe psychotic reaction with a regular benzo at low doses. He suffered from panic attacks and took xanax to relieve his anxiety. He started behaving in a odd manner , he went like manic and he was about to stab his sister at one point!
He eventually realized that he was experiencing a kind of strange side effect due to the drug and he quit it. He came back to normal within a few days: he switched to omeopathy at the end.
As far as i am concerned, benzos and antypsychotics make my depression worse,as well as hormones.
Back in 1997 i was given corticosteroids for something resembling CFS syndrome and got psychotic within a few days. Never felt so horrible in my whole life.
A friend of mine was given cortisone for mono years ago. He began to develop paranoid ideation: he thought his mother and his sister were conspiring against him.
As you can see, everyone is different, having a unique neurophysiology and showing different reactions to the same class of med as a consequence.
As far as headaches are concerned, i'm experiencing pretty bad ones : i'm going back to effexor at the moment (i've been tapering it and went back on it within a few weeks, too long to tell you why).
What kind of migraine are you suffering from?
Could they be tension haedaches? If it's so, they may be anxiety-related and they got worse as you withdrew from effexor.
Sure antidepressant drugs may work for migraines but may be effexor wasn't the right med for you. May be it wasn't working at all.I found an article on migraines treatment on this site may be you'd like to take a look at it:
http://www.svhs.org/news/hrheadachesantidepress.htm
Treating MigrainesSeveral different medications are used to treat migraines. But what works for one patient may not work for another. So doctors must often rely on a trial-and-error approach until they find the right medication and correct dosage.
Years ago, doctors noticed people getting antidepressants had fewer headaches. So some physicians started prescribing the drugs for migraine. The drugs are ideal for patients who suffer migraines and emotional problems related to the headaches (such as depression).
Tricyclic antidepressants (such as ELAVIL® and PAMELOR®) work very well for migraine symptoms. But these drugs can have unpleasant side effects in some people, causing drowsiness, dry mouth, weight gain, constipation, heart rhythm abnormalities, and confusion. A newer class of antidepressants, SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, such as PROZAC® and ZOLOFT®), have fewer side effects but are slightly less effective for migraine pain.
"....Doctors say the antidepressants may also be useful for some people with other types of headaches. Other types of medications used for migraine include beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and certain anti-seizure medications. Some migraine sufferers are helped with biofeedback or relaxation techniques. Avoidance of known migraine triggers is also an important part of therapy."
Saint Vincent Pain Services
poster:Anna Laura
thread:87950
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20011222/msgs/88003.html