Migraine

My daughter has been suffering debilitating migraines for the last 6 weeks and they have become more constant--4 to 5 days a week. The neuro put her on a cocktail of drugs--amytriptiline, topomax, a week of prenisone. Plus we tried Frova, maxalt and trexemet and another drug (forget the name)for the pain. She had a bad reaction to the frova, and the topomax (50mg) left her sleeping all day. I took her off the topomax after 4 days and now she is nauseous and suffering weakness in her legs and hands. Is this a side effect?

Saw the neuro yesterday and he said these chronic migraines are common in teen girls and to send her back to school. He said to try excedrin headache along with magesium, B2 and Butterburr and to continue the amytripyline as a preventitive. Today she is worse and has missed so much school that it's getting serious. She's in 8th grade but is taking one high school course. In high school even if you have an A, you must be "in the seat" at least 130 hours per year or you must repeat the course. Chronic illness doesn't matter.

I really don't know what to do. Allergy tests? Acupuncture? Birth control pills for hormonal fluctuations? It's all so confusing and seems like a crapshoot. I'd love to hear other's experiences so I can chose where to go next. Since I'm a widow and therefore single mom, expense is an issue. I can't just try everything at once.

Hello, concernedmom, welcome to the forum. We are glad you found us. Please take a few minutes to review the Start Here folder for information about the forum's guidelines and policies.

I am so sorry for your situation.

Magnesium, B2, and butterbur are common as preventives. I take magnesium and Vitamin B2 myself. For the butterbur, be aware that some brands have not been processed well. The brand name Petadolex is normally well-made.

Unfortunately, it can take up to three months for preventives to kick in, and it is a trial and error process to find the preventives that will work for your daughter. There are many to choose from. See this article:

Migraine Preventive Medications - Too Many Options To Give Up!

Did your daughter start the Topamax at 50 mg? If you ever decide to try that option again, you may want to ask the doctor about starting at the smallest available dose. Sometimes starting small and building slowly makes it easier to tolerate medication. Here's an article about that issue with Topamax:

Dosage and Tapering Topamax for Migraine Prevention

Be careful with that Excedrin. Frequent use of that type of medication is a prime culprit in Medication Overuse Headaches, and can even lead to an increase in the frequency of migraines. Take a look at these articles, and discuss this issue with the doctor.

Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires

Transformed Migraine - Risk Increased by Some Medications

Here are a couple of other articles that might help you:

Making Your Teen's School Year Managable with Migraines and Headache Disorders

Back To School With Migraines or Headaches

If the doctor does not know what else to do to help your daughter, it is time to move on to a new doctor. Please don't give up. There is hope. Here is a list of migraine specialists, along with some information about what makes them special:

Patient Recommended Migraine and Headache Specialists

Migraine and Headache Specialists - What's So Special?

I hope I haven't completely overwhelmed you. Here is one more article for general information:

• Learning About Migraines and Headaches - Where To Start

Welcome again. We are glad you joined us.

Hi Concernedmom

I just finished tapering off of Topamax. My Dr initially told me to just stop taking it after being on it for several years. I was on a higher dose then your daughter though. I started my Topa at 25mg if I remember correctly and tapered up from there. For years this was a great med for me.

When I tried to stop taking it suddenly like that I experienced some very unpleasant side effects. Once I contacted my Dr about the side effects he had me taper off of it very slowly. This was just my personal experience with this med and reactions are different for each person.

I would suggest calling her Dr about these new symptoms since she stopped the topa suddenly.

Hope things get better soon

Hi, concernedmom!

I see Nutcracker has loaded you up with all kinds of pertinent links. I'd just like to add a caveat about going off of Topamax suddenly. Even if it's only been four days, I think you still need to taper rather than just cut things off. Suddenly stopping Topamax can lead to seizures, and is considered dangerous. I think it's a good idea to call the doctor and discuss how quickly to withdraw the med while still being safe.

Hi concernedmom and welcome!

First let me stress what droolie already said - abruptly stopping topamax is not a good idea,and needs to be done with your doctors help. Your doctor is wrong when he said "chronic migraines are common in teen girls." Migraine disease is a neurologic genetic condition caused by overactive neurons in our brains and genetics. Putting your daughter on two new drugs, addig four different triptans (these abort a Migraine attack)is doesn't seem the best option to me. Usual protocol is one preventive medication at a time, that would be amytriptiline for a trial period, and an apbrotive when your daughter gets a Migraine.

So, here is what I think - fire this doctor - sooner rather than later. Find a Migraine specialist, (the expert) who treats patients in one area only - Migraines/headaches. A neurologist, or pediatrician or GP treats so many different conditions it is hard for them to be experts in one area. You may want to think of it like this: If a pipe under your kitchen sink breaks, you call a plumber - the expert. You could call a handyman who can fix it, then fix your cabinet door, paint your kitchen, and install your new garage door. But the plumber is the expert who knows exactly what to do because he is the expert. This is like the Migraine specialist. Does that make any sense? The other hosts gave you the links for the patient recommended list. You may have to travel to see a specialist, but for your daughter to get her life back it will be well worth it.

Has she kept a Migraine diary at all? This is a very usefull tool to see what may be triggering a Migraine attack, what works and doesn't work to stop the pain and so on. We actually did this for our son, who was nine at the time, he is now 14, and discovered his Migraines were triggered by chocolate, dehydration, and not enough sleep. It is pretty easy to do and we have a free downloadable version you can see HERE

I hope this information helps, let me know if I can do anything else for you, ok?

Mom,
First, here's a

Now, a little history: My 3 daughters probably inherited Migraine Disease from me. My youngest is planning to graduate high school in June with 5 AP credits. My middle daughter is a successful college graduate. My eldest, after having to drop out & get her GED because of Migraine Disease, is now a successful certified massage therapist.

It's taken 14 years, 2 neurologists, just about all the triptans, and a lot of other meds to get my migraine attacks down to 2-4 per month.

I take 200mg Topamax a day. If I run out, I can count on petit mal seizures within 3 days. PLEASE, do not stop ANY meds, for your daughter or yourself, without doctor's advice!!!

Anytime your daughter's migraine attack lasts more than 72 hours, get her to the Emergency Room. If she's showing ANY signs of muscle weakness or confusion or mixing up words, tell the person at the registration desk about this IMMEDIATELY.

I agree with Nancy about firing this neuro. He reminds me of my first neuro, & why I fired him.

Elsewhere on this site, there is a list of questions to ask the doctor. That is a good starting place for you and your daughter for the next appointment. Fire the current neuro, take the questions to a new neuro, or, better yet, get an appt. for her with one of the Migraine specialists on this site's list.

In the meantime, love your daughter all the more. Ice packs (frozen peas work well) wrapped in a dish or hand towel on the most painful sites help me. Ear plugs and a dark room help, too.

Or, now that it's spring here, I take some "sweetea" (iced tea, sweetened with cane sugar) out on my dock, load myself up with bug spray (the gnats are terrible) and sit & read a good book.

Between the osprey, the marsh hens, and the songbirds, my ears are treated to a symphony of joy. The sunlight filtered through the live oak leaves is just enough to light my book. After about 10 min., I find myself falling asleep, migraine banished.

Would that I could import your daughter to my dock for a while! Oh, and you, too, of course.

Rebecca, The Island Mama