Migraine

Well,
I finally had an appointment with my doc today and we went over a lot of med. options. I agreed to try another preventative so he put me on nortriptyline. If anyone has had any experiences with this, I would greatly appreciate any information you can give me on it-side effects, weight loss/gain, help/hurt migraines etc.

Thanks for all of your help!
Lynn

I was on it for about 3 years. I had weight gain, but I'm not sure it was from that. I like to eat. It helped me sleep, which is great. It evened out my moods which was wonderful. But it did not seem to have any impact on my migraines.

The only clear side effects were a bit of dry mouth.

cindy

I'm sorry my first post didn't have too much info in it-I was literally running out the door! My doc put me on nortriptyline to see if it would help me sleep. I don't necessarily agree with that and didn't take it last night. I only have trouble sleeping 1-2 nights and not even every week do I have that. I would much rather take something like Tylenol PM the second night if I don't sleep well the previous night than take something every night that I don't feel I need.

I can't take something like Ambien because I don't have anywhere near 8 hours to devote to sleeping. I have found lately that there is no doubt that sleep deprivation is a MAJOR trigger for me. If I miss 2 nights of good sleep in a row, you can bank on a migraine. Once I get some sleep, it goes away with meds. Until I get some sleep, however, nothing will get rid of it.

We did manage to get my current meds down to exactly what to do when. He also gave me Lortab as a rescue, which he hasn't in the past. I'm currently taking the magnesium and alpha lipoic acid in the morning and they seem to be really helping. I take a Maxalt+ 600 mg. advil at onset, if no improvement in 2 hrs., a second Maxalt. If that still doesn't get it, I can then take the oral toradol that he gave me. It takes about 2 hrs to work on me and doesn't completely get rid of the migraine. I'm still pushing for him to allow me to keep shots with me. They seem to be the only thing that works, if I get one within 2 hrs of a dose of Maxalt. I have tigan and phenegran for the nausea and now have Lortab as a rescue. He said anything above that, would require a trip the ER.

I would welcome any opinions/suggestions that you might have on the nortriptyline or anything else. You all are so wonderful to help those of us who are newbies to this disease!

Thanks
Lynn

Hi Lynne,

Sounds like your doctor really listened this time, good for you.

Can you get a regular pattern of sleep? If not eight hours, then a consistant 6 or 7 at the same time? Or is that just crazy talk being a mom and all? Can't hurt to ask?

When I took elavil, I hate to say it, I gained weight and nothing to help my head. There are other options to help relax before sleeping. Positive thinking, I do that, if I can anyone can!!

Keep us posted ok?

I took nortriptyline for a year. I couldn't tolerate a dose above 40 mg, which is pretty low. It made me constipated the entire time I took it, increased my appetite for sweets (which was balanced by the Topamax I'm also taking) and completely killed my libido. I didn't gain any weight on it - I actually lost quite a bit due to a dramatic diet change. It didn't do anything for my head. I discontinued it about a month ago when the constipation suddenly became severe.

As for the sleeping issue, one thing that has been a godsend for my insomnia is doing a 30-minute relaxation exercise every night before I go to bed. It doesn't sound like it would do much, but you would be amazed. The specific CDs I use are HERE and HERE.

I took Nortiptyline for about two years. I didn't have too many side effects IIRC, but it didn't do anything as a preventative for me. It probably helped with my depression at the time.

Diana

I've been on nortriptyline for almost two years and have no major side effects. I started taking nortriptyline after tolpamax & let me tell you it was a world of difference!! I could actually think and form sentences my hair has almost stopped falling out all in all I would say there arent many side effects to worry about. Im only on 10mg a day & when I do get a migraine I take relpax....so far this combo seems to work. I only get about 1 migraine a week.

Hi, slynes, and welcome to the forum family!