Migraine

Has anyone tried Nadolol as a preventative?
Just curious about the experience of others out there.
My neuro wants me to try it and I am terrified!

First off, hello, and welcome to the forum!

I haven't tried Nadolol, which is a beta-blocker. I did try Inderal, another beta-blocker, but with my thyroid ick it wasn't a good fit for me. My already low blood pressure went too low to stick with it, and because of that, my migraines actually increased and became more intense. It just wasn't a good route for me.

Some people, though, do fabulously with beta-blockers. Teri did well with Inderal for years, as did someone I know at church.

What about trying Nadolol frightens you? Have you had issues with other beta-blockers? If your literally terrified, it might be hard to give this med or any med a fair trial. Perhaps something else might seem less daunting to you. I'm going to give you a link to our Corgard/Nadolol info, as well as the list of preventative meds. There are over 100 meds used for migraine prevention, and the combinations are endless. There should be something you'd feel more comfortable trying...

http://www.healthcentral.com/heart-disease/drugs-122-150.html

http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/medications-161082-5.html

Hang in there, and let us know how we can help.

Thank you for the info.
I am afraid of possible side effects.
When I researched nadolol I see warnings about asthma (which I have) and also told my neuro that I have had low blood pressure in the past. I have also read about not using this med if you receive allergy injections which I do.

So, in a nutshell I try to weigh the risks in side effects vs. the pain of headaches....

I take Atenolol (Tenormin) and it is great for me. It's a beta-blocker . It slows your heart a bit and lowers blood pressure. I have always been afraid of new drugs...but this one wasn't scary at all. Atenolol only needs to be taken once a day. I take 25 mg normally and on bad headache days I take 50 mg. I think the main side effect is feeling a bit tired. I have been on this drug for about 10 years.

How often are you supposed to take Nadolol?

I also forget to mention that my sister has asthma and had been on Atenolol with no problems.

quote:

Originally posted by Miriam36:
I take Atenolol (Tenormin) and it is great for me. It's a beta-blocker . It slows your heart a bit and lowers blood pressure. I have always been afraid of new drugs...but this one wasn't scary at all. Atenolol only needs to be taken once a day. I take 25 mg normally and on bad headache days I take 50 mg. I think the main side effect is feeling a bit tired. I have been on this drug for about 10 years.

How often are you supposed to take Nadolol?

Thank you for your input!
I may be forced to give it a try....

Good Morning Rachel
I have been reading your posts from yesterday. You have other chronic conditions that you are concered about interactions with that are certainly valid concerns.

The other piece of information I am perhaps hearing from you is not having a doctor that you have are able to communicate back and forth with regarding your concerns and she as to why a specific medication would be his/her choice. So much of the sucess in treating migraine disease is having a doctor that you can work well with. At my last appointment as I was discussing problems I was having, the doctor didn't think it was a side effect of the drug, but she went and got her drug computer, looked it up and well, it was in a small percentage of people (ME). Do you have that kind of interaction with your doctor? If you don't, that maybe the first part of sucessfully treating your migraine disease that you need to work on, finding a doctor, perferable a migraine specialist, you can comfortable work with. It can make all the difference in the world to you.

Take care Rachel,
Cindy

Okay. That makes sense.

It is a good thing to be cautious as far as contraindications go, such as when you have one or more of the listed contradindications for a given med. That's being smart, proactive, and being an empowered consumer.

As for side effects, though, it's better to not be overly focused on them. Every drug has a list of potential side effects, but potential is the key word. The majority of people taking any given med either do not have side effects from it, or have mild side effects. If side effects were rampant and were experienced by most people, then the drug wouldn't be on the market. Really, the chance of experiencing side effects is fairly low, and is especially so for moderate to severe side effects. The majority of people will have no problems, or at least will have issues not substantial enough to discontinue taking the med. Chance is on your side, for the most part.

Also with side effects, you can get into the realm of self-fullfilling prophecy. You might think yourself into a side effect that you wouldn't otherwise experience. As long as there isn't a number of contraindications, then it's much better to think positively and hopefully about the med than to focus on potential side effects that probably won't happen.

Hope that helps.

quote:

Originally posted by rafruitloop:
Thank you for the info.
I am afraid of possible side effects.
When I researched nadolol I see warnings about asthma (which I have) and also told my neuro that I have had low blood pressure in the past. I have also read about not using this med if you receive allergy injections which I do.

So, in a nutshell I try to weigh the risks in side effects vs. the pain of headaches....