Migraine

First let me mention I am now on a week of starting Topomax at 25mg and so far so good, will increase in another week- keeping my fingers crossed. I have noticed a lot of my migraines now can last several days where I have to take something daily to relieve or abort it, but it comes right back the next day- this last bout I had lasted for 6 days in a row. I dont think it is MOH, but I am wondering why this is happening more as I get older? They do seem to be less severe but I end up taking something every day for relief and I only have 2 meds right now I alternate between. I tried to call my neurologist on day 5 to ask for his advice if I should try a different pain med (to avoid MOH) but he never calls back which is very annoying. Then on day 6 I was finally headache free so I didnt call the office back. If it was MOH wouldnt I still be getting the headaches after 5 days? It worries me that I get them for so many days in a row because I need to take relief or abort meds and then I worry I will go into rebound. Hopefully the Topomax will eventually help this for me, but if anyone has experience with this it would help to hear about it.
Thanks,
Linda

Hi Linda, are you sure it's not MOH? Have you talked to your doc about it? The general guideline for MOH is that the offending med type should only be used 2-3 days per week. What are the two meds you use? If both are triptans, or both contain a common ingredient like acetaminophen, you're still at risk for MOH.

I'll link you to our article on MOH so you can take a look over it.
Medication Overuse Headache - When the Remedy Backfires

One other thing I want to mention is that MOH is incredibly individual. Some people will never have it. Some can rebound after only one dose of the offending med. Some will have different reactions depending on the med. With me, for example, if I take a triptan 3 days in a row, I will have MOH on the fourth day. I only have that MOH for about a day, so to answer another question, yes it could still be MOH even if you only have it for 5 days.

Really the best thing for you to do is to talk to your doc. Be persistent if he doesn't call you back after your first call. And if he's completely unresponsive, it may be time for you to consider a new doc.

Hope this info helps - let us know if you have more questions, ok?

Thank you MJ, this does make me wonder if it could be MOH, and I will call the Dr back and be more persistent about getting a call back this time. This is a fairly new neurologist so I want to give him a chance. I think it is the secretary in the office that doesnt get his messages to him, but I need to figure this out. One of meds is Zomig which is the abortive and last year I did get into trouble with MOH with that so I am really careful not to take more than 2 of those for one headache episode, and the other is Indomethacin (rescue med) which is one that my regular dr prescribed last yr to get me out of MOH and since then I have used it to altername with the Zomig -it makes me nautious and dizzy and is strong stuff so I dont like taking it and it doesnt always work, but I take it anyway because thats all I have, but I wonder if it may be causing me problems now. I think its time to discuss other options with the Dr - thank you for the advice!
Linda

I can only share my experience with rebound. It took me weeks of daily use before I rebounded on Excedrin. But...Imitrex was a different story. I went into a funky kind of rebound on that puppy with each and every single dose.

I'm glad you're calling the doctor to pick his brain on rebound. I'll wish and hope he calls back pronto. Don't give up. Keep calling until he does. We pay and arm a leg, and a plethora of other assorted parts for medical care. We deserve to get what we shell out for, and that includes callbacks, I think.

Good luck to you, dearie, and let us know what he thinks and how it goes. We're pulling for you!

I've been very lucky not to have gone through MOH and I'm so sorry you're going through all this right now. I was reading this post and my heart goes out to you!

Here's a quiz about MOH that may help you too:

• Medication Overuse Headache: What Do You Know?

Take care and please let us know how you're doing, k?

Glad that you're calling your doctor and will get help. MOH is certainly no picnic, as I'm sure you're aware. I've been there twice... and both times were dreadful experiences.

Good luck, and let us know how things are going, ok?

Ain't that the truth! Rebound makes me feel all oogy, and that's somewhere I don't wanna be!

quote:

Originally posted by JamieHOST:
Glad that you're calling your doctor and will get help. MOH is certainly no picnic, as I'm sure you're aware. I've been there twice... and both times were dreadful experiences.

Good luck, and let us know how things are going, ok?