I suffer with migraines (as some people may recall) I have taken propanolol as a preventative for a number of years. I had to see the doctor today for a medication review and he has changed my tablets. I am now being prescribed atenolol. He said that research has suggested that this beta-blocker works better for migraines. Does anyone else take atenolol for migraines? Have you had any side effects and most important has it worked? Thanks.
jane

Are you sure you still need to take the beta blockers?  They were brilliant when I first started taking them as they cut the severity and lengthened the time between migraines.  After a few years though I decided (doctor wasn't keen) I wanted to come off them as I had read negative things about being on them long term.  I weaned myself off very slowly and found that the severity and time between migraines remained the same.

Have you searched  [URL=<a class='url' href='http://www.migraine.org.uk/login.aspx?ref=mboard.aspx'>http://www.migraine.org.uk/login.aspx?ref=mboard.aspx</a>]Migraine Assoc[/URL]  I used to subscribe to their magazine in which members share their experiences on all aspects of migraine including the different medications.

Flaming Nora, I give up trying to do links :rolleyes:

I am also a very frequent sufferer and take what is prescribed. That includes the beta blocker, and a triptan which has been the best thing....what I had spent many years of migraine waiting for!
The beta blocker certainly helps to keep me more relaxed and that has to be helpful.
But for that is a daily on going thing and the triptan is for an attack which I believe dilates the blood vessels in the brain, scary but works!
Karen ;-)

atenolol didnt do a thing for me but propranolol cut the migraines from 15 a month to only 5. however, then i kept getting annoying ectopic heart beats so i stopped the propranolol and so far fingers crossed the migraines are still only occasional. this was after at least 10 years of suffering before i was given any medication at all.

I wasnt allowed beta-blocker migrane treatment due to my asthma. I was put on Pizotifen first and had the most awful side effects on that. I'm now on Amitriptyline Hydrochloride which seems to have done the trick. I get the odd migrane still but they're no where as frequent as they were previously.

Hope your new tablets work for you - I wouldnt wish migranes on my worst enemy!

Snap Giruff, I've been on Amitryptilline since the summer and its reduced not only the frequency but also the intensity of my migraines.  It hasn't eliminated them though and it took ages to get over the sedative effect; I've not slept so well in years :rolleyes:  I can't take beta blockers as I get asthma and the two don't mix.

Migraines are my worst enemy!

Hopi ear candling is supposed to work really well to prevent migraines. I know a few people who have tried it and it worked and only one who said she didnt notice a difference. If you want to find out more about it you local health food shop should be able to pont you in the right direction.
Mary

I have been on Imigran for nearly 20 years, it's the only thing that works for me. :)

Someone just wondered why I had not been given beta blockers to try so I'm going to look into that.  Will search for all the remedies just suggested to you.  Sadly, the triptans do not work on me.  My Doc. has me on Fiorinal 1/2Codeine.  This is not working as well as it did when I started on it.  I think they all wear off eventually.  But maybe it is worth a try for you?

>I have been on Imigran for nearly 20 years, it's the only thing that works for me.

Ditto :)

I've been on it for about 5 years (Imigran) what a revelation after years of suffering.....I almost cried.It was like discovering the off switch! :-)

whats imigran? never heard of it?

My guess would be you've never had a migraine like those of us who've taken Imigran.  Its from the triptan group of medicines.

cheeky! i do take a triptan called naramig just never heard of imgran.

I take rizatripan.They are prescription only.  Its absolutely wonderful, my migraines used to floor me for two days now if I take one of these and lie down for an hour migraine is totally gone.  Apparently they are not a pain killer they work by expanding the blood vessels or something! (too technical for me but who cares as long as they work) so you can take normal pain killers at the same time.  I suffered for years before someone else told me about them and I went and asked my doctor for them, after he prescribed them I asked why he had never offered them to me before, the answer was that they are too expensive to give out to everyone!!!!!

I take Imigran too -brilliant!

When I first took Imigran it was £18 per tablet.  Although it helped, the side effects themselves were quite debilitating and so I moved on to Rizatriptan wafers like Fifi. 

You're right Sarabee, Naratriptan is very similar to Imigran.

Hi Jackyjat

If you get them on prescription you get 6.  I used to get the wafers but for some reason they made me feel sick so the doctor changed me on to same thing but in tablet form and I'm fine with them.

naramig is £42 PER 6 TABS AND I USED TO HAVE TROUBLE GETTING A REPEAT PRESCRIPTION UNTILL THE DOCTOR I SAW SAID IT WAS TO BE PRESCRIBED WHEN I NEEDED IT (SORRY CAP LOCKED)

>I USED TO HAVE TROUBLE GETTING A REPEAT PRESCRIPTION

I know exactly what you mean.  My doctor didn't even tell me about Imigran or any other of the prescribed treatments.  I was struggling for about 4/5 years on his advice of asprin :rolleyes: which was about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike :rolleyes:  When I did find out and insisted I was prescribed it my doctor told me that Imigran was £10 per tablet and that was the reason they witheld it.  I was furious that I had been suffering such debilitating symptoms and with 3 young children and working part time that I sat back in the chair and made it quite clear I wasn't moving until I got what I wanted. I now have Imigran and prochlorperazine maleate buccal (an anti-sickness tablet to help the Imigran to work) on repeat prescription.

the worst time was earlier in the year when the triptan stopped working! the doc said it was overuse and i had to stop taking it so much! thats when i tried the propranolol which cut them down dramaticaly and now when i do get one the triptan works again. i was taking it for about 4 years about 15 times a month!

What is triggering your migraines?

When mine first started they were constant in that as one wore off the next one started and I did have propranalol which cut the severity but I would still be totally useless for 3 days and felt like S*** for a few days after that.  Definitely stress is a trigger for me and also hormones seem to contribute. If I was having 15 a month I would definititely be seeking alternative treatments as your life must be controlled by your migraines.  At least now I feel I am more in control of mine because of the Imigran.

I once had a course of relflexology and one day I had a migraine coming on as I walked into the treatment room.  By the time I left my head was completely clear and I felt like I was walking on air, it really was a very good feeling.  Have you tried acupuncture?  I would like to know if anyone has tried this and found it successful

mine were constant too and before the triptan i would be in bed for 3 days. its definately hormonal with me- i have pmt all month so have migranes all month too- they peak at ovulation and just before my period. my hormones are all over the place and i have had night sweats on and off for about 8 years- no one knows why so i think its hormones. unfortunately the menopause is not in sight as it always arrives on the dot every 28 days. bummer!

There is an article on using accupuncture to treat migraines in today's (Sunday) Toronto Star.  Basically it says it works for some, not for others, and no one understands why, or why not, as the case may be.

I take Zomig when I get a migraine and a beta blocker as a preventative I also take prescription pain killers (sometimes 2 different kinds when an attack is really bad). My last migraine lasted for 4 days despite taking lots of meds then when migraine gone it is so draining it takes another couple of days to get over it fully. When my doctor changed the type of beta blockers I am taking I was worried it in case it caused me to have more migraines however I have made the change and although I felt the start of a migraine at the weekend I took my zomig and pain killers and it went,such a relief!! Lately they have been going only to come back worse the next day but at the weekend it went away and stayed away. So Im keeping my fingers crossed that the new beta blockers are working.
I also find stress causes my migraines but also a change of routine, loud music, tiredness and sometimes the position that my neck is in for instance if someone is sitting at the side of me and I have to turn to talk to them for a length of time that can also bring on an attack. I used to get migraines with visual disturbance and numbness in hands etc. but I think that was hormonal as since I have been menopausal the visual disturbances etc have slowly decreased but the pain has become worse.
Wish we had a complete cure migraines are the bain of my life.
jane

we were in sweden over the weekend and guess who got a migranine monday morning andrew,the only thing he could do was sleep untill 11.30 untill we had to get out of the room.we went to the airport at 4pm flight wasnt untill 10.but was able to get a earlieer flight at 7pm for £60 just to get home early so that migranine cost a day out of the trip plus £60.

but i still thing it was the half class of wine he drunk???? beacuse he cannot drink or have chocolate.

I drink red wine regularly with no ill effect most of the time, but occasionally after drinking red wine I will end up with a migraine.  It all depends on whether I'm in a "migrainey" phase.  Like Jane, tiredness can bring on a migraine for me but often it is a combination of factors i.e stressed, tired and then red wine seems to trigger a migraine but of course it's difficult to tell because I get plenty of migraines without the red wine and plenty of red wine without the migraines. If I thought that red wine or chocolate or cheese or anything else that I eat or drink was a definite trigger I would avoide it at all costs.  Chinese food seems to trigger migraines for me.  Not the ready mades from supermarkets but the takeaways from the restaurants. 

Something I try to do is keep hydrated as dehydration causes headaches and a friend of mine swears that dehydration can lead to migraines.

Hydration, good point.  I've always meant to ask other migraine sufferers....Do you get really thirsty as your migraine subsides?  I do, so markedly that I have learned to take it as a clue the migraine is ending.  My friend suggested the medication is causing that but I don't think so.  It happened whichever med. I was on and when I was not on any meds.

I also suffer with migrains and there was always a pattern to mine i would go weeks of having about 4 a day and then 6 months with nothing after alot of investigation my consultant discovered i suffer cluster headaches, my doctor had never heard of this condition before i now have to take varapamil 3 times a day and i have sumitriptan injections, my sister has the same shes on the same medication but also has oxygen.

I get very very thirsty following a migraine. I put it down to the med but it's difficult to know considering I always take the med when I have a migraine.  I always get constipated during a migraine as well and I think that is a symptom of migraines because they affect your digestive system (everything shuts down).  I went through a phase of being sick or at least extremely nauseous during a migraine that meant the med would just sit in my stomach or disappear down the loo   Taking the anti-sickness tablets were an absolute saviour because they stick to your gum and are absorbed straight into your blood.  This means that the sickness subsides very quickly and the Imigran gets a chance to get working soon after that.

Does anyone get a warning of yawning before a migraine? Sometimes I start yawning over and over.  It's not just a tiredness yawning, it comes on very quickly at any time of the day and is quite overpowering.  If I can I just go to bed but a migraine will follow

The pre migraine warning I get is...
1, Noise, I get intolerant of all kinds of sounds.
2, My family all telling to 'go take a pill'....I acknowledge that I get irritable but not sure how they can tell, as I am unaware of anything other than the noise thing.
I am visitng Doc's today as am in the throes of a 5 day attack..albeit controlled with imigran, just cant believe it is going on so long!
Karen

My Doctor said the bowel shuts down and is the reason for the nausea and vomitting with migraines and is a typical symptom.  Sort of the reverse of "what can't go up must come down."  I take an anti-nausea pill as well and it works by keeping the bowel working.

Remember that old joke with body parts each claiming they were the most important and the punchline is the, ahem, a**h***e saying, "well boys, If I don't work you're all up s**t creek:?  Who knew it was true?

The body & digestive system definitely shuts down and for me thats often the first sign.  Before taking wafers that dissolve into your gums I was often stuck if I didn't get to an attack in time because there was no chance any tablets would stay down.  Even anti-sickness medication often didn't work, usually because you have to be so vigilant to get there in time!  I get quite a good aura too and tunnel vision (everything peripheral goes), together with photophobia.

Re: Red wine, unfortunately I can only safely drink good quality red wine and not cheap plonk!  Shame :rolleyes:  If I have something that causes a headache I stear clear and stick to those brands I know are safe.  (Wolf Blass for example)  White wine is more likely to make me ill.

I'm not very good at drinking water (I forget!) so work hard to drink 2litres every day which definitely helps + extra after drinking wine.

>I can only safely drink good quality red wine and not cheap plonk

Me too. I can't drink wine that's been opened the day before either.  It has to be freshly opened.  I have to be careful with Shiraz's but good Merlots and Riojas are fine

I start yawning about two days before the blighter attacks :(

as far as 'getting there in time' goes i carry the triptan with me all the time in my bag and have some in my pocket at work and drawer in bedroom- i only need to feel it coming and i take it straight away

It has to be freshly opened.

Ah!  I'll try that tip Cheryl.  Does that mean draining the bottle!!!?!!

Tablets kept in handbag, work drawer, car glove box, kitchen, bedside table.  You still need to take them in time!!!  How often do you put it off thinking you'll get over it!  It's like deciding you need to leave work before you don't get home at all!

> Does that mean draining the bottle!!!?!!

Absolutely :D  However, I do have a helper so not a whole bottle to myself.

I carry tablets with me everywhere as well.  Awful experience last year when I had to take one when I was out.  I drank lots of coffee before driving home (35 miles) but halfway home started to feel overcome with drowsiness.  It was cold and dark and oncoming headlights were hurting like mad. I was too frightened to stop and sleep in the car as I was on my own.  Tablets don't always have that drowsy effect so soon and that is certainly an experience I don't want to have again.

If I feel a niggle that is likely the start I have to wait.  If I take a tablet straight away it doesn't work and the migraine seems to override the effect of the tablet. I have to wait until I know for sure it is a migraine and not a headache.  Once I take a tablet the migraine takes about an hour to go although I am often fit for nothing anyway because of the tablet.  At least I can sleep though as I can't sleep with a migraine.  Someone has mentioned rebounds and I get those, usually 24 hours after the onset of the first migraine.

I have been reading all the replies and I am interested in the anti sickness pill (is that the one that sticks to the gum?) I havent been prescribed anything like that and I think sometimes my migraines take so long to lift because I am being sick and the pills havent had time to be absorbed before my stomach stops working. Can someone tell me the name of them please.
I can feel my stomach and bowel begin to "work" again after a migraine and I know that it is getting better then, I am always hungry rather than thirsty.
My pills also go everywhere with me, if I change handbags or go out for the day, my first priority is to check I have all my meds just in case.
jane

the best thing for nausea is domperidone -suppositories! they are so tiny you just slip one into your bottom and it dissolves in seconds you wont even know its there. i cant take the anti nausea orally and the one that sticks to your gum makes me feel sicker! voltarol suppositories are good for migraine pain as well but you need an empty bowel to put one in or its straight to the loo. funny thing with me is since i started the migraines i never get 'normal' headaches its migraine or nothing!

>prochlorperazine maleate buccal (an anti-sickness tablet to help the Imigran to work)

You place it between your top lip and gum. It sticks to the gum and is absorbed straight into the blood stream

I take rizotriptan wafers which do the same gum thing but is the migraine medication.  I am only occasionally sick when taking these, especially if I don't time taking medication correctly.