migraines and antidepressants

Hi all, I need to vent... I feel like I've been a guinea pig for so long with doctors just prescribing me drugs and me just saying ok and putting up with all the side effects and not always questioning it too much. I saw another headache specialist, at my current headache specialist's request, for a second opinion, yesterday and he recommends that I take effexor. It sounds to me like this is a scary drug with side effects I really don't want and it also sounds like it will be difficult to eventually get off of. I'm so tired of doctors recommending anti-depressants for my migraines! He also mentioned seroquel, which I have taken before and took a long time to get off of. Anyone have experience with this? So far, all the anti depressants I have tried for my migraines (remeron, amitriptiline, nortriptiline, etc. have never worked...) I'm so tired of taking piles of medicine with side effects that are draining me....

Thanks for letting me vent...

j

It is a very exhausting random process to find something that works. Don't give up. It's a different thing for everyone. Just watch carefully for side effects.

I never had an AD work for me either. I did not like the start low dose and work up. I also seemed to get all the bad side effects. Keep trying things ask for drugs outside of the class you have tried. { you know like calcium channel, beta blocker , anti-D , etc } I take clonidine which was a new class for me and worked from day one. I had given up. So try again.

I have heard of clonodine before and just looked it up again. I'm going to ask my doctor about it. I can't really even tell what class it's in, other than heart pressure medications. I feel like I've tried something from every class. Right now I'm waiting to see if lyrica will do anything. Waiting...ho hum. Thanks for the advice.

Just wanted to let you know that I tried Lyrica last year. For one month. It caused red sores up and down both arms. I think this was an allergic reaction. It happened immediately. So, I think if one is going to have a negative reaction it will happen right away. Good luck.

guinea pigs; that's us. until they come up with genetic tests to find out which drugs are appropriate for which people, i'm afraid that's the boat we're in.

just heard on npr this mornng, that there are such tests for ascertaining which blood-thinner drugs people should take or not take. i've been waiting for this marvelous day for years and years, since i read about the possibility for many classes of drugs, in the reader's digest. but meanwhile, we get to try and try and suffer and suffer.

i tried effexor twice, with bad effects both time. the first time (years before the second) it put me to sleep in the middle of the day, and made me very lethargic. the second time was also something unacceptable.

lyrica i've also tried twice, with no good results. i'm DONE with preventives; you get to the fed-up point. for those who finally find something that works, YAAAAY for you! dianne