Lisinopril

I have been having more health problems, specifically, high blood pressure and possible kidney disease. I am now taking Lisinopril for both issues, but I understand it's also prescribed "off-label" for migraines, and I have to say, it's working really well on all fronts.

Even though Cefaly cut my migraines down considerably (my stats are elsewhere if you want to read them; just search on "Cefaly"), I still would wake up every morning with that pain in my forehead. The Cefaly would usually take care of it so that it didn't mushroom into a full-blown migraine. But with Lisinopril, I don't have that wake-up pain anymore, and I've had only three migraines in 2 1/2 months.

I did have side effects in the beginning--extreme lethargy and rapid heartbeat, which happened because my blood pressure got too low. I had to experiment a bit with the dosage, but now that I have the dosage right, I feel almost no side effects at all.

Just wanted to weigh in on Lisinopril. I did a search for it here, but read only that it didn't work very well for those who tried it. Here's hoping it continues.

Lisinopril was the last preventative I tried before botox and it worked really well for ~1 year. Then, like most preventatives, it stopped working and my migraines came back to daily. Enjoy it while it lasts!!

Side effects were very manageable. In the beginning when I was titrating up, I'd feel really lightheaded when I got out of bed or stood up too quickly. After getting used to it I didn't feel anything.

After taking Lisinopril for four months, I had to stop it because of the relentless cough I developed (a common side effect). It worked so well for my blood pressure, kidneys, and migraines, but the constant coughing exhausted me. I really didn't want to give it up because it worked so well for everything, but there are other BP meds, and I am returning to the Cefaly for the migraines.

Two weeks exactly after I stopped the Lisinopril, I had my first migraine, and I'm back to waking up every morning with that pain in my forehead that may or may not develop into a migraine.

I realize most migraine sufferers would say they'd trade a migraine for a cough any time. I said it, too, until it happened. It's relentless, takes all your energy, gave me a very sore throat...and it could take months to go away (it has lessened considerably in just two weeks, though). In some people, the cough never goes away, and I knew that, and I decided I'd rather take my chances with Cefaly than go on coughing like that.

It's always something...

Awesome!

I recently re-started Verapamil. I had tried it before for my constant NDPH headache (without effect), but this time I'm trying it for migraines. Unfortunately they've increased so I've been getting at least 2 a week, although most respond well to Triptans.

Verapamil is the only med I could remember actually tolerating very well, with no noticeable side effects, so it was top of my list. So far it seems to have some benefit...at the very least the migraines I get are more mild. I think it has decreased their frequency, but I'll have to look at a couple months of data. I'm only on 120mg/day so I'll probably ask for an increase. Best wishes.

I so hope it works for you, tortoisegirl. Unfortunately, I don't think I can take that particular med because of some other health conditions. Please let us know how it goes with this one.