Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Migraine & Headache News/Info

For your reading pleasure...

-Click here to read about compact fluorescent light bulbs and their effect on people who get migraines. I don't have light sensitivity with mine, but usually mine aren't full-blown migraines, just bad headaches (trust me, there's a difference). The mercury in CFLs scares me. I hope LEDs become popular (and cheaper) soon. Not sure how those would affect migraines though!

-CNN article on migraines - check out the comments too.

-Symptomatic relief medications (these should not be taken regularly as they can cause rebound headaches and have harmful effects on the body over time)

-Medications for headache and migraine prevention (From my memory - which sucks - I've tried Propranolol, aka Inderal;Verapamil, aka Calan, Verelan, Isoptin; Amitriptyline, aka Elavil (discontinued), Endep; Desipramine, aka Norpramin; Doxepin, aka Sinequan; Nortriptyline, aka Pamelor, Aventyl; Escitalopram oxalate, aka Lexapro; Duloxetine hydrochloride, aka Cymbalta; Divalproex, aka Depakote; Pregabalin, aka Lyrica; Topiramate, aka Topamax...obviously, none have worked for me, and many have unbearable side effects)

- Additional medications, again from WebMD here (I've tried every "abortive" medication except Naratriptan (Amerge, Naramig) - some worked for a few headaches but then they would make my headaches worse...I don't think they work unless you get "classic" migraines)