i have migrain... should i try to take anti-depressant? am quite tired of taking analgesics...?

Question

and also worried of the side effects of analgesics.. i know from a friend that anti-depressant not only can take the headache away but also makes you feel better.

Answer 1

NO. Antidepressants are there to treat clinical depression. Obviously your migraines are getting you down, but you need to treat the migraine. It is important to try and find the source (if possible) of the migraines; make sure there is no ORGANIC/physical reason: neck problems?, allergies?, do you grind your teeth at night?, does it run in the family?
Then find a coping strategy that works, there is Imigran -only on prescription- but a single pill will kill the migraine straight away.
Avoid allergenic foodstuffs and drinks, even if they are not the cause, they may trigger a headache once you are vulnerable, wine, chocolate, acidic food and fruits, dairy. Drink lots of water, specially during the migraine.

check this for additional information: www.migraine.org.uk

Answer 2

Some beta-blockers have been shown to help lessen the amount of migraines, but not really cure them. That's the only class of antidepressant that is helpful, though. If you're worried about the side effects of the analgesics, antidepressants aren't for you.

The best place to start with migraines would actually be to keep an eye on what you eat. Is it heavily processed? Do you drink red wine? Do you have allergies, even seasonal ones? Does bright/strobing light bother you? Do you have pre-headache changes in mood, body aches, etc?
You can do a great deal for yourself in terms of catching them before they hit hard if you know what things can trigger them.

There has been some research on Magnesium supplimentation as being helpful for migraines. It's still sort of being debated, but you could also try that and see how it goes for you. That's also something you can get over the counter for a fairly small price.

Answer 3

It doesn't necessarily have to be one of the newer antidepressants. Many migraine sufferers draamatically reduce the frequency of attacks by taking a small daily dose of Elavil (amitriptyline.) There are several other effective medications you can take to prevent migraine.

But if you do get an attack, take an analgesic (I found Aleve worked for most people) at onset. Don't wait to see if it gets worse.

Answer 4

Unless they have been prescribed to you, then you cannot. The are prescription drugs. You should not and must not take medicines prescribed to another person. If you have not been assessed for anti-depressants, they could do you more harm than good.
Anti-depressants are not a joke and should not be considered as such. You are making a mockery of a very serious illness by putting it in the same category as a headache.

Answer 5

Your best bet would be to first try such medicines as fioricet or fiorinal. As the combonation of butalbital, tylenol or aspirin, and caffeine would probably rememdy your headache. However, there are a new emerging class of medicines in the triptan family used to treat serious migraines. Ask your doctor about Fioricet or various triptans.

Answer 6

Try asking your GP about a drug called Verapamil (brand names: Isoptin, Verelan, Calan, Bosoptin). Instead of treating the pain it works to stop the migraine happening. I have fibromyalgia and also suffer from blinding (lit) migraines. I've been on this med now for 3 weeks and it's really making a difference. (You CANNOT drink alcohol on these tabs though!)

Answer 7

I wouldn't advise taking an anti-depressant unless prescribed - not worth the side effects. You could try a lavender bath and an early night.

Answer 8

i develop into clinically determined with bipolar style a million in 1996. i develop into on a shoebox crammed with pills. there develop into something to regulate the bipolar, something for sleep disturbances, and so on. in the tip, I figured that the pills have been to alter my habit, and that i presumed i ought to try this on my own, so i ended taking the drugs chilly turkey. i develop into good, so some distance as controlling my habit. i've got been off the meds for 7 years now. of course, what I did isn't secure, and should not be carried out by utilising every person. nonetheless, the indicators did not bypass away. I only began discovered to handle them. I nonetheless have sessions of severe melancholy. I nonetheless have very severe sleep disturbances. however the way that I manage it rather is form of different now. first and greatest, i don't have confidence my techniques and emotions. This seems slightly morbid on the exterior, even nonetheless it rather is totally rational and sound. If my thoughts are the subject, and there are attendant techniques that feed the subject thoughts, then I honestly shouldn't place self assurance in them. So I question them, and that i undertaking them. tremendously the techniques. this way, i bypass throughout the melancholy, or the mania, yet i'm not triumph over by utilising it with the aid of fact i've got progressed this form of presence of techniques or information of what's occurring. If it rather is greater difficult to handle, I tell myself on the subject of the best issues that have occurred to stability out the melancholy, or I remind myself of a few issues that have not long gone in accordance to plot to help convey down a mania. definite, those issues could be carried out, yet they're very hard artwork in intensity and time eating. My suggestion is to not decrease the antidepressants devoid of scientific supervision. CBT (that's the formal call for what I do on my own) is amazingly effective in the scientific care of melancholy. i want to propose it, yet in basic terms under expert supervision. upload--Now which you have have been given distinctive that the melancholy is situational, CBT (cognitive behavioral treatment) might artwork acceptable in the long-term. the reason that i might advise against reducing meds chilly turkey is that a number of them could have detrimental outcomes in the event that they're stopped all of sudden. as an occasion, depakote has been commonplace to reason seizures no count number if it rather is stopped all of sudden. countless them require weaning.

Answer 9

try salt cured fish, like anchovies and herring, I swear it works for me.