Flunarizine tablets some signs of headache reduction

I had to stop the Valproate tablets I had been taking as the stomach problems were bad and did not appear to be get any better with time, but these tablets had given me some improvement in my headaches.

My consultant then suggested I try Flunarizine 5mg tablets which I take at night.

For the first  few weeks there was no change in my headache and no noticeable side effects. Then in the following weeks I have started to see some reduction in my headache level, but I still have a headache all day every day.

The consultant indicated that I should continue with Flunarizine for 3 month before making any medication changes as I should see continual improvement over this time.

I will keep you posted on how it works out.

Valproate (Epilim Chrono) tablets some signs of headache reduction

The next treatment my consultant prescribed for my migraine/headaches was Valproate (Epilim Chrono) 200mg controlled release tablets. I had to start on 200mg (that's one tablet) a day and increase it by 200mg every 10 days up to 800mg per day.

When I started taking 400mg a day I started to notice some reductions in my headache some days, but I still had a headache all day every day. I started to get some stomach problems at this dosage and things only got worse, stomach wise, as I increased the dosage. I only managed 2 days on 800mg per day and had to reduce it to 400mg per day as the stomach problems were very bad.

I am currently trying to continue on 400mg Valproate per day, but I am still getting stomach problems, however, my consultant is hoping this might pass. As Valproate is the first medication my consultant has prescribed that has shown any sign of reducing my headaches (all be it a small reduction) I want to try and give it the best trial I can. However I may have to stop it if the site effects don't reduce.

Other slight side effects I have had on Valproate are:-

Increase in tiredness.
Weird dreams.
Feeling a bit low.
Reduced motivation (why do today what you can leave until tomorrow type feelings!).

Botox injections did not help my migraine

It has been several months now since my Botox injections treatment for my migraine and unfortunately for me it made no significant difference to my headaches, as I still have a headache all day every day.

This was very disappointing as I was very hopeful that such a direct form of treatment would help. I wonder if it might have been more successful if the injections had all been more concentrated in the area of my headache i.e. the forehead. But apparently the approved method of injecting Botox for migraine is not to "chase the pain" i.e. just inject in the area of the headache, but to inject around the head, neck and shoulders.

Just waiting now to find out what my consultant wants to try next.

Botox for Migraine

As I am still having a headache all day, every day, I had yet another type of treatment, that was recently approved as a new treatment for migraine, the new treatment is Botox injections.

The Botox injections for migraine or to be more precise botulinum toxin A injections treatment involved me having 31 Botox injections in specific places around my head, such as my forehead and the sides of my head, the back of my neck and on my shoulders. I was told this was the specified procedure for the Botox headache treatment, as I thought it odd that I didn't just get injections in the area of my headache i.e. my forehead.

They were only small injections and there in no great pain involved and the whole process only took my consultant and another doctor about 30 minutes or less to administer.

I was told it might take up to 4 weeks to know if the Botox injections are helping to reduce my migraine. If I see no benefit during the first 8 weeks then this treatment is not going to help me. However, if it does help I may have to receive more Botox injections a few times every 3 or 4 months.

Spent 5 days in hospital on DHE treatment.

The next treatment I tried was a 5 day course of DHE (intravenous dihydroergotamine) which meant I stayed in hospital for the 5 days and was given the DHE drug 3 times a day with anti-sickness medication given 30 minutes for before the DHE as this drug can make you feel sick. The DHE drug took about 60 minutes to be given intravenously.

Unfortunately this treatment also did not help to reduce my migraine headache, in fact my headaches have been a little worse since the treatment.

Tried Topiramate 25mg for my Chronic Migraine

After Gabapentine I tried Topiramate 25mg to stop my Chronic Migraine, but it did not stop or improve my headaches it just made me feel unwell so I stopped these tablets.

Gabapentin 2400mg – Did not help my Chronic Migraine!

I tried taking 2400mg of Gabapentin a day for my Chronic Migraine but I had to gradually reduce the medication because of side effects such as visual disturbances more frequent and a new side effect of episodes of my tongue starting to tingle and then feeling dizzy, faint and sweating. All this and no improvement in the headaches!