Migraine Headaches Support Group

Migraine is a neurological disease, of which the most common symptom is an intense and disabling episodic headache. Migraine headaches are usually characterized by severe pain on one or both sides of the head and are often accompanied by photophobia (hypersensitivity to light), phonophobia (hypersensitivity to sound) and nausea.

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Brain & Nervous System
/ Migraine Headaches Support Group

Medication drowsiness

shelleyaz
shelleyaz
Is there anything anyone takes that doesn't make them drowsy?

How do people work with migraines? Even if I take a migraine pill and I get rid of the migraine, I still feel the need to sleep it off.

I would like to return to work but I don't know how I can do that.
Daffnae
Daffnae
I have tried many prescriptions for when I get migraines: Imitrex, Maxalt, Relpax, Naratriptan, Axert, and probably others I can't remember.

I settled on Axert as it makes me the least drowsy, and it still works pretty well for me. It does make me feel "snuggly" but I am able to function well. My migraines usually come during the night, so I take the pill and then usually sleep an extra hour and I'm good to go in the morning. If I take it during the day for some reason, I don't generally feel the need to take a nap.

NOTE: Imitrex didn't make me drowsy, and it worked great to get rid of the headache (fastest of all the options I tried), but it left me with chest pains and feeling like I was dying...so that got crossed off the list as well.

I suspect we all react differently, so keep trying to find one that works well for you.
LynnJ55
LynnJ55
Maxalt doesn't make me drowsy, in fact, just the opposite - a little jittery. My neuro recently gave me Amerge, which is like Maxalt only it doesn't dump into my system quite so quickly and seems to last longer. Neither one of these make me sleepy so I'm able to drive.
shelleyaz
shelleyaz
I had an event to attend yesterday and just couldn't pull my act together after taking a sample of Maxalt at 10am. By 5pm I managed to get in the car and go and I did OK but it wasn't easy. I got home around 8 and seemed fine by that time.

Today, I have another migraine. Ugh!
angee7
angee7
When I work and feel a migraine coming on I take a Fioricet. It is not in the same family as Maxalt, Relpax, or Imitrex. I will not take those medications while working with children, they make me too loopy!