i use to take Fiorinol...but the caffiene made me dizzy. i also tried relpax(sp) it worked the first few times..but i cannot afford it.
theres ALOT of pills that are SO EXPENSIVE.

so i usually take an extra strenth excedrin & cup of coffee...put a cold cloth on my head & lay in the dark.

Is your blood pressure well controlled on the two blood pressure medications your currently taking (as in 130/80 or below)? If so, there should be no reason why you can't take imitrex, maxalt or any of the triptans if they work for you (feeling crummy afterwards is somewhat normal; it's the letdown after the headache). If your BP is not well controlled, you need to work with your doctor to get your BP under control.

I have high blood pressure, only take one BP medication, and would take Imitrex if it worked for me (alas it doesn't). Instead I take Fioricet, which is 325 mg of acetominophen (aka Tylenol), 40 mg of caffeine, and 50 mg of bultabital (a mild barbituate). One tablet every 6 hours, earplugs and a wraparound the head icepack and I'm usually good to go within a few hours.

In any case, you need a rescue medication and atenelol or propanalol (the beta blockers) are only preventive medications. So talk with your doctor about some rescue medications and if the triptans aren't an option, perhaps Fioricet or Fiorinal are.

Sue,
I suspect it was the butalbital in the Fiorinal that made you dizzy, not the caffeine (Fiorinal is the same as Fioricet except it has aspirin instead of acetominophen). Butalbital is a mild barbituate, but if you're not used to it or other sedating medications, it can knock you for a bit of a loop and definitely make you dizzy.

Best wishes to all.

i used to have migraines every single day. my doctor recently put me on topamax 100mg in the morning, 100mg at night. i havent had a headache in 2 weeks. ive had a couple side effects, but nothing i cant live with...my hands get tingly & ive lost weight since taking them. after 15 years of headaches, topamax was the best thing that ever happened to me :)

I took Imitrex and it was the med not the coming down from the migraine that made me sick. About a half hour after I took the imetrex and this happens to my brother who takes it too we fill like we cant breathe and our chest feels like an elephant is sitting on it so we have to lay down for at least an hour because we cant even get up after taking it. So I gave up. Plus it was really expensive to buy with my insurance. I was also on Topamax and I dont remember if it worked or not and that was the problem. Even though I dont know to this day if it was the Topamax or the keppra or both because the dr. had me on it at the same time and he said they are practically the same thing. It wasn't doing anything so he kept uping it and one day after he increased it again I didn't know who I was, where I was or what I was doing. It was very scary. I thought I lost my mind for good and the next step would be being locked up in the mental ward. I was like that for almost two weeks and I had two children to take care of. I would lay down and when I woke up I remember not knowing if I layed down for the night or for a nap. I had no idea what day it was. Well, one day I feel on my knees and prayed to God to help me collect my thoughts which was very hard to do in that state the best I could so I can try and remember what might be doing this to me. With much thought it dawned on me that the day this started happening to me was the day my dose increased and maybe there is a connection so I quit immediatley. The next day I was back to normal. So I went to the Dr. and told him about it and he had the nerve to laugh and say" thats why they call Topamax, Dopamax. Some people were out of it on that drug like a LSD trip". I couldnt believe it. He never warned me of any possible side effcets like that. So thats my story and why I cant take those meds. Is there anything new out? Thanks for your post though. Im glad to see it does work for other people.

I take Maxalt for instant relief. Frova if I need to be around people all day. Relpax if I have a day where I can take a nap after 4-5 hours or I can sleep on it.

After reading about others - I feel blessed that I have plenty of meds that work for me.

Topomax made me a little nuts, too (although it works for some people with NO side effects.) I already have nominal dysphasia from the migraines and a series of TIAs (small strokes) but on the Topo I could NOT remember words at all, and I was in my doctor's office, forgetting what I was trying to say, and searching for words, and he asked if I had a full blown migraine, I didn't, and I said "But this dysphasia is BAD!" (I could remember the word Dysphasia, but not....you know, that thing, you pick up and eat with, with the pointy things on it......a fork. That kind of dysphasia.) He was really worried I was having an other TIA, and we were going to schedule an other MRI, but he remembered the Topomax and said, since it really wasn't working for me, "I want you off that stuff." My mind went back to (crazy) normal within a few days........

I had a terrible migraine for twenty years. The docs tried many meds. Topamax finally eased the pain. I am so relieved and thankful. I don't like the side effects from topamax...such as being a little moody. But at least I'm not in terrible pain 24/7.

I have 24/7 migraines from a head injury. Topamax has helped me tremendously with zero side effects. If a migraine does break through, I take Fioricet and that usually does the trick.
Good luck, Ellen!