New Daily Persistent Headache Support Group

Hi all:

Im currently on Elavil 20mg for about 2 monthes now,I have a new apppointment with a headache specialist on sep/1,the proble is the Elavil doesn't work on me so far ,so,should I stop taking Elavil and wait till Sep/1 or continuum to take them till I see the new doctor on Sep/1..I don't want my medicine get too complicated,thanks..

Suwei, I don't know enough about your headache to make real recommendations but 20mg.of Elavil is not much. I'm on a daily dose of 50mg which works well for me. Maybe you should call the doctor you are presently seeing and tell him how you are feeling? I started at 25 mg and after two weeks of my headache still being out of control,it was raised to 50mg. 20 is what I go to when my headache is totally under control. How long have you had this headache? Good luck.

Hi:

I have been having it for almost 1 year.So are you headache free now with the Elavil 50mg?thanks

This past Sunday,I had my headache for two years.I do really well now for the most part.I got my job back a year ago and have only missed one day.This June was a rainy month and that seems to be a trigger for me. That's when I went back to 50mg.I'll start weaning down again soon. Do you take anything else daily for the pain besides the Elavil? I was also on Inderal, which if you're not familiar with is a Beta-blocker for blood pressure.What do you think caused your headache to begin?

Hey Suwei, have you considered raising the dose? Elavil is usually started at 25mg tablets for migraines and 75 miligram tablets for depression. The maximum dosage for Elavil is 150mg.

Have you seen any improvement at your current dosage? If yes then

you might want to ask your doctor if I haven't received any benefit from 20mg should I raise the dose?

If not, then there are other FDA approved drugs for migraine: propranolol (Inderal), timolol (Blocadren), topiramate (Topamax) and divalproex sodium (Depakote).

check the following link for more information: http://headaches.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/a/ rxprevention.htm

I agree to ask to raise the dose, or add in a second medication. Until you have given a medication a few months at a full therapeutic dose, I would not yet give up on it. Unless of course the side effects are intolerable, but you don't mention that. Hope your appointment goes well. Hoe often do you go in to the doctor? Four months would be a long time for me as I go in monthly.

Prayfortheday - Glad to hear that you've had improvement and are able to get back to more of your pre-headache lifestyle. It seems that Elavil has helped a number of people on the forum. So I'm considering it to see if I could get any further improvement as well. If you don't mind sharing, what are your tyipcal pain levels like now? Are you pain free or lower pain where you can carry on like normal? Do you still have pain flares or does the med even everything out? Thanks!

Hi all:

Thanks for the all reply,I think I will increase my Elavil dosage and then take it until I see the new headache specialist.

To Prayfortheday:

My headache and dizziness started on sep/2008.I don't know what cause it,how about u?

WendyLou, I'd have to say the first year and a half of my headache was pretty rough even with the Elavil 50mg. I was also on Inderal. Things settled down this year where I was able to reduce the Elavil to 20mg and get off the Inderal. I"d like to try getting off the Elavil all together but I'm afraid of what might happen.

At this point I carry on as I used to although I still go to bed in the 10:00 range. My night time life is over. Sometimes the rain bothers me and I have to medicate and go to bed.

Tell me about your headache.

suwei, I woke up one morning with Vertigo and the headache back on July 19th 07. I was just recovering from surgery and had tons of terrible stress and also afterwards discovered I had the Epstein Barr Virus. This is my theory.

Had you been sick at all? What do you think gave you the headache? Do you still have any Vertigo?

It's the most awful frightening thing, isn't it?

Post edited by: prayfortheday, at: 07/24/2009 07:08 PM