Against medical advice

I have suffered from MAV for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t chronic but at 40 plus it has taken charge of me in so many ways. I am sensitive to many triggers; foods,weather, exercise and stress are the problems. Have tried a few SSRI and SNRI’s, Topomax, Nortryptiline, Beta blockers and did not get any relief.

My neurologist talks about a negative feedback loop that has left me in chronic state. She also wants to approach my care from an anxiety origin. I am willing to try anything although the migraines certainly have an impact on anxiety. Any thought on meds that may help. Growing weary on the SSRI as while they do relax me a bit more the migraines are still a big problem and other side effects of the medications are strong.

Has anyone tried and had success with something off the typical migraine preventative drug path? I am also considering taking a medication that has caused heart palpitations that has helped many others. One doctor had told me they wear off but a similar medication (Nortryptiline) was giving me racing heart symptoms for a month before he took me off. It was a low dose but I wondered if giving another tricyclic taking on my own could work. No doctor seems willing to go that path but feeling desperate these days. I have a few friends that have had luck with this medication. Not saying I would do this but there is a thought.

Many on this site seemed to have had success with Amitriptyline. Its also a vestibular suppressant which may explain why it keeps the migraines at bay as that would kill one trigger. I’ve not had a big migraine for 4 months whilst on it at 20mg:

Hi there. I’ve been on nortriptyline for a year now and it has worked wonders. My heart rate did increase quite a bit but this settled after a couple of months. I had a very low resting heart rate to begin with and although it hasn’t settled back to my pre-nort level, it’s still quite a bit lower.

You’ll hear from some people on this site - myself included! - that taking magnesium and CoQ-10 helps. I don’t have my supplement bottles in front of me now and I haven’t memorized my doses, so I can’t be too specific at this time, but I take a Vitamin B complex, magnesium, and CoQ-10. It lessens my symptoms a little bit, but I won’t pretend it cures them.