I was diagnosed with migraine headaches when I was a kid and they became very frequent when I started taking Wellbutrin some months ago. Ever since then I’ve been relying on weed as my go to painkiller but my plug is out of town atm and annoyingly the pain’s particularly bad this afternoon. My health anxiety is also through the roof today, i’m dealing with my usual “what if it’s brain cancer” shenanigans, especially because i had a brain scan in May and cannot afford to get another one.
Basically it’s been a rough day, I could really use some support rn and I’d really appreciate if you wrote some nice comments to make me feel less alone. Feel free to open up about how you’re feeling as well, and i’d be more than happy to reciprocate your kindness if you happen to be struggling too. Thanks in advance.
Fellow migraine-sufferer. Ask a doctor for triptans. The one I take is called Rizatriptan. It's a pill that dissolves under your tongue, and your migraine slowly goes away and is totally gone in an hour. Then it's gone for the rest of the day. Side effects are dizziness and feeling weak, but they're worth it. The pills are expensive, though. They're $20 each in Canada. Triptans are amazing. Lifesaving medicine, imo.
I signed up to post this because everyone with migraines should know about this amazing drug.
oh yeah triptans are the best. i used to take zomig and it worked amazingly, but my doctor stopped prescribing it when i started Wellbutrin + Zoloft because they said there was some interaction between triptans and antidepressants and combining the two could cause seizures.
thanks for signing up to comment this tho, i hope other migraine sufferers read ur comment too
Yep, antidepressants like Wellbutrin and Zoloft cause neurotransmitters (like serotonin) to stay in your brain longer. Triptans directly activate serotonin receptors, so combined with the other drugs that can be a bit of an overload for your brain. Wellbutrin on its own is also well-known to lower the seizure threshold, so definitely not something to combine with a triptan.
If you are unable to use abortive therapy like triptans then it might be worth asking your doctor about preventative therapy? Plenty of people are able to prevent migraine recurrences with a class of drugs called beta-blockers, or a different class of drugs called calcium channel blockers. I don't think either would have any interaction with antidepressants afaik.
Also I'd like to try and douse the "what if it's cancer??" fire if I can! Brain cancers can cause seizures, or they can cause headaches (that are usually worse in the morning after spending all night lying down), but they aren't known to cause migraines. Cause as you know, migraines are quite a different beast from just regular headaches. Also, you are young! McCain was an old fart that got what was coming to him with a very very rare type of brain cancer. So this really doesn't sound like brain cancer to me.
Another forum I frequent has a running joke where the solution to anything and everything is to just dim the lights and play some Allman Brothers Band, so perhaps try that? Either way, I hope you feel better soon!
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Thank you so much.
That does make sense about triptans. I try to avoid certain foods and other triggers, but I definitely feel like I would benefit from trying other forms of migraine prevention. I really insisted with my doctor to get botox injections, but he said he was against performing those on teens/young adults.
That is reassuring thanks. I’ve researched a bit about symptomatic differences between migraines and brain cancer headaches, and apparently the second seem to be most frequently accompanied by other persistent (so not like auras) neurological symptoms, for instance I think McCain experienced double vision. I also read that if my headaches fit the usual pattern I’m most likely fine, so hopefully you’re right.
Oh I’m in complete darkness browsing chapo chat on dark mode, bright lights during migraines are the worst. I’ll also listen to some ABB for the good vibes haha thanks x
Not sure what status is elsewhere, but in the US you can get Botox injections specifically for chronic migraines. Insurance typically doesnt want to pay for it until you've tried several different abortive and prophylactic meds, but it's an option.