Beta blocker prescribed!

I would not take beta blockers for migraine... it's a slippery slope and to wean you out of beta blockers is quite dangerous. I would seek a second opinion from a consultant and try to get out of propanolol as quickly (and safely) as you can

At standard doses it can reduce bedroom performance. Lucid dreams also frequently reported.

Cotterend wrote:

I was surprised at the beta blockers, but I have also been struggling with regular 24 hour episodes of severe depression which I began to believe were post-silent-migraine episodes. All of these are associated with stress and fairly serious over-reaction to minor stresses, so I wondered if the doc had been clever and was trying to damp down stress reactions. However, he's a man of few words and what with his lack of English and my less-than-fluent French, even those words are not always useful!

My OH suffers from migraines and is on a prophylactic prescription of propanolol. It is a standard NHS treatment to try to reduce incidence of migraines if treatment with NSAIDs such as ibuprofen prove ineffective. I believe it works by preventing build up of blood pressure in the brain which triggers the migraine. It does seem to work for her and she's gone from more than 1 per week to less than one a month (which usually happens if she forgets to take the propanolol).

The other thing you can get is a triptan such as sumatriptan which will treat the migraine after it has started. This is one way to be sure they are migraines as if it doesn't help, you know the symptoms are caused by something different. It's not often prescribed though because its expensive so is generally only used if NSAIDs are contraindicated, or proving totally ineffective.

On the cycling side, she doesn't partake so I can't comment there unfortunately.

Webboo wrote:

I would strongly suspect you are being treated for stress related anxiety rather than migraines with Beta blockers.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Migraine/Pages/Prevention.aspx

Beta blockers can definitely be used for migraine prophylaxis. However, it is possible the doc is trying to kill two birds with one stone as it were.

ugo.santalucia wrote:

I would not take beta blockers for migraine... it's a slippery slope and to wean you out of beta blockers is quite dangerous. I would seek a second opinion from a consultant and try to get out of propanolol as quickly (and safely) as you can

I didn't realise you were a neurologist Ugo?

Cotterend wrote:

I need a different way to control the migraine / anxiety. Beta blockers are not the answer.

I agree and I also think the answer for either doesn't lie in a pill

Cotterend wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Cotterend wrote:

I need a different way to control the migraine / anxiety. Beta blockers are not the answer.

I agree and I also think the answer for either doesn't lie in a pill

I'm with you on this, more zen needed. Perhaps a little less of the bull-at-a-gate approach to life, perhaps I don't need to knock myself out cycling up every mountain.... although not doing so does sound a little boring

When I realised I was not getting any faster, I began to wonder how far I could go... and that unlocked a whole new world of challenges... might not solve your migrane issues, but it might do wonder for your anxiety...
Have a read and see what you think

https://whosatthewheel.com/2017/06/27/s ... ional-400/

I got prescribed what was described by the consultant in the pain clinic as half dose beta blockers. I read up on them and spoke to ppl in the NHS that I know. Neither doctors but they asked around at work and one got told by a doctor friend she worked with not to start on them. That doctor went on them and had problems. She nearly.didn't go on them at first and regretted wavering the way she did. I handed them in to a local pharmacist for disposal.

BTW I had to go to a pain clinic to see a consultant to get the prescription. Apparently in the UK it is a level of medication that a gp is not allowed to.prescribe. I'd exhausted all the gp prescribed migraine remedies by that time.

A little point I've got to make about triptans. Someone posted that effectiveness of triptans can indicate whether it's a migraine or other headache mis-diagnosed. I've have had my migraine attacks confirmed as migraines by several GPs and a specialist consultant in the field however triptans do not always work with me. There must be a few reasons why but one is that the nature of my migraines include stomach issues. By the time a migraine is detected my stomach has effectively shut down. Tablets sit in there until I throw them up. When I do get them into my system either through taking them and they get absorbed or they get into my blood another way they still don't work that often. BTW I've tried triptans in tablet form, nasal spray and melt on your tree wafers (rizatriptan). The consultant gave my gp instructions to prescribe rizatriptan. It was the only triptan with evidence that it gets into the blood when stomach based tablets aren't absorbed. It works better than any other triptan I've tried but only reduced the severity of the migraine. My.migraines are very severe (aren't everyone's?), but seriously I'm very numb on one side and can only just walk because one side of my body is almost.paralysed.

The last solution offered was anti-depressants!. I got the drugs then looked them up. The gp was a little but naughty I think because she never told me they were anti-depressants. I never took them. I'd rather get the migraine.

BTW I'm over a year since my last migraine. Touch wood I've grown out of it or got lucky in cutting out the triggers. It's not a nice condition to have.

To the op I'd say get referred to a specialist. IMHO the local gp is not the best person to rely on with migraines. In the UK they are not able to prescribe all the possible drug based options. You'd need a consultant for that.

Unfair about the cranks and armchair medics comment I think he meant judging by how he went on about sharing experience.

GPs not treating holistically does not mean a comment on homeopathy IMHO. It refers to looking at the whole. The gp looked at migraine and gave a script for beta blockers, looking at more than the condition might have considered cycling as an important hobby might not be compatible.

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/diction ... h/holistic

BTW it's often the case a rushed gp who has had.too many over runs with appointments takes shortcuts. Scripts given for the condition and potential contra indications get missed.

Of course you talk to professionals or experts which means consultants not GPs IMHO. There are many treatments a gp can prescribe, including several drugs that are effective with a lot of people. They are not permitted to or too afraid of liability to prescribe other drugs. These need consultant input at pain or migraine clinics.

I went through this route which resulted in beta blockers being offered. The consultant encouraged that and told me a lot about the risks. However the conversation about risks were framed in a manner that left me thinking they weren't anything to worry about. Nothing about issues with coming off them.

The consultant did write a letter to my gp apparently never saw a copy) giving a list of alternatives should beta blockers not work. Rizatriptan in wafer format (maxalt melt) was one. I suspect that anti depressant drug could have been another. BTW it's a bit of an obfuscation to say it's not being used as an antidepressant as if that's makes any issues less. It's still in the class of drugs known as antidepressants even if it's used for other conditions.

There's a wide range of drugs developed for heart and mental health that has been investigated for.migraine treatment. Since these drugs affect blood flow/blood vessels their use.makes.sense. I'm sure there will be more classes of drugs entering the list of drugs available to migraine sufferers.

One more point, there is no reason why you can't go n through the medical professional route for drugs and discuss it with fellow sufferers. I've been to events / talks put on by the main migraine research charity with the purpose of putting sufferers together and for them to meet with leading researchers in the field of migraine and related conditions. It's common for many conditions. It's good for many reasons not least because most people only see their gp about it and I'm sorry but GPs don't really treat migraine sufferers that well. That's my experience and TBH the experience of other sufferers I've met at those events. My advice is to get a referral to a specialist if your migraines become either very frequent or very severe. That is my only advice, the rest of what I've posted is just my experiences. I make no claim that any of my experiences will be yours. I do believe this one advice offered would apply to anyone that meets the criteria I've described.

Webboo wrote:

Why is unfair there is no clinical evidence to prove Homeopathy works.
So you dilute a substance so that it cannot be found and it is supposed to work because it remembers the substance.
In that case could you not just put water in your petrol tank as it should be able to remember there's been petrol in there once.

Whether homeopathy is a placebo or not is irrelevant. If it alleviates your symptoms with zero side effects, you shouldn't bother questioning whether it comes from placebo effect or not. If you can get the same placebo by suckling a splinter of wood at no cost, great, problem is most people only experience placebo if they believe in the product they are trying out.

Tangled Metal wrote:

Also no harm in charging lots for it and offering it to desperate ppl that have no hope. If anyone has the money to pay for it then it's their money. Personally I don't believe it should be paid for on the NHS on the off chance it works.

+1