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Daughter's headaches (not crohns related)

Tesscorm

Moderator
Staff member
Hi everyone,

This isn't at all about crohns as many of you know it's my son with crohns, not my daughter. But... there's no better place for advice, so I hope no one minds if I come for something other than crohns. :)

I mentioned on Pilgrim's thread that my daughter was prescribed maxalt for her migraines. She's taken 3 pills and they've worked reasonably well. Problem is insurance won't cover it (so far) and the cost was $90 for 6 pills. In Ontario, they've begun covering 'all' medications for those under 25 but (there's always a 'but') you first must fail other meds before maxalt is covered (and nurse thought it would be the same for insurance). And, as she's turning 25 in May, I'm not sure the government program is much help anyway.

The nurse practitioner suggested other triptan meds that we can try to have covered by government/insurance. In order of her preference, they are:

Almotriptan
Naratriptan
Sumatriptan

Does anyone have experience with these? And anyone know why Maxalt would be better (ie why was it prescribed first?)?


(Just some background, she was referred to a Headache Neurology clinic and this is where the NP prescribed the maxalt. She's been seen only by the NP at the clinic. However, approx. a month before being seen at the neurology clinic, we did take her to emergency because of these headaches and they ran a CT scan, along with labs, etc., to rule out any other concerns. After seeing CT and other results, they believed the migraines were being caused by stress.)

Thanks everyone! :)
 
Lol, I just updated Grace's headache thread.
Sorry no real advice.
We're still trying to get hers under control.
 

Tesscorm

Moderator
Staff member
Just some corrections (when you don't go the apptmt, you don't always get all the info! :yfaint:)

She did see a neurologist, along with NP.
 
My sister and I have both suffered from migraines since we were teens. And now my younger (non-Crohns) daughter also gets them.

I first tried triptans about 10 years ago, and sumatriptan (imitrex) happened to be the one prescribed. (I think it's the oldest and cheapest one.) It has been a miracle med for me. One 50mg tablet completely relieves my migraines, usually within 30 minutes. I am really careful about rebound effects, so I never take more than 2 tablets a week. (It's rare that I get more than 2 headaches a week, though.)

My sister also gets total relief from sumatriptan. She was first prescribed Maxalt, and that worked for her too.

My daughter does not get such easy relief from sumatriptan. It seems to work for her sometimes, but not always, and it seems to make her really nauseated for about an hour when she takes it. (even more than the nausea that she already feels with a migraine) So a couple of years ago we tried really hard to find her headache triggers. We followed the guidelines in a book called "Heal Your Headache" by David Buchholz.

https://www.amazon.com/Heal-Your-Headache-David-Buchholz/dp/0761125663

In her case, she seems to have several food triggers: chocolate, aged cheese, onions, and tomatoes. Now that she's cut them out, she gets a lot fewer headaches. She also recently got a prescription for maxalt, and that does seem to work better for her than imitrex.

The Buchholz book also has really good information about all the medicines that can be used with migraines, both rescue meds and preventative meds.

I hope your daughter finds a good treatment. Migraines can be horrible, and it really changed my life for the better once I had a treatment that I could count on.
 

my little penguin

Moderator
Staff member
Ds uses imitrex and has for 8 years

Works wonders
He has the tablets and spray
Nasal spray is easier and works better per Ds
 

Tesscorm

Moderator
Staff member
Thanks PDX, MLP...

I'll pass this all on to my daughter. I'd been a bit worried about the meds losing their efficacy over time but, from what you have said (and Jabee), this doesn't seem to be a problem.

Nausea isn't a typical problem for her but given her heartburn, maybe the nasal spray would be better?? I didn't know this was an option. :)
 
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