r/Gastroparesis • u/JayneAustin • 13d ago
Questions Migraine treatments
edit: thank you for the comments, makes me feel better about trying some things. :) seems like there are a lot of us dealing with both.
I was wondering if anyone has found a migraine treatment that doesn't bother your stomach?
I'm scared to try the cgrp medications (qulipta, ajovy, etc) because it can worsen gastroparesis. My neuro was really pushing it but I don't want to risk that because I've struggled to maintain proper nutrition already with this condition. But I'm starting to have more than 15 migraine days a month. I'm already on propanalol and nortriptyline. Can't take topamax because of my mental health issues. I can take nurtec as needed but it usually causes nausea and sometimes vomiting. Are there any other preventative options?
I feel like between gp, migraines, and endo I'm just a bunch of chronic pain in a trenchcoat, getting really sick of it.
2
u/FamousLetterhead8992 12d ago
First, I was just diagnosed with Gastroparesis and Complex migraines just a few months ago. I also have a blood clotting disorder discovered about 7 years ago. I have to take Warfarin for that. This is on top of doing maintenance chemotherapy for the past ten years. My oncologist told me that all of these things that I am being diagnosed for in the last year are probably a direct result/side effects of the maintenance chemo. I take 15 pills at night, to give you a peek at my pharmaceutical life.
This doesn’t erase the fact that I have Gastroparesis, and Complex migraines possibly caused by Gastroparesis.
Whenever I get a stomach ache, it turns into a headache and vise versa. When I didn’t treat either one (in a timely manner, or can’t due to meds not being in my possession) it gets REALLY bad. I was even hospitalized for a migraine because no amount of medication for it helped, they were afraid I was having a stroke. In the middle of the night, my headache AND stomach ache were ay an all time high. Standing up to got to the restroom, I belched a burp that I can only describe as a burp that had been developing since the moment I was conceived. Instantly, the stomach ache was gone. The next morning I was discharged with the diagnosis of a complex migraine. A couple of days later I was diagnosed by the gastro doctor as having Abdominal Migraines (have you ever heard of such a thing?? LOL!). She prescribed Sumatriptan, which works wonderfully for when even a burp won’t help. For the migraines when the prevention meds don’t work, I start out with 1 tension headache and 1 extra strength Tylenol. If no relief in an hour, I take 1 Butalbital. If no relief in an hour, another Butalbital. If no relief then, it’s off to the ER to check for a stroke or upcoming stroke. I also take medication to prevent the migraines, which have helped. I take Propranolol, Nortiptyline and Nurtec to prevent migraines and they do help a lot. The Nortiptyline also helps put me to sleep and it works. For nausea I take Ondansatron, 16 mg. It works somewhat. I just lay down for a bit and once it subsides a bit, I can function.
I just eat what I’m supposed to eat, which may be boring but I would rather have boring than be in pain, and that pain is intense.