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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2005 >> More Relpax questions
        
(Message started by: JenniferD on Oct 4^th, 2005, 11:26am)

Title: More Relpax questions
Post by JenniferD on Oct 4^th, 2005, 11:26am

Dr gave me relpax as an abortive. Last night was tough, hit pretty hard (long time since I had that "ax in the back of the head feeling!) Took one of the relpax, but not sure if the attack was already on its way out, or the relpax kicked in, but damn if I wasn't completely exhausted afterward. Just plain worn out.

What do you all mean by "half life"? Hear me saying stupidly- I don't get it.

Also, what do you mean by "didn't fully recover"?
This morning I've been so worn out, and so damn blue I can't seem to shake it and the same ol same ol ever-present shadows. Is that what you mean?

Title: Re: More Relpax questions
Post by rextangle on Oct 4^th, 2005, 12:49pm

Hi Jennifer,

I tried Realpax before after Maxalt stopped working for me. It works well, but can take a long time to kick in. The advantage of it is that you can take more 2 hours after you take the first one. And yes, you will get very tired after taking it, but helps to sleep well at night.

About half-life...
The duration of action of a drug is known as its half life. This is the period of time required for the concentration or amount of drug in the body to be reduced by one-half. We usually consider the half life of a drug in relation to the amount of the drug in plasma. A drug’s plasma half-life depends on how quickly the drug is eliminated from the plasma. A drug molecule that leaves plasma may have any of several fates. It can be eliminated from the body, or it can be translocated to another body fluid compartment such as the intracellular fluid or it can be destroyed in the blood. The removal of a drug from the plasma is known as clearance and the distribution of the drug in the various body tissues is known as the volume of distribution. Both of these pharmacokinetic parameters are important in determining the half life of a drug.

Title: Re: More Relpax questions
Post by Jill on Oct 4^th, 2005, 7:36pm

Jennifer,

I dont understand half-lifes totally either, never have actually! Though I do get it a bit better now that Rex has explained it (thanks).

First, Relpax is a rather new medication and seems to be being given to alot of Ch'ers lately - anybody else notice that? The neuro that prescribed it to me said that it would probably be too slow since it is in pill form to use as an abortive but it could be used as a preventative since it lasts longer than imitrex or other triptans. He said that if I was having a bad day, lots of hits or shadows, to go ahead and take it and hopefully it would keep the beast at bay. It seemed to help some but I cant use triptans now, so that isnt much help. Worth a shot to try though, right?

Second, I too have heard alot about not fully recovering from an attack and I think that for each person it varies. For me, it means a couple of things depending on how hard the attack was. Usually it is lingering, shadow like pain and soreness in the left side of my head and extreme exhaustion. I think that alot of people have the exhaustion and soreness after the battle and that is probably what is meant.

I have also noticed that blue feeling and also irritability... who wouldnt be? I have heard some people describe a euphoria (spelling?) feeling afterwards but the only feeling I have is gratefulness that it is over and I made it through. But then comes the fear of the next one and so forth.. guess it is a viscous circle.

I am not sure that this will help much but these are my experiences... we are all so different and yet we have many things in common.. Anyways, hope that you get a break soon..

Jill