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Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Imitrex Question http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1254417428 Message started by Marc123 on Oct 1st, 2009 at 1:17pm |
Title: Imitrex Question Post by Marc123 on Oct 1st, 2009 at 1:17pm
Does anyone know if taking an oral dose of Imitrex before you go to sleep will help?
I usually fall to sleep around 11:00 pm and my headaches have been happening around mid-night. I'm not too experienced with taking Imitrex so I wasn't sure if this was worth a shot or not. |
Title: Re: Imitrex Tip Post by Chad on Oct 1st, 2009 at 1:27pm
If you take Trex before bedtime, you should see results.
This is probably the only time the pill form will work. Taking a pill to abort usually doesn't work. Well, at least for me. I heard of others here using Amerge which I am not familiar with other than it is another triptan. Most of the time we're screwed if waking with a hit unless you have O2 by your side. It's all about timing. |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Marc on Oct 1st, 2009 at 2:21pm
Yes, several people here report success using Imitrex at bedtime.
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Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Marc123 on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 7:44am
Well, it seems taking the Trex tablet before I went to bed last night worked for me. Took it around 10:30 and I slept through my usual wake-up times. Only woke up when my son started to cry. I just feel like I have some shadows hanging about this morning, but as long as they don't get any worse, I can manage. Gonna try it again tonight and hopefully it will work again.
How long do you guys think I should do this before I stop to see if the cycle is broken and over? |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Chad on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 9:21am
Marc123,
I don't have any answer, but you must read on here about taking too much Trex. You can have rebound headaches or prolonged cycles it seems. I take very small doses and only while at work to get through the day. I'll be getting O2 in December when I see my new neuro. I am in remission right now though. |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Marc on Oct 2nd, 2009 at 10:00am
Based on my own experience, I agree completely with the comments Dennis made.
My approach would be to try using high flow O2 to abort, and turn to a Triptan only as a last resort. Marc |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Marc123 on Oct 4th, 2009 at 9:52pm
Well, I've been taking the Trex before I go to bed and it gets me through the night. Only problem is that I've been getting 1-2 hits during the day. So last night I decided to see if the cylce had changed times and didn't take the Trex before bedtime. Wouldn't you know it I had a hit in the middle of the night. I took the pill and 15 mins later I was able to get back to bed.
I guess I'll keep taking the pill before bed. I'd rather sleep through the night and deal with this stuff during the day. Getting blood work done tomorrow, I'll let you guys know what the results are. ~Peace out |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by DennisM1045 on Oct 5th, 2009 at 12:31pm Marc123 wrote on Oct 4th, 2009 at 9:52pm:
Hi Marc, Sorry to hear of the increase in frequency. Is it normal for you to experience hits during the day? -Dennis- |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Marc123 on Oct 5th, 2009 at 3:04pm
Before I realized I was in a cycle, I had a few little headaches that went away in a few mins. But when I realized this was a cylce starting up, I think my headaches just happened at night.
Is it possible that since I'm missing my 2 a.m. hit because of the Imittrex, that my body is basically "rescheduling" it for 2 p.m.? I picked up some melatonin 10 mg tabs, going to take that intead of the Trex tonight and see how that goes. I'm assuming I'll need to let the melatonin build up in my system before it should become effective. ~Peace out |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by DennisM1045 on Oct 6th, 2009 at 7:48pm
I just worry that using Trex is may be causing an increase in the # of hits you're getting. I'm not saying it's true but I have heard of this happening when using Trex daily.
Can someone with direct experience of this effect chime in here with their experience? I sure don't want to under or overstate this. -Dennis- |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by wip5150 on Oct 8th, 2009 at 8:52am DennisM1045 wrote on Oct 6th, 2009 at 7:48pm:
Dennis, During my last cycle, which seemed much more intense than past ones, I tended to rely more on Imitrex than I had in the past just to get through it. I will say that even though my cycle was shorter than normal, both the amount and intensity of the hits were more prevalent than in the past and I do attribute that to a bit of an over reliance on Trex. Seem that with each cycle I learn a little bit more and find better ways to corral the pain. Relying too much on Trex is a mistake I won't make during this cycle that just started up. |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Chad on Oct 8th, 2009 at 9:55am
Wip,
Good post reporting your results. I limited my last cycle to 2mg worth of injections a day while at work using the "imitrex tip" from this site. That came down to 9 total days of 2mg injections at work. At home, I used energy drinks, melatonin at night, ice and excercise which was enough to fight it out. I should have O2 in December after my visit with my NEW neuro. I truely believe though that my limited use of Trex in this last cycle along with quitting smoking 5 years ago and using seeds before the cycle started made this the shortest cycle I have had in the 16 years I have been getting CH. |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Marc123 on Oct 8th, 2009 at 12:53pm
Well, I've been taking 10 mg of Melatonin before bed instead of the Imitrex and I didn't have any hits while I slept. I did keep getting a 2 pm attack that I would take a 100 mg Imitrex pill for and the pain would go away in about 20 mins.
Yesterday I was happy when I missed my 2 pm appointment and thought maybe I had broken the cycle and it was over, but unfortunately I had a hit last night around 12:30 am. Guess I'll see what happens at 2 pm today. ~Peace out |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Chad on Oct 8th, 2009 at 1:12pm Marc123 wrote on Oct 8th, 2009 at 12:53pm:
I'm curious if you stopped taking your melatonin while you had that brief pain free time? I got a random hit last Thursday while being 5 days PF. |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Marc123 on Oct 8th, 2009 at 2:42pm
Chad,
I haven't stopped taking the Melatonin sice I started this past Monday so that's why I thought it was weird I got a hit last night. Btw, it looks like my 2 pm hit is skipping for a second day. :) |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by Chad on Oct 8th, 2009 at 2:52pm
Marc,
That's good news. No hit for you today, awesome!!! I found that when my cycles come to and end it's like a snow storm. It just tapers off with a hit here and there till if finally stops. However, my last hit that I had last week was a dandy, but it just shut off like that and hasn't returned since. I actually went to work last week w/o trex injections thinking the beast left, but on Thursday I thought I had sinus pressure due to this weather and bam! I left work, drove home and guess what? The beast left me as soon as I got home. So, I turned around again and went back to work with trex this time. What did I learn, never leave home w/o your weapons even when you think you're out of cycle. |
Title: Re: Imitrex Question Post by slhaas on Oct 12th, 2009 at 8:00pm
I successfully used this method for months in the past, but there are associated issues. First, it is really expensive to take 1 or 2 imitrex pills every day. Second, I started getting rebound headaches after taking it regularly for so long. The pills act too slow to be an effective abortive, but I keep them around for situations where they are more convenient. I also take one before bed when I am in a cycle and absolutely must sleep through at least most of the night. I've also discovered that they help a lot with a hangover, for whatever that is worth.
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