amitriptaline

amitryptaline is the one medication that's been most effective for my chronic daily headaches (not migraine). Haven't tried it with citalopram, but I've kept taking amitryptaline (currently 25mg) no matter what else I'm trying. It did lead to 30-40 pounds of extra weight, but every time I've tried stopping, the headaches get worse. Even with it, I have daily headaches.

Yeah, the weight gain is a drag. I'd weighed the same, downright skinny until I went on amitryptaline. Then my weight shot up over the course of just a few months -- my appetite just increased dramatically. My stupid neurologist at the time said "Oh, it's just age" -- I was in my early 30s at the time. It was a number of years later that I found out weight gain is an extremely common side effect. But I'll take the extra weight as long as it comes along with less severe headaches.

If you've got a good doctor, he or she will work with you, tinkering around until you find the right mix of meds for you. Unfortunately, headache medicine is very experimental, mostly using drugs that weren't even originally intended for headaches (anti-depressants, anti-convulsants, anti-hypertensives, etc.). I've been writing my federal representatives to get more NIH funding specifically devoted to headache research, which is the best chance we have for real progress in treatment. As one in the medical research field, I know that if the research dollars are there, the research will follow!

i've taken amitriptyline. i actually ran out of my prescription a long time ago, and haven't been to the doctor in months. i'm just really scared to go back! but i need more medication.
i took a low dosage so it helped a little, but not so much. i've actually never heard of citalopram so I haven't taken it. But i got awful awful migraine headaches.

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