Migraine support - new to Xanax. got it for sharp pains (prolly anxiety too)

Author

new to Xanax. got it for sharp pains (prolly anxiety too)

seeking relief from pain

2004-11-08, 7:11 pm

Hi. I am new to Xanax, but not to headaches. today my regular doctor
perscribed me 0.25 a day of Xanax (i got the Alprazolam generic) after
I described to him the sharp zapping/stabbing head pains that i've
been getting in the afternoons and night, especially as I'm trying to
go to sleep or have a nap. this ' pain thing' hits me and it often
jerks me out of falling asleep. I just took my first .25 MG Xanax a
little while ago, so I'm waiting to feel the effect of it.

now, I also have been using Imitrex for my more intense headaches
which are most likely migraines (often accompanied by nausia) which
are usually greatly relieved by the Imitrex. I also take 25 MG of
Elavil which was also perscribed for me for my headaches...that was
meant to reduce my sensitivity to pain if I remember correctly. I
haven't really been able to tell if Evavil has had a positive effect
on my headaches but I know the migraines or intense headaches with
nausia are helped by the Imitrex.... and now I am curious to find out
if this Xanax is going to help. I also have been suffering from what I
would say is probably moderate anxiety over a bunch of stuff
including my general health, and perhaps that was also a factor in my
gp doctor's decision to try me out on Xanax.

I take it that this 0.25 MG Xanax a day is a low dosage.... gawd, it
seems like I am taking alot of perscription stuff even though I know
there are millions that are on more drugs than I am....oh yes and I
take 20 mg a day of lexapro for anxiety & dep.....geeez.. I hope this
'coctail' of stuff that i'm taking helps the headaches and now these
sharp pains....and yeah, I asked him if maybe I should have an MRI or
CT scan...he didn't say anything about that, he just thought I should
try the Xanax and see how it goes...

so thats 4 things i'm taking, lexapro for anx/dep, elavil for pain,
imitrex for bad headaches/migraines and now xanax for tje sharp pains
(and perhaps anxiety too).... sigh.

well, all i can say is that I hope today's drugs are offering you guys
some decent relief from your anxiety and your various headache pains.
not feeling too bad today but recently ive had some bad, scary. days.
any info/suggestions welcome!

-johnny

GFX

2004-11-09, 2:08 am

How long have you been on the lexapro? Is there any relationship between
having started lexapro and worsening of your headaches, or in getting these
new pains?

If you "haven't really been able to tell if Elavil has had a positive
effect", is that the same thing as saying it's not doing much for you?

The xanax dose is likely to be subtherapeutic, and may even cause increase
in your anxiety, because it wears out faster than you can replace it, at a
"once daily" dose. Perhaps I will be wrong on that, and I hope so. I am
not a really big fan of Elavil at all, so if you don't think it's helping
you, you might consider talking with a psychiatrist about your medication
mixture. Elavil blocks norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake and also
affects the histamine, acetylcholine and alpha adrenergic receptor sites, so
it's considered a somewhat "dirty" drug, as compared with Lexapro, which
strictly impacts serotonin. I frankly don't see the point in combining
elavil and lexapro, personally.

I think a psychiatry consult is indicated for you. I also think you may
want to consider making a list of your life stressors, and take that to a
good therapist, so you can address some of the possible reasons for having
migraines and anxiety (particularly in the face of being on a high lexapro
dose and elavil - still having anxiety and headaches - makes me think about
major life stressors immediately). My vote is to lose the elavil if
possible, try for a script for two or three doses of the xanax and therapy,
this would probably also enable you to get on a lower dose of the lexapro,
which is a common cause of headache, even in "non-headache" patients.

JMO,
Gary

"seeking relief from pain" <icantcopewithitall@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5cd2d7f5.0411081703.42b0da02@posting.google.com...
> Hi. I am new to Xanax, but not to headaches. today my regular doctor
> perscribed me 0.25 a day of Xanax (i got the Alprazolam generic) after
> I described to him the sharp zapping/stabbing head pains that i've
> been getting in the afternoons and night, especially as I'm trying to
> go to sleep or have a nap. this ' pain thing' hits me and it often
> jerks me out of falling asleep. I just took my first .25 MG Xanax a
> little while ago, so I'm waiting to feel the effect of it.
>
> now, I also have been using Imitrex for my more intense headaches
> which are most likely migraines (often accompanied by nausia) which
> are usually greatly relieved by the Imitrex. I also take 25 MG of
> Elavil which was also perscribed for me for my headaches...that was
> meant to reduce my sensitivity to pain if I remember correctly. I
> haven't really been able to tell if Evavil has had a positive effect
> on my headaches but I know the migraines or intense headaches with
> nausia are helped by the Imitrex.... and now I am curious to find out
> if this Xanax is going to help. I also have been suffering from what I
> would say is probably moderate anxiety over a bunch of stuff
> including my general health, and perhaps that was also a factor in my
> gp doctor's decision to try me out on Xanax.
>
> I take it that this 0.25 MG Xanax a day is a low dosage.... gawd, it
> seems like I am taking alot of perscription stuff even though I know
> there are millions that are on more drugs than I am....oh yes and I
> take 20 mg a day of lexapro for anxiety & dep.....geeez.. I hope this
> 'coctail' of stuff that i'm taking helps the headaches and now these
> sharp pains....and yeah, I asked him if maybe I should have an MRI or
> CT scan...he didn't say anything about that, he just thought I should
> try the Xanax and see how it goes...
>
> so thats 4 things i'm taking, lexapro for anx/dep, elavil for pain,
> imitrex for bad headaches/migraines and now xanax for tje sharp pains
> (and perhaps anxiety too).... sigh.
>
> well, all i can say is that I hope today's drugs are offering you guys
> some decent relief from your anxiety and your various headache pains.
> not feeling too bad today but recently ive had some bad, scary. days.
> any info/suggestions welcome!
>
> -johnny

GFX

2004-11-09, 2:08 am

Book recommendation: Finding Balance: 12 priorities for interdependence
and joyful living - by Terry Kellogg and Marvel Harrison. for your
convenience I've found you the amazon.com listing for this book and it is
below:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/of...0?condition=all

"GFX" <garyrn@ifx.net> wrote in message
news:10p0o4pb1cgrl14@corp.supernews.com...
> How long have you been on the lexapro? Is there any relationship between
> having started lexapro and worsening of your headaches, or in getting
> these new pains?
>
> If you "haven't really been able to tell if Elavil has had a positive
> effect", is that the same thing as saying it's not doing much for you?
>
> The xanax dose is likely to be subtherapeutic, and may even cause increase
> in your anxiety, because it wears out faster than you can replace it, at a
> "once daily" dose. Perhaps I will be wrong on that, and I hope so. I am
> not a really big fan of Elavil at all, so if you don't think it's helping
> you, you might consider talking with a psychiatrist about your medication
> mixture. Elavil blocks norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake and also
> affects the histamine, acetylcholine and alpha adrenergic receptor sites,
> so it's considered a somewhat "dirty" drug, as compared with Lexapro,
> which strictly impacts serotonin. I frankly don't see the point in
> combining elavil and lexapro, personally.
>
> I think a psychiatry consult is indicated for you. I also think you may
> want to consider making a list of your life stressors, and take that to a
> good therapist, so you can address some of the possible reasons for having
> migraines and anxiety (particularly in the face of being on a high lexapro
> dose and elavil - still having anxiety and headaches - makes me think
> about major life stressors immediately). My vote is to lose the elavil if
> possible, try for a script for two or three doses of the xanax and
> therapy, this would probably also enable you to get on a lower dose of the
> lexapro, which is a common cause of headache, even in "non-headache"
> patients.
>
> JMO,
> Gary
>
>
> "seeking relief from pain" <icantcopewithitall@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:5cd2d7f5.0411081703.42b0da02@posting.google.com...
>
>

~Sage

2004-11-09, 7:11 pm

Hi Johnny, I'd be curious to know when your anxiety symptoms appeared?
How long have you been on the Elavil? Sometimes it can *cause* anxiety
in some people.

~Sage

jamie dolan

2004-11-16, 4:50 pm

Have you had a MRI and a nurological examination to rule out any physical
problems?

Jamie

--
-Jamie
"~Sage" <sagelechat@my-deja.com> wrote in message
news:1100041072.003148.174200@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Hi Johnny, I'd be curious to know when your anxiety symptoms appeared?
> How long have you been on the Elavil? Sometimes it can *cause* anxiety
> in some people.
>
> ~Sage
>

GFX

2004-11-16, 4:50 pm