Acid Reflux Over The Counter Medication

Q: I have had horrible headaches since I was about 7 years old. I am now 29. The headaches always have been concentrated in spot on the back side of my head. Sometimes they develop when a regular headache goes on for a while without taking anything. Sometimes I almost get tunnel vision a few hours before and feel a tightness on the right side of my head including tremendous eye pressure. About 8 years ago, after one brutal one I still had what I consider "after shock" effects days afterward. My doctor sent me to a neurologist. I had an MRI and they determined that there was nothing out of the ordinary. The neurologist gave me a sample of a migraine medication to try. I don't remember what it was but I do remember that it made me feel like I was dying the next time I had a headache. Since then, I have just dealt with them. I have Aleve which is the only thing that seems to knock them out for a while...and that can go on for days. Last week, a headache developed and took I still had heart burn pains with the nexium but the aciphex cleared everything - even the pain in swallowing after a few days. Now with the migraine I was experiencing... Relpax - 4:30 PM - I took the first dose. 30 minutes later, the head was feeling a little better. An hour later....the headache was coming back and I felt very weak and anxious. My question is this: I am fairly sensitive to any kinds of medication I take. I seem to always get the weird side effects of things. Even non drowsy drugs seem to make me drowsy. Are there any other Migraine drugs out there that have lesser symptoms? I read that Relpax was pretty bad with side effects as opposed to other drugs. Anyone else tried it? With the reflux so bad from so much Aleve I am not really left with an option anymore and willing to look into the migraine drugs more. Can anyone help me please?

A:The reason I ask, is that if you get them more than three a month, you might benefit from taking preventive medicines that keep the migraines from happening so often, or from being so intense, they hope. They hope, because while there's a raft of drugs to use in preventing migraines, they don't work the same way in everyone, some don't work for some people, and some have pretty noticeable side effects. Relpax is one of the newest triptans, and it tends to have a lot of side effects in some people, but it also seems to be very effective. I guess you have to pick your poison. There are other triptans with different profiles; maybe you should tell the neuro what your first experience with it was like, and if it was unpleasant enough to quit or switch. The probelm is, all the triptans seem to have some fairly short-lived but difficult side effects. As for the Motrin vs the Relpax? I'd say it was the Relpax... Motrin doesn't have a very good rack record on migraines,

unless you're a fairly clean slate and very sensitive to even low-end, over-the-counter drugs. As you well may be. Your best bet is to go back to the neurologist, and have a talk about your whole migraine/headache spectrum, including tension and sinus headaches, if you get them. He's in the best position to understand what if any preventives might do you some good. Since many drugs are designed for other conditions, that also benefit migraine, many times a drug can do double duty. I just don't know of any stomach drugs that prevent migraine! I wish, because I take Nexium and Zantac. Now that you've found us, stick around; and let us know how it goes with the neuro.