Propranolol for Migraines & Indomethacin for Exertion Headaches
24 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment
in Exercise, headache & migraine, Health and Healthy Living Tags: Ankylosing Spondylitis, drugs, headache, indomethacin, migraine, propranolol, side effects, stroke
*Edit Dec 21* – So far I’ve been mostly okay still on the Propranolol! I’ve figured out that it is the Indomethacin that makes me SUPER dizzy…like 3 glasses of wine dizzy. Use with caution! As I mention below, Steve was on Indomethacin for a while for Ankylosing Spondylitis, but it never caused any side effects for him. Any side effects from the Propranolol seem to have worn off for the most part. I mean it’s only 10mg!
So after a bad spat of exertion headaches and migraines (6 of 9 days ruined!), I went to go see my doctor about it. She looked and sounded SO alarmed, brought out big scary words like STROKE, and BLOOD CLOTS. So I got alarmed, and promptly started crying.
Anyway, after some kleenex and a long discussion about what to do, stuff like I’m not getting an IUD instead of using the Nuvaring because I want kids in the near future; using Nuvaring back to back might help hormone fluctuations; Yes I understand the estrogen might be making things worse, but my PMS migraines were so bad before I went on Nuvaring anyway I don’t think it’s making it worse or better, she poked around her computer a little bit, and we decided to try a couple of new medications – one she had prescribed me in February, with the instruction to give it a try if my headaches got to the frequency of 1/week. I never filled that prescription, but thought that now would be an appropriate time to give it a try.
So I’ve been on this new medication, Propranolol, for about a week now. It’s supposed to help prevent migraines. I think it’s too soon to say whether or not it’s working yet, but I have noticed some side effects.
I’m on one 10mg pill per day. I’ve been taking it in the morning with breakfast, mostly. The warnings are that it might make you a little bit dizzy and tired, which I have been finding to be true. For rowing, perhaps due to a combination of having just recovered from a cold, followed by a bad 2 weeks of headaches, the drug, and horrid sleep etc, my power has just been disappearing. My latest 6k and 2k test results were embarrasing. So embarassing.
The other major side effect seems to be that I get major cold sweats when exercising. My face and chest will just LEAK water. I’m usually a sweater, but not this much, and it’s usually warm! And it seems to be less salty than usual as well. My body’s warm, but my skin goes cold. So cold. Even in a cardio room at the gym that I’m sure is more on the warm side than not. The cold sweat and the slight dizziness I’m pretty sure are side effects. The tiredness and groggy brain-ness…well, that could just be me in general.
So feeling a little bit foggy is annoying, especially when you’re trying to interact with people. Also, feeling weak and a little bit dizzy is annoying for morning rowing practices. So last night I tried taking the Propranolol with dinner, thinking that I can handle being groggy before bed. Unfortunately, it just caused my skin to go cold before I went to sleep (different feeling than just being cold and needing more blankets), and I woke up a few times during the night with my skin and sheets cold and soaked with cold sweat.
I mean, I have been having trouble this year with night sweats, but it’s usually more GROSS, and not COLD.
Man, I really gotta get this shit figured out. Perhaps I can try taking it with LUNCH tomorrow?
Happily, the vertigo/dizziness seem to have decreased in the past few days, so maybe in time the rest of the side effects will go away as well.
The other medication I’m trying is Indomethacin 25mg before intense exercise – it’s supposed to prevent exertion headaches. Have only used it twice so far – Steve was on Indomethacin for a long time for his arthritis and it ended up giving him some kind of ulcer, which was a real pain to fix, so that one I will use sparingly and with caution.
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