Nortriptyline for Migraine Prevention User Reviews (Page 4)

• Ari...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 30, 2017

"I've had migraines since I was 15 and am now 28. I used to take Imitrex, and that worked pretty well for a few years. Once it stopped working, I found Treximet, which is amazing, but unfortunately, when I switched insurances, they did not cover the formulary medications. So I was using naratriptan at onset semi-successfully for about 2 years (sometimes only worked for a few hours, then it would come back). About 6 months ago, I started waking up with migraines every single day for weeks at a time with no relief from naratriptan, so my doctor started me on nortriptyline. I take 30 mg before bed and haven't had a migraine in months! A miracle. The only side effect I've noticed is increased nighttime bathroom trips. So worth it though!"

• Kar...
• August 25, 2017

"33 yr old male suffering from headaches since I can remember. They've gotten worse as I've gotten older. I use Imitrex and Relpax at onset, and this usually takes care of the headache. I would go through several 'stints' where I would wake up with a headache every day. I am on Propranolol for HBP and migraine maintenance. I tried several other maintenance medications like Topamax and amitriptyline. Topamax made my hands tingle. Amitriptyline didn't work. I've been on Nortriptyline for 2 months, and WOW, what a difference. The first night I took it, I woke up without a headache. I probably only get 1 a week now, if that. Try this med if you haven't already, maybe it will help you too!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• December 31, 2016

"This medication has been very effective by almost eliminating my daily pain. When I do experience headache, jaw, and neck pain, it's now usually milder than before and easily treated with a pain reliever. Additional benefits include helping me fall asleep easier and reducing the symptoms of a serious sleep disorder. The only negative side effect directly related to this med has been severe thirst, requiring me to drink water and urinate very frequently. However, this annoying and inconvenient side effect is well worth it. I'm also at high risk for angle closure, but I'm unsure if it's related. I lived with chronic pain from my mid-20s through my late 30s before starting this medication. I only wish I had started taking it earlier in life."

• jan...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• August 9, 2015

"A neurologist prescribed this for me several years ago because of the terrible, debilitating headaches I was having. The kind that puts you in bed because you can't function. It really did help. I tried a while back to go off of it, and the headaches returned, so I started back and they subsided again. I won't try stopping taking it again as long as I stay headache-free."

• Nik...
• July 28, 2019

"It definitely helps with the migraine, but I can’t stay on it because it makes me dizzy, causes low blood pressure, fatigue, and foggy-headedness. I might take it occasionally. Oh yeah! And it made me feel depressed."

• Anonymous
• January 4, 2012

"I'm 50 and attributed my pain to chronic sinusitis, having had two surgeries and what seemed like endless infections. My ENT doctor recommended seeing a neurologist to determine if migraines were affecting me. I'd have 8/9 pain 3 to 4 times a month, 4/5 pain often, and 2/3 pain almost constantly. I've had it so long that I'd routinely work through it, but it's taken a toll periodically on my personal and professional lives. I'm currently taking 30 mg nightly and am virtually headache-free. It's great having relief after so long. Research in the last five years indicates that migraines are often misdiagnosed as sinusitis. Also, if you know someone suffering from what seems to be sinus pain, have them get an opinion from a neurologist."

• Ron...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 25, 2016

"The first few months being on this drug, it did not work at all. Before taking the drug, I would get approximately a headache every other day and a migraine once a week. This continued a couple of months after starting the drug at 10 mg. Now, after being on it for 6 months, it is working wonders. I have only gotten 10 headaches in the past 90 days and 1 migraine."

• Loo...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• September 29, 2015

"I was prescribed Pamelor by my neurologist and began taking it 29 days ago. He suggested trying either an antidepressant or anti-seizure medication because both are known to help alleviate migraine suffering in some people. I wanted to go the antidepressant route since I am also chronically depressed, and since counseling and other medications I have tried did not help. After the first week on Pamelor, the migraines were drastically reduced in both frequency and severity, and I went the next three weeks without any pain in my head. My mood is stabilized, I have a clarity that I have never had, and getting out of bed in the morning is no longer excruciating. I am on 10 mg to start and will go higher if it is an option at the next appointment."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• April 26, 2017

"I was given this medicine to take daily to prevent migraines, and I don't know if it worked because it threw me into the worst depression I've ever dealt with in my life. At the peak of this, I had a panic attack so bad I was considering dropping out of college! Luckily, I realized that the pill was making me feel this way, and as soon as I stopped it, the depressive episodes and anxiety went away. I was on a small dose too. Terrible. Be careful with it if you have a history/predisposition to depression/anxiety."

• Nic...
• April 20, 2011

"Started taking nortriptyline for migraine prevention after 10 years of going to 6 different neurologists and taking countless medications. The first 3 weeks were great because I had gone from 2-3 days a week of migraines to not a single episode. It was very hard to deal with the daytime fatigue, and this was only on a 25 mg dose, but two cups of coffee took care of that. I stopped taking it suddenly after 1.5 months due to a change in mood/angry/depressed feelings which I've never experienced, and sure enough, I was in bed for 3 days with a migraine. So, I'm back on the medicine, have been almost migraine-free for 3 months, the fatigue has gone away, and as long as I remember to read my 'positive thoughts/positive things in my life' when I feel a little depressed (this medicine or at least 25 mg a day hasn't helped depression), I'm fine. I'm 31 years old, healthy, and now I can finally live my life not worrying about migraines! Thank you to my neurologist for finally finding an answer to my pain, and thank you nortriptyline."

• Anonymous
• September 24, 2012

"I've been taking nortriptyline for almost two years. It has proven extremely effective in reducing my migraines. I now get a migraine perhaps five or six times a year compared with once a week previously. It did cause dry mouth at first, though that has abated. And my mood is much improved, possibly because I have fewer headaches and possibly because of the drug's antidepressive effects. The main problem is weight gain. I feel hungry almost all the time. That said, I'm not ready to return to pre-nortriptyline days and, instead, will work on diet and exercise."

• Sum...
• July 29, 2009

"I was going to the emergency room 3 times a week. They would give me a shot of Compazine and send me home. I would fall asleep, but when I woke up, the headache would come back. These were the worst headaches I've ever had, and nothing, even Imitrex, wouldn't help. After I was on Nortriptyline for 3 days, my headaches became manageable with Excedrin. I now rarely have headaches. My doctor has increased my dosage once."

• Mrs...
• November 23, 2017

"I've been getting migraines since I was a teenager. I've always used Imitrex (sumatriptan), which worked really well, but the side effects kept worsening throughout the years. So much so that it got to the point where the clothes that touched my skin hurt. Not normal, but better than a migraine, right? That was my thought. I told my doctor, and she immediately had me switch over to nortriptyline 10 mg before bed. I have sleep issues and PTSD as well, and starting this medication helped me with all of it. I've had two migraines since starting a month ago. This is a huge improvement over the 8+ migraines I would normally have. The only downside is that it can back you up a bit. Easy fix with a little Miralax. Overall, I would highly recommend!"

• Anonymous
• May 8, 2011

"I have suffered for years with migraines. I calculated that I lost 1 year completely to migraines every 6 years. I started nortriptyline in Dec 2010 and have not had one migraine since then. Even with my job stress (nursing), no headaches. Finally, at 49, I have a life. The dry mouth can be difficult at times, but dry mouth or migraines, I pick dry mouth."

• sup...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 7, 2017

"I thought I'd share my experience as I was madly reading all the reviews on this website before starting this drug. I get it on the NHS in the UK, and I take 20 mg a day. Taking this drug and combining it with the plan in Dr. David Buchholz's book, Heal Your Headache, has been the closest I've got to a total cure for my chronic severe migraines. There are almost no side effects. It's amazing. A word of caution: at one point when I tried increasing to higher doses above 20 mg, I had very bad mood swings for a few days. Even when I started from 0 to 10 mg, I had very bad mood swings for a few days, but then it evens out and becomes unnoticeable."

• 1NC...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 2, 2017

"I have been taking Nortriptyline 25 mg for two months. I previously had daily migraines for over a year. No other treatment options worked. The Nortriptyline works! It prevents the migraine from even starting. You have to be good at remembering to take it. If you miss a dose, pain can return. I take it one time in the evening. I have only experienced one side effect, and that is that it makes me sleep harder. Doesn't make me sleepy, though. I would definitely recommend this med to anyone who suffers with migraines that don't have a deeper cause."

• Cra...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• February 5, 2017

"Well, I'm currently taking four 25 mg nortriptyline a night for the past few months. This is the only tablet that seems to keep my migraines at bay, as I was diagnosed with classical migraines after my MRI scan. If I miss one night, I will get a migraine the day after every time. I cannot miss a night taking them, otherwise, I pay for it the next day. I can have up to three major migraines a day, but this dosage and these tablets seem to be working for me."

• Wif...
• April 14, 2017

"I've suffered from migraines since my daughter was born in 1967. I was prescribed Cafergot to take at the start of a headache. It worked well for each attack, but had a lot of side effects. I would get migraine episodes from once a week to 3 or 4 times a week. While employed, I would have to go to the ladies' lounge and rest for the period it took to alleviate the pain. Then my blood pressure got out of control, thereby creating another problem. I was having a lot of nausea and vomiting also. After retiring at 50, a new doctor prescribed Amitryptyline. Recently a new doc took me off it and migraines returned with a vengeance. I'm now taking Nortriptyline, and it has worked wonders! No more migraine at all."

• Coo...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• September 7, 2016

"I apparently have tension headaches rather than migraines. I had headaches about twice a week for maybe 9 years. They last up to 16 hours, and usual medications usually did very little. Started 10 mg Nortriptyline, worked immediately, but faded. Took it up to 20 mg, same thing. Went to 30 mg, and it lasted a while, but then faded. For about 7 months, I only had about 2 headaches a month. So I stopped taking it. After a few months, I started getting 4 or 5 headaches a week for the past 2 months. Got back on Nortrip about 10 days ago at only 10 mg. No headaches until yesterday. So, as of last night, I took it up to 20 mg. I didn't want to go past 30 mg but may have to. Vivid dreams that sometimes wake me, dry mouth are my side effects."

• Emm...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• May 22, 2017

"I'm 33. I have been taking 25 mg for the past 4.5 years. I have been getting aura migraines since I was 13. They have always been unpredictable and I could never pin down particular triggers. In my early 20s, I took Sandomigran for a couple of years but found I gained too much weight and still got migraines. For the first 4 years-pretty much to the day-of taking nortriptyline, I didn't have a single migraine, normal headaches lessened, my irritable bowel syndrome and endometriosis improved, and then I got the dreaded aura and a terrible migraine. I have now had 3 migraines in the past 5 months and I am curious as to why it's not working as effectively as it used to. Side effects: no weight gain, I get a dry mouth all day, lowered libido, restless sleep."

• Anonymous
• March 3, 2015

"I've had migraines with aura since my early 20s (I'm 45 now). Over the past few years, their frequency has increased. As of December 2013, I was having them about 2 times per week. I was put on Nortriptyline 50 mg/day. I have had only one migraine in the past 14 months (and the one I had was when I tried to reduce the dosage). The dry mouth and orthostatic hypotension have stopped. The only problem is that I really cannot drink very much alcohol."

• Anonymous
• April 9, 2012

"This past Jan. 2012, at the age of 50, I had two strokes, one attributed to my chronic migraines and the other from taking birth control pills for too many years. I have had migraines for over 10 years, and just before my stroke this year, I was having anywhere from 3 to 7 migraines a week. My neurologist prescribed Nortriptyline about 4 weeks ago. I have not had a single migraine since I started this medicine. I feel better than I have in years. I pray the medicine continues to work for me. The only side effect that I have noticed thus far is that sometimes my hands shake a little. I hope that I can take this medicine for a long time. It's nice being migraine-free!"

• Hea...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 10, 2018

"I was put on 10 mg initially for migraine and insomnia. After two weeks, my doc upped it to 25 mg, which I've been on for four weeks. I've had a number of side effects: blurry vision, dizziness, dry mouth, froggy voice, continuous migraine. After six weeks, I've started to taper off of nortriptyline, and it isn't going well. I still have my migraine, but add in chills, anxiousness, burning/tinglings arms and fingers. It was definitely not worth starting this medication."

• min...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• November 16, 2015

"Switched from amitriptyline to nortriptyline because I was told the side effects were less severe. My vision was already altered because of amitriptyline, so I am unsure if nortriptyline contributes. The side effects of hostility and aggression have lessened. However, the sweating is still constant. Sleeping is okay, just have a hard time falling asleep. The overall experience outweighs the headaches. I am thankful my migraines and daily headaches have lessened."

• Jan...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• April 21, 2015

"I've had migraines since my teens, and they became more frequent as an adult. A doctor prescribed nortriptyline as a preventative in my mid-20s. It worked well for me. We did 10 mg at night for a few months and stopped, it worked well. When the migraines became more frequent a few years later, we switched to continued use and 20 mg a night. Migraines are now rare unless I am dealing with serious stress. Headaches, in general, have been reduced in number."