Originally Posted by PALS65
Originally Posted by lab fairy
Propanolol is a beta-blocker used for high blood pressure. Not everyone can take it and it really depends a lot on blood pressure. When my blood pressure was really high I took the stuff and it did nothing for the headaches. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at this one, I lost 100 pounds in a year, the blood pressure went down but my dosage wasn't adjusted with the weight loss. I was on the floor with almost no blood pressure. I actually have fewer headaches without it.
I now see a neurologist who specializes in headaches. I mostly manage by knowing what are and aren't triggers. The headache diary was illuminating. I never realized what I was doing before I would get a really bad one.
Some people are trying ergotamine deratives with some success.
My neurologist thought that was the best choice for me. My family has a history of high blood pressure so it also helps in that way. I have been told by several doctors that propranolol has few side effects so it is also nice that way. I like the idea of a diary but I don't have any patterns to my headaches so in the 30 years I have had them we can't find a trigger. I have tried drugs like imitrex but end up feeling worse. I am changing to more of an optical migraine as I don't get the pounding headache but lots of visual things.
My DH was on propanonol for years to prevent migraines and it really worked. Before that, he suffered with them for a long time until he had an episode that he was paralyzed for 60 seconds or so at the onset of a headache and then had a searing flash of heat down the left side of his body and lost all feeling. It's been 19 years since then and the left side of his body still feels like the sensation you have after your limbs fall asleep, that tingling feeling. It looked like a stroke to us but after CT scans and MRIs, it was diagnosed as a migraine with complications.
So they aren't just a headache if they are frequent or severe. They can lead to other problems. You definitely want to see a doctor.