Migraines, beta blockers, and riding

Anybody else out there taking beta blockers for migraine prevention? When I went off my hormonal contraception in November (which I was taking to control endometriosis - as far as I can tell, I'm in menopause at 49), my migraines went from once a month or once every other month to 4-8 times a month. :eek: I saw my internist, who sent me to a neurologist, who put me on Bystolic, a beta blocker, and Butterbur, an herb.

I'm worried/curious about what it will be like to start riding again when the weather warms up. I'm quite out of shape, having had two foot surgeries in the last year. But I'm determined to get back on the bike, and I'd like to train for that elusive century this year.

I'd love to hear from other cyclists who are on beta blockers. What's the difference? Am I going to be able to push it, ride hard, as I like to? Will it just take longer to build up to it? Am I going to try it and pass out? :confused: :rolleyes: Hope not.

Well, they wanted my DH to take them after he had his stents put in. Mind you, he already was an extremely fit cyclist, with a resting HR of 40. After a week, he told them, no way. The drugs made him sleepy and tired, as well as the fact, he never could get his HR up.

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Originally Posted by Crankin

Well, they wanted my DH to take them after he had his stents put in. Mind you, he already was an extremely fit cyclist, with a resting HR of 40. After a week, he told them, no way. The drugs made him sleepy and tired, as well as the fact, he never could get his HR up.

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They wanted to give a beta blocker to somebody who already has a resting heart rate of 40? :eek:

My doctor considered it for me but told me I would not like what it did to my biking performance. I'm continuing with Relpax and anti-nausea medication for when I can't stop the migraine.

I take Maxalt (a triptan, as is Relpax) when the migraine comes. If I am not in denial, and take it right away, it stops the pain. The problem is that the migraines were coming so much more frequently that my doc wanted me to step up a level to a preventative. Taking a triptan more than 4 days a month can lead to rebound pain. Ugh.

I tried beta blockers back in the day and they did nothing for migraines for me. They did put in me in a permanent emotion-free fog, though.

Went off them and switched to Depakote (valproic acid) which did help a lot.

In recent years I've been able to lower the dose of the Depakote down to only 250 mg per day (of the extended release version). At my worst I was at 1500 mg per day (regular version, before the ER became available; I think the dosages are a bit different between ER and regular). Depakote is not without side effects, but I've able to do many long bike rides while taking it.

Of course, I'm not a neurologist so I don't know if there is a reason why your doctor feels a beta blocker is most appropriate for you.

FWIW I've never been able to take the pill because it made the migraines way way way way way worse for me, among other negative side effects.

Yeah, Jolt, it was just really hard for his cardiologist to understand how fit he was; obviously my DH does not fit the profile of the typical person who has heart disease. It took a little "education" on DH's part, but now his doctor understands. He really is very good, but sometimes, I think they are all on automatic pilot in terms of prescribing. Of course, the whole thing was frustrating, as his case was not typical from the beginning; the blockages just didn't show up on the scans and it took an emergency when we were riding to get them to do an angioplasty.
We also have a good friend who is the more typical cardiac case. The beta blockers made him incredibly sleepy and unable to barely get around. Yes, he is overweight, etc., but not totally a slug. He finally took himself off the drugs and was much better (the doctor gave him something else).

I get menstral migraines, like clock work, I take Frova as soon as one hits and it works great. I hate taking them cuz I get in the fog too but it works. I feel your pain!

I also had terrible migraines at a time when I was taking the pill, many years ago. When I completed my family and still had the headaches often, my doctor prescribed beta blockers. It was awful. I had the worst, most sleep depriving nightmares ever and was off them within a month or two. They did not do anything to prevent the migraines. I am very well controlled for irregular migraines with generic sumatriptan. Hope you do not have to take the blockers, though I cannot comment on how it would affect your cycling.

*raises hand* another mentrual migraine sufferer here. I just came back from a 2 day snowboarding trip, yesterday was ruined because of the migraine. I managed only 2 runs before I felt like I was going to chuck my breakfast and pass out from the pain. I'm sure the mountain altitude didn't help matters, nor the bright, sunny, warm conditions.

Since mine seems to be somewhat muscular related (especially in my trapezius and neck muscles), I find taking Robaxacet sometimes helps. But for the most part all they do is dent the pain and put a fog. Still does nothing for that beat-up feeling and lethargy.

I actually forgot about my butterbur extract. I also sometimes take homeopathic migraine pills with butterbur, feverfew, and 5-htp. If taken with acetominophen or ibuprophen I find it speeds things along.

Ugh, I sometimes really hate being a girl!

Interestingly enough, it was when I *stopped* using contraception that the migraine frequency skyrocketed. I'd been using the NuvaRing for about 10 years, with no breaks, to stop my endometriosis. I started having slightly more frequent migraines in the past year, so decided to stop the NuvaRing. I'm 49, and figured I was close to menopause anyway. It is hard to be a girl. Some womens' migraines increase in menopause, and it seems I'm one of them.

We'll just have to see what happens when I start riding again. Luckily, I don't feel lethargic or fogged out with the Bystolic and Butterbur.

I took the Bystolic for two months, didn't have a single migraine the whole time. I also took the Butterbur (Petadolex). 5/20 I was hospitalized with a kidney infection, and my blood pressure got as low as 70/44. I was advised to stop the Bystolic, which I did, gladly. Continued the Butterbur. Since then I've had one migraine, easily nipped in the bud with Maxalt.

Once I was off the Bystolic, I realized how much better I felt. I enjoy having my normal BP back, and hope the Butterbur alone will prevent a lot of migraines.

I'm sure you've tried feverfew? as mine is not considered a "classic migraine", I found that feverfew didn't do much for my migrained. But some do swear that they reduce the fequency and intensity.

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Originally Posted by badger

I'm sure you've tried feverfew? as mine is not considered a "classic migraine", I found that feverfew didn't do much for my migrained. But some do swear that they reduce the fequency and intensity.

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I have *not* tried Feverfew. I'm happy with Butterbur so far.

I take Toprol for HBP.
The added benefit is that it has tamed my migraines. I still get them but not as often and not even close to as severe. Almost always tied to my cycle now.

I have been in hypertensive crisis twice so I am just thrilled to have my BP in control with the two drugs at the moderate dosage that is working at the moment. In the past I have had to take the max dosage of four separate drugs just to keep my BP out of the danger zone. I have very difficult to control HBP.
I do not notice any negative side effects beyond the lower heart rate during exercise.
I also have high cholesterol that does not respond to dietary changes. My eating habits do not leave any room for improvement compared to the docs recommendation. My good is very, very low and my bad is moderately high. My doc has me on meds.
The coronary calcium scan I had done a year ago rated me at 0% chance of having a heart attack. I eat well, exercise and do not smoke or drink. My docs say the cholesterol and HBP are genetic. They feel that my unexpectedly positive scan can be attributed to lifestyle choices.

Since mine seems to be somewhat muscular related (especially in my trapezius and neck muscles), I find taking Robaxacet sometimes helps.

Wow, that is what I'm thinking is going on with me? I have been having some serious shoulder and low trap pain on the bike and found that my sternum is uneven and that shifting my handlebars to the right really helps. However the muscles and nerves are still really irritated from before and when I ride it is better but I'm still getting flares of pain. Yesterday at work I picked up something wrong and flared that already angry little ball of nerves up again. Last night about 3 AM I awoke with the worse migraine to date and yes I am having my period right now so I'm sure like most of you it seems mine is also cycle/hormone related. I was actually scared last night the pain got so bad:(. I felt like I was going to die! It feels muscular though because every time I would try to lay on my side I could feel my shoulder flare up and my head would pound worse. Right now the pain is a dull murmur but I feel like someone grabbed the back of my neck and just squeezed as hard as they could. I guess it's hard to say because I ended up with dry heaves too, gawd I'm a mess.

I had been an intermittant migraine girl forever--after a fall and concussion I had constant headaches. The doc put me on a low dose of amitriptyline (so low, she called it 'tincture of nothing') and it has cut down on ALL my headaches, to the point where I have headaches like a normal person--you know, those people who notice that their head hurts, and then they can take tylenol and feel better.

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Originally Posted by WindingRoad

Since mine seems to be somewhat muscular related (especially in my trapezius and neck muscles), I find taking Robaxacet sometimes helps.

Wow, that is what I'm thinking is going on with me? I have been having some serious shoulder and low trap pain on the bike and found that my sternum is uneven and that shifting my handlebars to the right really helps. However the muscles and nerves are still really irritated from before and when I ride it is better but I'm still getting flares of pain. Yesterday at work I picked up something wrong and flared that already angry little ball of nerves up again. Last night about 3 AM I awoke with the worse migraine to date and yes I am having my period right now so I'm sure like most of you it seems mine is also cycle/hormone related. I was actually scared last night the pain got so bad:(. I felt like I was going to die! It feels muscular though because every time I would try to lay on my side I could feel my shoulder flare up and my head would pound worse. Right now the pain is a dull murmur but I feel like someone grabbed the back of my neck and just squeezed as hard as they could. I guess it's hard to say because I ended up with dry heaves too, gawd I'm a mess.

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Try going to a chiropractor.

When I was taking preventive meds for my migraines, I tried a dozen or so things without success. The my neuro put me on zonegran (an anti-seizure med) and it worked like a charm. I also didn't have any problems with being tired.

Never taken beta blockers due to a bad reaction that would most likely happen, but I am now on an Alzheimer's med to avoid kidney stones (topomax may have caused one) and to keep my migraines under control. It's called Namenda and is kinda experimental, but has been really helping so far. I don't know if it is luck or the med though at this time.

Regardless, they put my younger sister on a beta blocker as a treatment. She's a runner and it just about killed her. She had no energy and also couldn't sleep properly (would wake up for hours at a time). I know a few other people who also had issues with it.

I take Maxalt as my quick acting med, but it is almost useless without a daily controller med. I am also on Zoloft, so taking it all the time is dangerous thanks to serotonin syndrome.

I also have endo, but my migraines aren't hormone driven like some. I can't imagine what that would be like. The immense pain from the endo was enough to deal with, let alone a migraine. I haven't had a period in more than a year, so I don't know about that.

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Originally Posted by malkin

The doc put me on a low dose of amitriptyline (so low, she called it 'tincture of nothing') and it has cut down on ALL my headaches, to the point where I have headaches like a normal person--you know, those people who notice that their head hurts, and then they can take tylenol and feel better.

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I've had a similar experience with nortriptyline. I have many fewer headaches, and the ones that I do get generally respond well to medication. For me, it's a wonder drug. Taking a daily preventative means that I take far fewer pills overall.

Before the nortriptyline, my doctors had me try verapamil, a calcium-channel blocker which is sometimes used off-label for migraine prevention. The reason that we tried a heart drug first was that the continuous migraines were sending my blood pressure quite high. (Funny how unending severe pain will do that to you.) My BP dropped like a stone, but I also became lethargic and depressed. I couldn't exercise without blacking out, and my heat tolerance was seriously affected. About the only good thing was that it helped some with the migraines, and I started sleeping well for the first time in a decade. After a few months of trying to make it work, and after a few blackouts which resulted in falls, I finally told the doctor, "I'd rather have the migraines. I'm not taking this anymore."