Why You Need to Experiment With Migraine Medication

The drugs used to prevent and abort migraines can have side effects, but migraine patients shouldn't simply accept these as the price of using effective drugs. Taking the time to try different medications and talking with your doctor can help you find an effective treatment with the least amount of side effects.

The anticonvulsant topiramate (brand name Topamax), used as a preventive and taken once or twice daily, may cause mental fogginess and difficulties with memory. Beta-blockers, also prescribed as a preventive, can cause fatigue. But you may not have to live with those kinds of side effects.

"If I have you on a beta-blocker," says Larry Newman, MD, director of the Headache Institute at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City, "and you tell me that your headaches are completely gone, but you are so exhausted you can no longer work out anymore, I don't say, 'Oh at least your headaches are gone.'"

Instead Dr. Newman moves on to a different drug, seeking the right balance of relief and minimal side effects.