jacqui in mo Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 My daughter has abdominal migraines & antidepressants seem to be our doctor's choice in treatment (not at all related to being treated for depression). My dd was on Amitryptaline but when that didn't seem to be working well, we switched 3 weeks ago to Zoloft. It doesn't appear to be working either, but she seems even worse than when on the Amitryptaline. I wondered if the 2 of them might work synergystically. She started getting worse again when we decreased the amitryp. as we were tapering off. Just wanted to know if anyone's been on 2 antidepressants simultaneously so I can discuss that with her Dr. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy22alyns Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Yes, it is entirely possible. I was at one point before the med costs got too high. I hope your DD gets treatment that helps her feel better soon. :grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Yes, it is common for people to be on two at the same time. BUT, make sure to talk to the doctor first, and don't just 'try' it on your own to see if it will work. Some antidepressants can not be taken together, and can make a person very sick to do so. Always, always (!) talk to the doctor first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Yes, it is possible but the SSRIs are not usually used for pain. Amitryptaline (Elavil) is frequently used for chronic pain conditions. I personally didn't find it to help at all and nor have I ever met anyone that it did work for. I really don't think that there is much research for it working at all. I am not sure why it is standard treatment. Unfortunately there are not many options for chronic pain conditions. I was actually planning on asking about chronic pain options today. Hopefully I will get to it soon and the answers will help you as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Yes, it is possible but the SSRIs are not usually used for pain. Amitryptaline (Elavil) is frequently used for chronic pain conditions. I personally didn't find it to help at all and nor have I ever met anyone that it did work for. I really don't think that there is much research for it working at all. I am not sure why it is standard treatment. Unfortunately there are not many options for chronic pain conditions. I was actually planning on asking about chronic pain options today. Hopefully I will get to it soon and the answers will help you as well. Both amitriptyline and nortriptyline are used for migraines. Migraine pain is different and not completely understood. Both meds are commonly used for prophylaxis in neurological and migraine pain with great results for some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 Both amitriptyline and nortriptyline are used for migraines. Migraine pain is different and not completely understood. Both meds are commonly used for prophylaxis in neurological and migraine pain with great results for some. Yes, my dd's doctor says she has very good success with these (except for us ). She says 90% of her patients respond well with the amatriptyline and the other 10% to Zoloft, so I'm not sure what else she has left to try. Unfortunately there are not many options for chronic pain conditions. I was actually planning on asking about chronic pain options today. Hopefully I will get to it soon and the answers will help you as well. The Doctor is a Gastroenterologist and she feels that other migraine type meds that a Neuro. might prescribe do not work on ab. migraines in her experience, and that various pain meds would just dope you up. You might be free from pain, but you still wouldn't be able to function well. KidsHappen, you've been so helpful to me in the past understanding some of these meds! I hope you find some thing for your pain. And, of course, I would welcome any passing along of advice that you receive! Jacqui Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Both amitriptyline and nortriptyline are used for migraines. Migraine pain is different and not completely understood. Both meds are commonly used for prophylaxis in neurological and migraine pain with great results for some. Thanks Tap. I did not know this about migraines as I very rarely have them. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 Yes, my dd's doctor says she has very good success with these (except for us ). She says 90% of her patients respond well with the amatriptyline and the other 10% to Zoloft, so I'm not sure what else she has left to try. The Doctor is a Gastroenterologist and she feels that other migraine type meds that a Neuro. might prescribe do not work on ab. migraines in her experience, and that various pain meds would just dope you up. You might be free from pain, but you still wouldn't be able to function well. KidsHappen, you've been so helpful to me in the past understanding some of these meds! I hope you find some thing for your pain. And, of course, I would welcome any passing along of advice that you receive! Jacqui Yes, I remember you posting about your dd before. I am so sorry to hear that she is still having pain. It is so very difficult as an adult to deal with chronic pain. I can't imagine how difficult it would be for a child and I am sure that it is heart breaking for you. I had made some progress with my pain (about six months of lowered pain) but have had a relapse over the last six weeks. I am running out of options and am in serious research mode right now. I will be glad to post or PM you if I figure anything out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vettechmomof2 Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I have taken most for my migraines since the age of about 12 years. It was a very fine line finding the correct dose of each med to NOT cause worse migraines so it could be something as simple as a wrong dosage for your daughter. I have doubled up but did not find any relief from the types that we had tried. I alos have not had ANY luck with any antidepressants helping with my migraines. You knwo what helped me: Being pregnant.:lol: Now, not saying that is the answer for your daughter but many of my migraines as a child were hormonally charged. I am now 31 and still get them with no found relief, except when I am pregnant or breastfeeding. Stress does make them worse for me, certain foods can make them worse but hormones always get me. There are some months (like now) where I will get about 15 a month and then over the fall/winter where I get NONE. Lots of healing thoughts for your daughter from someone who has been there and still is. The only thing that seems to help me at times is aromatherapy.Smelling things. If I smell fresh flowers then that can relax me enough that if I catch it early enough it might go away. If only I could bottle that. It has not worked form a bottle yet though.:confused: Good luck, Allene Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 You knwo what helped me: Being pregnant.:lol: Allene Wow! This helped my chronic pain as well. Might explain why I have so many children. :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted February 10, 2009 Share Posted February 10, 2009 I don't know if it would help for abdominal migraines or not but my 12dd is on Lamictal for her migraines. It is a seizure med but has prevented her migraines. She has been on it for almost 3 years now. It is not an antidepressant BUT it is approved for bipolar depression so that is interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacqui in mo Posted February 10, 2009 Author Share Posted February 10, 2009 Thanks! I will look into Lamictal. I called the Dr. yesterday and for now she says we should wait a couple of more weeks to give the Zoloft ample time to be in her system before we change anything. Sigh, easy for her to say. Of course, we're one of the few patients that don't respond well to her tx methods. The Dr. initially thought we'd see results with the Zoloft quickly since she already had amitriptyline in her system. Oh well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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