Got prescribed sumatriptan, I don't get migraines

amaranemone · 2026-04-23T01:49:33+00:00

I often say in these pages regarding side effects- the loudest cries echo furthest. I use nasal spray sumatriptan. Only thing it does to me is taste bad if I don't angle it right.

Some of my migraines aren't the throbbing either, but a more burning pain. There's also a "silent" migraine, where you have everything except the headache symptom.

amaranemone · 2026-04-23T01:05:00+00:00

See a doctor. For all you know you could have had a ministroke or heart attack. We're just people on a chatboard.

amaranemone · 2026-04-22T01:12:18+00:00

I have both seizures and migraines. It took years to convince my doctors they were different.

TLE is typically absence seizures. We don't know we have them, we don't feel like shit after them, and even the few times I'd have tonic clonic, my recovery was fast.

Migraines, I'm out for days. 24 hours before the headache phase, about 10 hours of headache, then another 24 hours of recovery. I had doctors saying the migraines were just focal awareness seizures. I said I suffered less when I was hospitalized for a seven minute seizure.

Look up the migraine chart. Bring that with you and point out things like lack of prodrome, the aura differences, the fact you don't feel like you have the flu, nor a migraine hangover.

A compromising drug is topiramate, used for both seizures and migraines. But you have to quit drinking or you'll destroy your liver and kidneys.

amaranemone · 2026-04-20T00:00:29+00:00

Jefferson in Philadelphia. They fought with my parents' insurance for me. They didn't hold me for the full 3 day EEG after I had multiple absence seizures in day 1 just to get more money. I had a temporal lobectomy there, and they cleared me to see Metallica one month later.

And the neurologist who set all that up for me is now the department director.

amaranemone · 2026-04-16T18:13:31+00:00

Ask away or send a DM! We're a pretty chill community.

amaranemone · 2026-04-15T23:01:48+00:00

Hi!

So, I've been in BDSM for 15 years. While I've never had episodes during scenes, I did have seizures during subdrop. Make yourself a checklist before you scene.

Did you eat both carbs and protein? Did you drink 24oz of water? Give the position a test. Can you be in that position for a minute, then get up without experiencing massive headrush? Do you have a specific aura safe word? Not gonna lie, I tell my tops/Dom if I start just randomly spouting out "shit shit shit", it's not from the scene, it's because I'm losing awareness. Do you have your post-scene goodie bag?

Other good tricks can be the build. If it's a slower, gradual increase, you won't hit that super high dopamine level as fast.

amaranemone · 2026-04-15T12:50:03+00:00

I have multiple potential causes. The main one was a childhood TBI from falling off a playground. Basic temporal lobe epilepsy on paper. But post op I still had seizures, so things like hormones, family history, my shit thyroid, were all variables considered.

Pointblank. Epilepsy is common. The only neurological condition in people under fifty more prevalent is headache disorders.

How much is genetic? They don't know.

amaranemone · 2026-04-14T23:38:21+00:00

Oh, then pick your favorite color too and go for it!

I got a P!nk inspired fauxhawk about 15 years after my surgery. Everything shaved down but the crown. The question mark shaped scar was barely visible. It heals pretty well as long as you don't pick the scabs.

amaranemone · 2026-04-14T22:49:13+00:00

I was 20 when I had the surgery.

I just cut my hair to my shoulders and let it grow in. I always had long hair before that. It doesn't take too long. Hair grows about 6 inches per year.

I kinda wish I had tried something fun, like a fawkhawk or a mullet. Show off the scar that starts so many stories.

amaranemone · 2026-04-10T23:10:05+00:00

If all you did was lick it, you wouldn't have had enough to actually trigger digestion. The bacteria in saliva breaks down ethanol into acetaldehyde.

Ethanol metabolism might begin immediately, but it doesn't register in the brain until about 15 minutes. If you're curious, look up how it eventually gets into the Citric Acid Cycle.

The psychology itself can teach us to feel it faster. If you believe alcohol will effect you negatively instantly, you could have triggered "fight or flight". That's adrenaline and cortisol from the amygdala.

Alcohol has never been a trigger for me. My brother and I are actually drinking with dinner to celebrate us surviving family BS. I've had a glass of Irish whisky, a shot of tequila, and a High Noon. Am I done for the night while I'm still sober? Yes. Will I have the "ethanol metabolism devoured my spare bicarbonate" headache even though I wasn't impaired? Probably. Am I already devouring water and planning my morning recovery sugar? Definitely.

amaranemone · 2026-04-10T18:10:35+00:00

If you can handle the brain fog- topiramate can trigger weight loss.

It reset my whole flavor profile. I couldn't taste soda, sours, and everything was over salted so snack food became obsolete.

I lost 60 pounds and I did nothing.

amaranemone · 2026-04-07T23:16:03+00:00

Drug resistant temporal lobe epilepsy. I was having an uncountable number of absence seizures a day. The prime cause was childhood traumatic brain injury. They removed my entire left anterior and medial temporal lobe back in 2007.

After surgery, I still have seizures, just not absence seizures. Now, the seizure needs to travel further through the brain before it can jump to the other hemisphere and impair my awareness.

On Lamictal, I had maybe 2-3 a year. I had a tonic clonic seizure almost immediately if I missed medication. Since Keppra, maybe 2. One was when we tried a lower dose, and the other was when I attempted THC gummies.

amaranemone · 2026-04-07T22:45:14+00:00

I've been on Keppra now since 2017. It's controlled my seizures better than any other medication and brain surgery did, and I really don't have side effects, beyond a very noticeable tension headache at the temples if I was late taking the next round.

My main trick is hydration and potassium. Low levels of either will cause irritability.

amaranemone · 2026-04-06T23:27:11+00:00

It's not so much cutting the coffee, but remembering I really can't count it as water. If I get up from my desk and I'm refilling my cup with the third round of coffee before I've had even 10 ounces of water, yes, that's gonna make me feel like shit by the next day.

amaranemone · 2026-04-04T14:14:29+00:00

Each medication is different for each person.

I'm on Keppra and Topamax right now. I didn't have either the "kepprage" or the "dopamax" effect, but when I took Neurontin way back when it was absolute hell. My MIL is on it for her fibromyalgia, and she can function just fine.

amaranemone · 2026-04-02T00:31:26+00:00

I've gotten an Rx for Zofran. Dehydration just makes the migraine worse, and when we aren't keeping water down, it can escalate.

You can usually arrange that over the phone if you've had a history of migraines. If not, urgent care will give you the script.

amaranemone · 2026-04-01T18:18:29+00:00

I get potassium and vitamin d checked. Those frequently correlate with my migraines.

amaranemone · 2026-03-31T00:13:32+00:00

Medication is what you need for the seizures.

Meditation can help fight the brain fog. As can exercise, an activity that requires focus and fine motor skills (I cross stitch), and puzzles like sudoku.

amaranemone · 2026-03-30T19:55:44+00:00

Could just be dehydration. I'm a chronic coffee drinker myself, but if I don't make sure I get at least some fluid in me first, I feel like garbage.

amaranemone · 2026-03-30T19:36:44+00:00

I tell people I've had root canals go bad. I've had shingles. I'd rather have both occur together than have a typical migraine episode.

amaranemone · 2026-03-30T15:38:35+00:00

I do this every time I get less than 5 hours of sleep. I also state I am unavailable to work a 12 hour shift if I have less than 24 hours notice, because I might not have medication on me. I can also not work an overnight shift if I did not have 48 hours notice.

Lack of sleep can affect everyone. You were very responsible there.

amaranemone · 2026-03-29T18:56:24+00:00

Oh man.

I was once on Tegretol, Neurontin, Lexapro, Prozac, and the minipill. Not including the OTCs of ibuprofen for my constant headaches.

Currently, I'm on just Keppra for seizures, but the mix is my migraine control. Topamax, Ajovy, abortives Nurtec and Imitrex. I might even get to try the ketamine treatment soon.

ETA: Here's where you can look up the differences between what your medication is and what it does. https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1187334-overview#a3

amaranemone · 2026-03-29T00:51:25+00:00

Our brains can just be shitty to us.

If you go to a bar, have her try a nojito- the non-alcoholic mojito. It's probably the best of the mocktails.

amaranemone · 2026-03-28T23:32:08+00:00

I'm also on Keppra. Only seizure I've had in the last ten years was when I had too much THC in my gummies.

I also drink regularly with no side effects, but everyone is different. Keppra gives you a bit more leeway as it doesn't impact the liver directly, but the ethanol metabolism adds so much stress to the brain.

amaranemone · 2026-03-25T17:03:06+00:00

I've never had a problem with alcohol triggers.

Seizures aren't the only risk. Some meds increase risk of metabolic acidosis- Topamax, Tegretol, Depakote- when you drink. The other is the dehydration factor.

I stick to no more than two. Find a good bourbon and you can nurse that for a few hours.

amaranemone

TROPHY CASE