Verapamil is thought to exert a vasodilatory effect on the cerebral arteries and interacts with the serotonergic systems involved in migraine … Side effects of TCAs are usually mild and include dry mouth or eyes, weight gain, and sleepiness. 1986;9(4):311-28. doi: 10.1097/00002826-198608000-00001.Cochrane Database Syst Rev.

Beta blockers including propranolol, atenolol and metoprolol, which are used to treat a variety of cardiac issues, may cause weight gain, possibly due to fluid retention or other factors. Many people with very frequent migraine headaches (chronic migraine; that is headache more than 14 days/month) have had good results with Botox injections.
CGRP inhibitors are a new class of drugs that block the effects of CGRP. trials.5 Only verapamil, diltiazem, and nifedipine are approved for use in the United States, although none are specifically approved for migraine.

They have been shown to work well in helping limit the number of migraines you get. And research has shown that getting Botox about every 12 weeks into your forehead and neck can prevent migraine headaches. Calcium channel blockers such as verapamil (Calan, Verelan, others) can be helpful in preventing migraines with aura. I used verapamil 240 mg tabs for 15 years for migraines with no problems before afib. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRIs) work as antidepressants and also pain relievers. Published reports of controlled double-blind studies of calcium antagonists for the prophylactic treatment of migraine are reviewed herein. Antidepressants. I am ... , and Coumadin . The side effects are rare and limited to pain around the injection sites.Other things that may be helpful in preventing migraines include exercise, biofeedback, relaxation therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapies, acupuncture, and the use of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation devices.UpToDate: “Preventive treatment of migraines in adults.”MedlinePlus: “Protriptyline,” “Imipramine,” “Gabapentin.”FDA: “FDA approves Botox to treat chronic migraine.”Association of Migraine Disorders: “Prescription Medications for Migraines.”NPS MedicineWise: “Migraine preventive treatments.”WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Approximately 38% of patients with episodic migraines would benefit from preventive therapy, but less than 13% take prophylactic medications. These preventative medicines aren’t the same ones you take to treat a migraine headache, but the kind you take so the headaches won't be so bad and you won’t have so many.Preventive meds might help if you experience any of these things:Preventive meds can improve your life by cutting down the number and severity of your migraine headaches, and also improve how well they respond to pain relievers.There are a lot of drugs that prevent migraine headaches from occurring, so choosing the right one may be hard.

Because of the side effects of amitriptyline, such as sleepiness and weight gain, other antidepressants might be prescribed. Flunarizine, which is not available in the U.S. One study suggested that verapamil may cause weight gain in some people as well. Calcium antagonists have been proposed for the prophylactic treatment of migraine because of their putative vasodilating antispasmodic effect and of their action against the cellular consequences of brain hypoxia. Other side effects can include dizziness, cold fingers and feet, decreased sex drive, lethargy, and fatigue. To avoid getting worse headaches that may occur from stopping abruptly, your doctor will usually have you taper off of them.Beta-blockers aren’t recommended for certain people with breathing problems or slow heartbeats. 2008 Oct;4(5):1061-78. doi: 10.2147/tcrm.s3983.

Anti-seizure drugs. Verapamil does not seem to effect me in any negative way. Flunarizine's effect in migraine probably involves monoamine mechanisms which bear no relation to calcium. If I cannot find a replacement medication, I will go back to Verapamil. Please enable it to take advantage of the complete set of features! Is weight gain a side effect of Verapamil? Nimodipine failed to demonstrate significant effectiveness in migraine with or without an aura. Those used for treating migraines include They do have side effects, though, when prescribed in high doses. The effectiveness of verapamil, diltiazem, and nifedipine in this indication cannot be considered as firmly demonstrated, when problems with trial design and the amount of available data are taken into account. Unable to load your collection due to an error