How Changing One Tablet Cured my Migraines

I've been a frequent suffer with headaches and migraines for longer than I can remember. Ever since I began my A-levels, my migraines seemed to have got a lot worse. I just put this down to stress and never really thought much else of it. I also suffer from bruxism (teeth grinding) which can also put pressure on the temples which as a result causes migraines.

As I went through sixth form, my migraines got progressively worse. They were always on the left side of my face, with the pain focused behind my left eye. I was extremely sensitive to light and sound, and the only real way of getting rid of them was to take some aspirin tablets and go to sleep no matter what time of day it was. This was all good until it was happening a couple of times a week and I was taking aspirin quite frequently. So in October 2017, I went to the doctors and they prescribed me sumatriptan (essentially all this does it widen the blood vessels within the brain to relieve migraine pain) and some anti-sickness tablets. I had never been sick with a migraine before but I always had nausea. I took one of these tablets within the first week of having them and I never experienced anything like it. I had jaw ache and cramp to the point where I felt like someone was pulling my jaw wide open. The tablet completely knocked me out and I slept for a good 14-15 hours straight without waking up. From that day, I never took another one of the tablets and went back to taking aspirin.

On the 5th October this year was when I had my worst migraine attack to date. Throughout the day, I had this dull pain in the left side of my forehead but I just ignored it hoping it would go away. But I started to feel more and more lethargic and tired and by 5pm, my body was shaking and was really weak. My left eye was so sensitive to light to the point where I just buried my head under a pillow trying not to cry from the agony. The whole left side of my face ending up going completely numb and I couldn't feel my left cheek at all. This was also the first time I was physically sick with a migraine. I became so scared and worried because I had never suffered from a migraine this bad in the years I had suffered from them. I had to take the Saturday off work and spend the weekend in bed recovering.


On the Monday, I booked a doctors appointment and told her exactly what happened and the first thing she asked is am I on the contraceptive pill, and I said yes I am, since I was 15. I suffer from extremely bad heavy periods so as soon as my periods started, I went straight on the pill to relieve me from the pain and the uncomfortableness of very heavy periods. So 4 years I had been on this pill and I had no problems with it - or so I thought. As soon as I explained my face went numb, she took me straight off it as the pill can increase your changes of a stroke. The combined pill I was on (Microgynon 30) contains both the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, but I have now been changed onto the mini pill (POP pill) called Cerelle. This pill only contains the hormone progesterone and a tablet has to be taken every single day, in comparison to the combined pill which is taken for 21 days and then a 7 day break where you have your period usually.

So far, I've been taking the mini pill since 17th October and touch wood, I haven't had a migraine since then. I've had the odd headache but nothing as extreme as I used to get. The pros to the mini pill are obviously its eliminated my migraines but the downsides are that I never really know when I'll get my period and the main side effect is acne which I've most definitely been suffering with since starting this new pill. I've always hd spots but this is a new level of acne!

Bit of a log-winded post but if you're suffering from something similar, get yourself checked as it may be something to do with the medication you're taking. I went from having a migraine everyday for 2 weeks at the end of September to not having one for nearly 3 weeks now.

Daisy x

Anti-depressants: An Update

Rewind back to July and I was on holiday. I’d known for a while that’s my sertraline tablets weren’t benefitting me in the way they were when I first started using them and I knew I needed to change the tablets. At this point, my mental health was deteriorating and I found myself slipping into old habits which were awful and something I never wish to happen again. I had accepted my tablet’s weren't working so I went back to the doctors and told her how low I felt again and how I felt the tablets were doing a lot more harm than good.

After having been asked many questions, I eventually walked out with a depression helpline leaflet in one hand, and a prescription for 14 days worth of new antidepressants in the other - fluoxetine. I had been started off on 20mg a day of fluoxetine for 2 weeks to see how they went and then I would go back for a review. If you’re not aware, fluoxetine is also known as Prozac. It’s most commonly used to treat depression but also obsessive compulsive disorder and bulimia. I stopped taking my sertraline for 3 days and then started on the fluoxetine. Within days, I noticed the effects of the new tablets kicking in. I was so lucky in the fact that I had absolutely no side effects with fluoxetine, unlike sertraline which I seemed to have, what felt like, every single side effect possible. I could feel the tablets working and I felt 110% better than what I felt whilst taking sertraline. When I started taking sertraline, I read many people had lost their emotions and become very ‘flat’ whilst taking them, something I didn’t feel at first but eventually after around 6 mon5s, I began feeling the same as everyone else had said.

I’ve now been taking fluoxetine for almost 2 months and I’ve never felt better. I’ve had hardly any bad and suicidal thoughts, and haven’t felt half as anxious and nervous as I used to feel on a daily basis. I now get up everyday and don’t spend the whole day in the house, worried and scared to go out. My relationships have become a lot better and my confidence has grown, especially at work, as I now feel a lot better about myself and my health.

If you feel something is not right, always do your best to fix it. Changing my tablets has done wonder so for me, my mental health and my confidence. My happiness has improved greatly too. Don’t settle for an average life, make sure it’s the best for you. Be selfish sometimes.

Daisy x