Well, the B2 has failed. I had been so hopeful that this would be my answer, and it is a disappointment, but I'm so thankful that Dr. A was willing to have me try this. It's a more natural option for treating migraine, which is how we're treating mine, though it's not a migraine. To have a doctor who is willing to try natural alternatives means a great deal to me. Now I'm back to the medicine my primary doctor, Dr. P., originally prescribed, but at a higher dosage. Propranolol. This is also used to treat high blood pressure and a number of other things.
I'm to start with 20mg 3 times a day and slowly "titrate" up to 160mg a day, adjusting the dosage by 20mg a day every 3 weeks. This is the slowest "titration" I've done yet, but I think it probably is because I didn't tolerate the quick rise with Topamax very well, so he's trying to do it much slower, which I appreciate. If I tolerate this, I should be up to the full dosage around the middle of July, at which point he wants me to have an EKG to check my heart. No mention of this, but I'll be checking my blood pressure regularly, as Dr. P. was having me do since my blood pressure is always on the low side of normal and has gone a little low before. I don't recall mentioning this to Dr. A., which is probably why he didn't mention regular checks on that.
Anyway, that's my update. I started this on Tuesday, April 2nd. As I said, I should be up to 160mg in the middle of July, if all goes well. Hopefully, this will be my answer, and I won't have to resort to medicines with worse side-effects.
Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray; it means a lot to me.
As always, if you have any advice, please leave it in the comments section, or PM me, if you're more comfortable.
~Dorothy
