Posted by lisa (216.175.248.51) on July 10, 2000 at 10:49:05:
In Reply to: verapamil nortriptyline anybody?? posted by lisa on July 06, 2000 at 14:28:44:
Annemarie:
thanks for the info (and e'ing me, too - don't know why i still can't find the first post!)
When he's doing the preventative, my husband takes 480mg verapamil with only 10mg nortriptyline a night (he had to go up to 640mg verapamil once, but got OD symptoms - swelling in feet/ankles - scary!). I've tried searching Rx sites for thorough info on side effects - especially long term ones - and usually come up with no hard info, or content designed for pharmaceutical doctors which I can't interpret. Very frustrating; am thinking of trying to locate a pharm. dr. to talk to directly.
Anyway...we were under the impression that he was taking a very low dose of the nortiptyline...do you know anything about dosage levels on the nortrip? Since we've been trying to conceive, with no success, I'm obviously curious about that one!
funny thing is, the neuro that suggested the treatment only presented it as using the 2 drugs in combination...as if they worked together some way...sounds like we should at least try the verapamil without the nortrip if he goes back on.
To answer your question, he does not use abortives. Oxygen - tried different levels - didn't work. Imitrex did nothing when taken for abortive. And he's one of those people who's very sensitive to drugs, so he's a little wary of trying one of the instant-delivery painkillers.
Although we're glad verapamil seems to work, we both wonder about long-term fx. It takes a long time for the liver to process - so could it deplete liver function prematurely? And the affect on blood vessels and heart: how does the body rebound from all that "help"? These are some of the thoughts that fly around our heads.
Thanks again for your post, and if you have a link to some more info on that nortriptyline/impotency thing, I'd sure love to hear from you again!
Have a beautiful week..
lisa