Posted by Bob Johnson (216.53.226.157) on September 24, 2000 at 14:45:54:
In Reply to: going on a trip,what to do??? posted by Michele on September 24, 2000 at 09:33:03:
If you end up taking a prescription drug with you be sure to have a LETTER from you physician giving a diagnosis and the name of the drug you are carrying. This should avoid problems with customs in Europe.
The problem you face is that the usual prevention meds won't have time to kick in before you leave the U.S.--cortisone being one possible exception.
A second approach would be to use Ergomar SL tabs. They can be used both for prevention and as treatment of an attack. They have the advantage of going into action within minutes. As a preventive, you take two a day. (SL is a form which you dissolve under you tongue.) If you have an attack you can take more, up to a total of 4mg a day. Some folks don't like them because they may make you nervous, some folks get an upset tummy. But you could try them before leaving the country to see how your body reacts. Another advantage is that they are relatively inexpensive.
Some folks have tried, for prevention, daily tabs of Amerge (one or two a day). Success rate is not high. Drawback is that, should you have an attack, you have to watch your total daily dose and so may not be able to take more than the prevention dose to treat the active attack.
You don't need a headache specialist to get an Rx for any of these drugs. Problem may be educating your primary care in what to Rx for you; he/she may be very cautious about giving something they don't know about. If this is the problem, go to www.headachedrugs.com and print some of Dr. Robbins materials on drugs, then give to you doc.
Just sorry the pressure of time is limiting your choices.