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Stronger than Percocet

As of this posting, I am taking Percocet 10/325  5 times a day and Xanax 2mg twice a day for chronic migraines. I have been on everything made for migraines with no relief. The percocets are starting to wear off sooner than they should. What would be the next step up from Percocet. I want to be able to ask my doctor about taking something a bit stronger to see if  it helps.  Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
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Avatar universal
I have two friends that get migraines and have not done well on pain medications. The pain meds just didn't work. One of my friends takes a med for migraines and it works. There are several to choose from. You say you've tried everything though and they don't work. I take it the Percocet does.  
Are you seeing a Neurologist for the migraines, or, are you seeing your family Dr? I recommend a specialist because they know what works for migraines.
Have you been tested for food allergies? Some times certain foods, stress, hormonal changes and several other things can bring on a migraine.
About your medication. How long have you been on this dose? It's not uncommon for our bodies to get used to pain meds and we will need increases in the amount of pills or the mgs. You need to let your Dr know what's happening so the two of you can decide if you should increase your current medication or place you on a different one. Your Dr may go ahead and increase your meds to 15 mgs and that might work for a long time. We're all so different and respond to these meds differently.
I really wish one of the other meds for migraines would have worked for you. Most of them need to be taken everyday to keep a migraine from happening. Once you start taking pain meds everyday you run in to the problem you're having right now, needing to either change that med or increasing it.
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1855076 tn?1337115303
I agree with Remar.  I got terrible migraines until I got pregnant with my first baby.  Then I'd only get them once in a while until I went into menopause and they came back with a vengeance.  I think my hormones are leveling out because they're much less now.

I know how debilitating they can be.  And they are very complex and can sometimes be hard to treat.  But narcotics don't usually seem to be the best thing to treat them.  Omitted is a migraine buster that a lot of people get great relief from.  It halts the migraine in its tracks.  I've never taken it because it's contraindicated in people who've had brain aneurysms and I had one a couple of years ago.

There are also other medications that are migraine specific.  One that comes to mind is Fiorocet but there are others.

How long have you been getting them and what kind of doctor do you see?  Are there things that trigger your migraines?  My cousin's are triggered by Nutrasweet.  Chocolate, cheese and red wine can also be triggers.

There are lots of other things that can be used in treating migraines either alone or in conjunction with medication.  Some things that come to mind are Botox, hypnosis, a pain psychologist (who works with chronic pain patients to develop strategies to go along with your medications or other treatments.)

Keeping a migraine journal can be helpful to see if there are other triggers be they hormonal or food related.

You don't mention how old you are but doctors can be very leery of increasing the dosage of pain meds or advancing to stronger meds because usually with chronic pain the condition worsens over time needing a higher dose or you can develop a tolerance and need an increase in dose.

How much relief do you get from what you're on now.?  I'm assuming from your post that you take your meds daily as opposed to as needed.

The last thing I'll comment on is that most chronic pain patients don't get total relief from our pain.  Hopefully we get it managed to where we can somewhat function.  So it's important to have realistic expectations.

I hope you'll give us a bit more information as there are a lot of people on this forum with a wealth of information.  
Helpful - 0
547368 tn?1440541785
Hello and Welcome.

I'm sorry to hear about your migraines. I am fortunate that I don't have chronic migraines - but I've had them periodically. Mine become blinding accompanied my nausea and vomiting. Opiates have helped when used in combination with other medications but not alone.  

You've been offered some great information - by ppl that have more personal knowledge than I.

I can tell you that Dilaudid is a stronger opiate than Percocet - but your physician may or may not RX it for you. What other medications are you taking to help with your Migraines?

We have a forum that is directed at Migraines and Headaches. You may find more information at that forum.

Here's the link:

http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Migraines--Headaches/show/123

I hope we've been helpful - and I wish you the very best. Please post again - we'd like to hear more from you.

Best Regards,
~Tuck
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Avatar universal
Fiorecet....its made for migraines ..its a narcotic ..barbiturates ...but its only thing that helps mine...2 at onset then one an hour later.. should go away after that...I was tried on all other meds for it.. the ones u take everyday to stop them from comming n ones for one just starting.. hope this helps ..percocet doesn't help mine at all...only my other pain
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