Propranolol

On October 13th I started Propranolol after having migraine without aura for about thirty years. The frequency of my migraines gradually increased throughout the years, until I got to the point where I was having them about every other day. For me, I would get a weak headache that would gradually build throughout the day, peaking in intensity in the late evening, wherein I would be nauseated to the point of vomiting, and unable to do much due to the intense throbbing pain of the headache. Luckily, NSAIDs seemed to stop the headaches in their tracks, especially at first. But over time the frequency of the headaches became more and more, and the NSAIDs became less effective, just masking the severity of the symptoms, but keeping the headache from peaking and causing the resultant vomiting, which I didn't want to go through as it was disruptive and would put me out of action and impair my ability to work. I think the frequency of my migraines may not have gotten worse if I had allowed them to run their full course, with the resultant vomiting, as the whole process seemed to do something to reset my nervous system.

The reason I decided to try a preventative, is because my stomach had become damaged after about fifteen years of fairly regular NSAID use. I was having continuous stomach pain earlier this year, which I thought might be gallstones, although the ultrasound for gallstones showed nothing. I had to change from coffee to yerba mate and stopped eating spicy foods for a while until the stomach pain went down a little, but whenever I took an NSAID my stomach pain would return.

I tried sumatriptan, and it kinda worked a few times, but seemed to become less effective every time I took it.

As of now I have been on Propranolol since October 13th. I started taking it once a day, and quickly, within less than a week, ramped up to 20mg four times a day. As far as I can tell I haven't had any strong negative side effects, and it has mostly kept my headaches at bay. I think during that time I've taken NSAIDs maybe four times, and Tylenol maybe four times, if that. My job is very physical and I have still had enough power to work. I work out, although not super hard, but I've still been able to work out. No erectile dysfunction. No brain fog or mental dullness. I haven't passed out from standing up too fast or anything like that. Physically, I'm 5'9 (175cm) and around 188lbs, male, 36 years old, with mildly high blood pressure, now perfect, probably due to the Propranolol. If you have high blood pressure and want to try a preventative that won't turn you into a zombie, I'd recommend trying Propranolol.