Hi.

I've been searching for Carisoprodol for my migraine-similar-headaches, but so far the guys at the Pharmacies I've been to just kind of Laughed at me and said "noo noo, nothing like that here".

That was on one of the bigger pharmacies in The Mall, Bangkapi... :/

I've tried most drugs for different headaches, and none of them does the work as good as Soma does for me.

The normal OTC painkillers does nothing. Coffein doesn't help. Tramadol seems to make everything worse.

I have yet to try neurontin (gabapentin) and Lyrica (pregabalin), but feel a bit skeptical. Heard these were possible to find in Thailand as well? Haven't been asking for them yet.

Diazepam kind of works and I can easily get it, but I don't want to buy stuff that goes against the law here... So any help at all is very welcome!

Cheers/ Jens

First of all, from what you describe of which drugs your headaches respond to, I doubt they are migraines. Sounds like tension headaches hence the response to muscle relaxants/tranquilizers (Soma, diazepam) and non-response to caffeine/cafergot.

While Soma (carisprodol) is not available in Thailand a number of muslce relaxants are. Of these the one most often used for tension headaches is tizanadine (brand names: Tizan,Tidar, Sirdalud -- last one is an import, first two are locally made). This drug does nto require presecription in Thailand, but as with all medications you should be sure to read up on contraindications and side effects.

Head massage (or overall traditional thai body massage), or even a good quality foot reflexology would probably bring relief too.

If your headaches are frequent, botox injections may be worth trying, they prevent the tightening of the scalp muscles responsible for the headache.

See this link http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000797.htm

If you would like to consult doctors specializing in treatment of headaches try:

Prof. Anan Srikiathachorn BNH Hospital Wednesdays 5-6 PM only.

OR

Assoc. Prof Nijasri Charnnarong Suwanwela Modays & Fridays Bumrungrad 4- 6 PM

Ah, Thanks Sheryl.

you're probably right about tension being the problem and not migraine. I just never really had a name for the condition. But it does get alot worse with bad weather, so it makes alot of sense.

Thanks for the advice about tizanadine, I had completely forgot about those. However, I've tried these before and while they do help, they don't release the tension as much as I would prefer.

Do you know if Flexeril (cyclobenzaprine) is available in Thailand? I remember they should be somewhat similar to tizanadine but stronger?

There is no brand of cyclobenzaprine licensed for use in Thailand.

the most commonly used muscle relaxants here are orphenadrine and chloroxazone, usually in combination form with paracetemol, many, many locally made brands available. Norgesic is probably the most widely known.