Fiorinal for Migraine User Reviews

• Her
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 28, 2020

"I have been prescribed fiorinal/fioricet for almost 40 years. I have had migraines since I was ten years old and I am now 65. When it was first prescribed for me, I was getting migraines 2, 3, 4 times a week. Now the frequency is 2 or 3 every month or two. Fiorinal/fioricet is the only drug that has helped ease the pain of a migraine. I am fortunate that I usually get the visual aura followed by a numbness in one or more body parts before the pain comes on. If I take the fiorinal/ fioricet when the aura comes on, the pain of the headache is greatly diminished. I can function and people around me don’t even realize I am having a migraine! I have suggested this drug to friends for their migraines but have been told their doctors don’t want to prescribe it. I don’t understand why."

• Stone...
• April 18, 2012

"After years of being on this medication my doctor refused to refill the prescription due to addiction side effects. This medication works so well and as stated by many works fast and allows you to function or sleep off a migraine. I have never had rebound headaches, cravings, or a single migraine that did not respond to this medication. I have been on a controlled and managed dose for many years and have never experienced the need for more or a need to use it for anything other than debilitating migraines. I have NEVER experienced a negative reaction in any way using this medicine responsibly under the supervision of a physician. As I said I have been using Fiorinal since the 80's. "

• maxcarr
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 26, 2014

"Besides being effective, the best thing about Fiorinal is it's lack of side effects. Regardless of the amount taken during a particular episode I have never experienced any effect other than fairly quick relief."

• TLC
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 14, 2014

"I have been using Fiorinal C1/2 for the past 25-30 years controlled by my doctor. It's an amazing, amazing medicine. I take it and my migraine goes away most of the time on the first dose. I have tried many other migraine meds and it seems I cannot take any of the Triptans as they make me throw up immediately upon taking them. I wish I could take something else but Fiorinal is all there is. Please DO NOT stop making it! There are plenty of us out here who rely on it to carry on our daily lives. Please start making it again. Thank you."

• Rosella
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 16, 2018

"I have had a history of migraines since I was young. Fiorinal is the only drug that will stop my headache. When this migraine starts I have to take a fiorinal, lie down in a dark room, and close out any noise. Sometimes I will have a headache for several days which will finally end with a migraine. Humana is refusing to pay for fiorinal even though I have a doctor's order for it, Whoever is responsible for this must never have had a migraine..I'd like to trade my day with them."

• Bobby...
• March 27, 2012

"Migraines, being on both sides of my family, began for me as a child. My Aunt gave me 2 Fiorinal Tablets in 1970 when I was seventeen as I suffered one of the worst migraines I'd ever had. The pain was gone within 35 minutes. Now I would take two, relax, and wait until the pain subsided. As the migraine sufferers in our family have gotten older, the migraines have grown with us all both in frequency and intensity. When mine did the same, even if it was for days. I took my Fiorinal Tablets as prescribed and needed. I absolutely guarantee that Fiorinal was totally responsible for keeping me functional even through the pain."

• heada...
• December 14, 2016

"I've had severe cluster headaches with occasional dreadful migraines since I was in my 20s -- 50 years ago. It was very difficult to get approval for this medication, and I was always trying to juggle it with aspirin and stretch it out. Seems like the situation here, at least, has greatly improved and my current primary dr. prescribes it for me. I only take fiorinal when I feel a bad headache coming on, and it works. (It does occasionally put me to sleep for about 15 minutes.) The variety with codeine is too strong for me. I can't take triptans because of cardiovascular issues. I can't emphasize strongly enough how beneficial this medication has been in my life. Moreover, aspirin never helped my headaches."

• Lady...
• July 14, 2016

"I've been taking Fiorinal since 1966. I get cluster type headaches behind my eye and in the back of my head. This med WORKS for me, nothing else. All the expensive meds made me nauseous, and left a residual dull pain. This takes about 20 minutes in quiet space, and I'm truly functional again. Really bad one I take a second dose, or sometimes two up front - I can tell what's coming. The one thing not to do is WAIT...you may end up with three days of misery instead of feeling fine. I have no side effects, I just get up and I'm back at whatever I was doing. They've tried to give me antidepressants (I have an adverse reaction, bad depression) and other meds. This works. I don't understand why there's so much resistance to prescribing it."

• sherry...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 23, 2016

"I have taken Fiorinal w/codeine for over 30 years for migraine, tension headaches and neck pain. If I take it when the pain begins it will stop it within 30 minutes and I rarely need a second dose. I do not feel any other effects from it. No sleepiness, dizziness, "high" feeling; nothing at all except relief from pain. I average about 40 to 60 pills a year and have never used more. Now my Kaiser physician says he cannot prescribe it for me because some government fools have decided it stays in the body for too long. Isn't that a good thing? Nothing else helps, so I just suffer."

• JmommaC
• May 6, 2016

"I've taken 2 capsules of fiorinal any time during a migraine for 38 years without any aftereffects. It usually completely ends the migraine in 20 minutes. I have tried just about everything over my 42 years of horrible migraine pain. You need to take 2 and no more until you have another migraine. If I go to sleep before the migraine ends it is still there when I wake up. I always keep them in my purse. I rate is as a 10."

• Autter
• December 3, 2014

"Wonder stuff wIth little to no side effects IF taken at migraine onset! So important and I can not stress enough that it must be taken immediately! If it hasn't worked for you ask yourself if you waited too long before taking it. I carry it with me every where because i never know when I'll need it. Sometimes I'm stupid and think, "I'll just try and tough it out, I don't want to waste the good stuff.... " So dumb, last time I ended up with a three day migraine that I could have prevented. I wasted like 8 pills trying to manage it, whereas two at onset would have eradicated it altogether. Note: these still help to reduce the pain of an existing migraine better than anything else I've tried, but I'm am still cooped up in my room avoiding light, sounds and all stimuli that might make it worse."

• Never...
• January 5, 2012

"I have had migraine's ever since I was 13 and I have tried tons of different medicines. A friend of my mom's said to try Fiorinal, I called my doctor and she called it in for me. My next migraine came and I took 1 pill and my migraine was over within 5 mins. This is the only medicine for me. I made a mistake and left the house without it and went shopping and I went through the perfume dept at a store and boom instant migraine came on. I did not catch it in time but once I got home I took 1 pill and 2hrs later took another and my migraine was gone. I Never Leave Home With Out It."

• ramsg...
• Taken for less than 1 month
• July 30, 2014

"I have had migraines ever since I was about 19. They have gotten worse over the years and I have tried everything over the counter. I recently went home because of a sick relative. I woke up @ 2 a.m. with one if the worse migraines of my life. Vomiting all day. My step father gave me a Fiorinal. And within 15 mins it was gone. I just went to my physician. And he prescribed it for me. I pray it continues to work."

• Rlntlys
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 2, 2013

"I have taken Fiorinol for years and years and it is the most effective med I have ever found...who ever designed this medication I owe a debt of gratitude ...I will say that I can take one just one pill and in 20 minutes my pain is gone...I swear by this drug ....I just asked my doc for a refill and he now informs me it's not available...I have kaiser coverage and think that this is kaisers doing not that the med is no longer available...I will be very upset as this script works and works well and I don't take it on a regular basis a have no addiction to it but need it when I need it!!!"

• Lynn...
• March 1, 2014

"Living with a brain tumor and suffering for years with blinding migraines IT IS THE SINGLE ONLY THING THAT RIDS MY MIGRAINES! I ONLY relay on it when the pain is so intense I am bedridden. I use about 80 pills per year. It usually always works if Exederin does not. No nausea or vomiting like with other expensive migraine so called wonder medicines! No bad drowsiness either! It is a God send for my pain! I have found nothing else comparable."

• Anonymous
• August 1, 2011

"I have used Fiorinal since I was 18 and am 61 now. It is the only medicine that works for me and my headaches. Over the years the doctors have tried every medicine on the market on me, some gave me terrible side effects and the Fiorinal doesn't. After years of taking it I find I have to be careful not to abuse it and use it for something other than headache, like a sleeping pill or back pain. I am aware of how much I am taking and have regular visits with my doctor so he is on top of things as well. For me I won't take anything other than Fiorinal for migraine."

• CBano
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• August 27, 2020

"Fiorinal was a life changer. Before taking it I spent a lot of time in bed in the dark. I missed many family events. I've now taken it for several years, it stops my migraine symptoms and lets me function again."

• DenisL
• January 9, 2010

"I'm 53 and have migraines since I'm 15. My doctor made me try a lot of medication over the years, including the Triptans and I had to go a couple of times to the hospital (urgency). Nothing worked until my doctor gave me Fiorinal. I'm using Fiorinal for 20 years now and it works fine. I have less migraines today."

• Kiki
• April 27, 2020

"I have been getting migraines since my early teens. Since the 1980’s. Our family doctor at the time prescribed Fiorinal until he retired in the late 90’s. It was my miracle med!! As years went by and finding new doctors (because they retired) they continued prescribing me Fiorinal. Then new meds came on the market for migraines. I felt like a Guinea pig because a new doctor didn’t want to prescribe Fiorinal for me. The new meds did nothing , I lost so much time from work. It was terrible. I’m in my mid 50’s now and get around 2-3 migraines a month. But when the weather is cloudy and rainy , the migraines are more aggressive. So thankful to God that my doctor now for the past 7 years is prescribing me Fiorinal. It’s old school meds , but it WORKS!!! It’s quite expensive and it’s not covered from Pharmacare. This medication does the job and no side affects!! I’m so relieved it’s still around :)"

• She_Taz
• Taken for less than 1 month
• November 1, 2016

"I have it say that anyone would think aspirin would touch a migraine--in case you're wondering--NOT EVEN A LITTLE! I thought this was a migraine medication, since it came from a referral to a neurologist--what a wasted office visit AND wasted Rx. Absolutely no relief from this medication and it gave me a nose bleed. I'm so disappointed with the whole migraine "treatment" process. If the drug companies can give Hugh Hefner a boner, why do I have to continue to suffer migraines?"

• Mom...
• December 7, 2017

"Of all the meds they have given me for over 50 years, this is the only one that is reliable. Take it when you know the headache is coming, and find a quiet place to hang for about 20 minutes. Then, back to work or whatever. Experience with the med lets you know if you need to take one or two, or if you can try one and then a second if necessary. I don’t get side effects. I’ve tried the Fioricet, but there’s a magic in the aspirin for me! The acetominiphine does nothing. I have had CT scans, MRIs and I don’t know all the rest of the tests have been. I’ve tried everything they threw at me, but the antidepressants, every time, had me really depressed. I drew the line at Botox. This med works!"

• 30...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• April 21, 2016

"I had my first migraine and prescribed Fiorinal 40 years ago and back then, then they were occasional. As I've gotten older, they are more frequent. This is a problem for my neurologist because Fiorinal is on the restricted use list, here in New York. We switched me to Fioricet and for three years, that was OK, but then the Tylenol started bothering my liver. Got a new script for Fiorinal and to my surprise, it only comes in capsule form and in my opinion, does not work as well. I hope they will bring back the tablet form. The tablet works the best and I can't understand the need to change to a capsule. Why reinvent the wheel?"

• Mathr...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• September 11, 2015

"I've had migraines for 40 years. This works 9 out of 10 times, usually in about 20 minutes. Occasionally I've had to take a second pill or dose, but 1 pill almost always does the trick. The other 10 % of the times I use Maxalt or its generic form. My insurance has recently dropped coverage for this inexpensive, very effective drug. I'm not happy and plan to appeal for coverage."

• Anonymous
• January 8, 2010

"This has been the only drug I have been prescribed that has actually helped with my migraines. I have been on it for a couple of years now and it is not as effective for me as it once was and the side effects sometimes make me feel off for the rest of the day, but I have always thought that the side effects were better then the pain of the migraine. It is the only one that that has worked for me so my go to drug."

• DHano
• February 10, 2009

"I have used this drug since 1979 @ age 27. Two day weekend headaches after a rough week were frequent (about 15-20 headaches/year) over next 10 years. They laid me up for hours or days. If taken within a few hours after a headache began, fiorinal is very effective. Wait a day and pain is partially reduced but lingers for 24 hours or more. Headache frequency gradually declined with aging. At current age headache frequency is down 95%. Fiorinal was a great help to me."