jee whiz thanks for the solid info. Yeah it's sort of a lurid area to me, medication for better mental functioning. I think it goes profoundly deeper. We live in a manufactured, arbitrary civilization that is more and more detached from our natural ancestral roots. I believe that a root of many psychic problems lies in the fact that we simply don't have a collective lifestyle that promotes optimal mental health. People base their ideologies and perceptions on the "concrete" surroundings that they inherit from an increasingly consumerist and avaricious preceding generation. Our whole lives are based on what we've created, not what created us, so when we accomplish all that we think we need, there's something lacking and we have no idea what it is. And that is a good recipe for mental insecurity. Why not apply medicine from the only known world?

The principle I mentioned of not relieving emotions with a substance would have more relevance in a civilization that wasn't based on something so unstable in the first place.

It wasn't my intention to go so abstract; after all I'm trying to cut DOWN on headaches.
My normal dr. was on holiday, so I met with a different guy. He asked about my lifestyle and asked if I actually chose to be a fulltime dad (I suppose because if I didn't, it would indicate a more significant albeit underlying stress source). He was pretty choosy with the meds. I told him these didn't work: ibuprofen, naproxen, vicodin, imitrex, axert, and maxalt. So i guess there were some variables that made him decide on lexapro and topamax.

I don't care for those so far. The lexapro makes me stoopid and distorts my perception of time. The topamax f's with my sleep and gives me mad gas. I guess I'll give them a few more days and if my body doesn't start tolerating it better, I'd rather just deal with headaches. He also prescribed massages, which isn't covered by ins. and we can't afford.