I've been on Verapamil for about a year, taking 80 mg once a day (at night). It's massively lowered the severity and number of cluster headaches.

The problem is that sometimes I get other types of headaches about an hour after taking the Verapamil. They can last several hours. They're obviously not as severe as clusters, but they do make me unable to function at life. I was originally taking Verapamil twice a day, and was having these headaches nonstop. Once I lowered my dosage, I'm having them maybe two or three times a month. They tend to happen in "clusters" as well - when they happen, they always happen in a period of a few days.

Basically, I get really, really hot when they happen, and my head feels like it's being squeezed. My face and upper body get extremely flushed. Sometimes they trigger panic attacks, which is something cluster headaches do as well for me.

I know that headaches are a possible side effect of Verapamil but I just want to see if the headaches that I'm getting are "normal" for a Verapamil side effect.

I'm also wondering if it might have a correlation to my time of the month and hormone levels. I'm going to start paying attention to when they happen from now on to see.

You are on a very, very low dose of verapamil (even at double the amount as you used to take) while I and others are on much higher doses. Currently I take 640mg/day and that seems to be almost keeping the beast at bay. I have never experienced what you describe, and as you say, it may be related to a monthly cycle. I would encourage you to talk to your docs about this. I am glad the verapamil is working for you, especially at such low doses. That seems to me to bode well for you in the long run. Blessings. lance