Hi
new to the board has anyone had a good response to this drug? I started it and got terrible pains in my legs could hardly walk within 4 days. It was really working too

anyone else out there?

I used this 30 yrs ago and as I recall was helpful with CH's.

Methysergide (UML-491) is is sold under the brand names Sansert and Deseril, however in recent years became unavailable in the USA.

"Notify your doctor immediately if you experience leg cramps when walking; hip, side, or chest pain; painful urination; shortness of breath; or coldness, numbness, or pain in your hands, feet, arms, or legs."

Hope this helps.

-Gregg in Las Vegas

Raises the question: are you working with a headache specialist or someone with experience treating Cluster?
We have much experience that says: waste of time to stay with good intentions but lacking skill/knowledge of this complex area of medicine.

What other meds have you tried?

Print out the PDF file and use it to discuss options with your doc.

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Yep. I used it too but it was probably 20 years ago and did help a lot. I remember the first few days I had a few leg cramps but they disappeared shortly after. I only used it for one cycle and by the time my next cycle started they were no longer available. I was bummed at the time because back then it was something that worked rally well as a preventative at least for me.

Rick

I'm with Bob on this one. We have a lot of newer medications and treatment options with a much better benefit/risk ratio. Use that PDF to educate yourself, then go shopping for a headache specialist neuro who recognizes the value of the newer treatments. Good luck.

Joe

Hi

the deseril was the last resort all the rest have failed, they work for about 5 weeks then the headache finds a way around them. I'm chronic and my guy is a cluster specialist, he actually sought a second opinion himself and they suggested the deseril but looks like it was not to be so it's back to Topomax for now but that doesn't work very well, it has been the most successful of the lot but I still get 2-3 attacks daily, they are almost tolerable with imigran injection and O2 but only tolerable.

Am waiting for a call to the Botox clinic now it's really disheartening as I was hoping that an old medication tried and tested might do the trick, not to be it seems!

Thanks for the info though

A few of us have found this med as effective as Imitrex injection, taking a few more minutes to become effective.
Another benefit: on a per dose cost basis, it's less expensive. And there is the convenience of it being a pill.

Consider printing this and share with your doc.
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Headache 2001 Sep;41(8):813-6 

Olanzapine as an Abortive Agent for Cluster Headache.


Rozen TD.

Department of Neurology, Jefferson Headache Center/Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate olanzapine as a cluster headache abortive agent in an open-label trial. BACKGROUND: Cluster headache is the most painful headache syndrome known. There are very few recognized abortive therapies for cluster headache and fewer for patients who have contraindications to vasoconstrictive drugs. METHODS: Olanzapine was given as an abortive agent to five patients with cluster headache in an open-label trial. THE INITIAL OLANZAPINE DOSE WAS 5 MG, AND THE DOSE WAS INCREASED TO 10 MG IF THERE WAS NO PAIN RELIEF. THE DOSAGE WAS DECREASED TO 2.5 MG IF THE 5-MG DOSE WAS EFFECTIVE BUT CAUSED ADVERSE EFFECTS. To be included in the study, each patient had to treat at least two attacks with either an effective dose or the highest tolerated dose. RESULTS: Five patients completed the investigation (four men, one woman; four with chronic cluster, one with episodic cluster). Olanzapine reduced cluster pain by at least 80% in four of five patients, and TWO PATIENTS BECAME HEADACHE-FREE AFTER TAKING THE DRUG. Olanzapine typically alleviated pain within 20 minutes after oral dosing and treatment response was consistent across multiple treated attacks. The only adverse event was sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: Olanzapine appears to be a good abortive agent for cluster headache. IT ALLEVIATES PAIN QUICKLY AND HAS A CONSISTENT RESPONSE ACROSS MULTIPLE TREATED ATTACKS. IT APPEARS TO WORK IN BOTH EPISODIC AND CHRONIC CLUSTER HEADACHE.

PMID 11576207 PubMed

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Olanzapine has a brand name of "Zyprexa" and is a antipsychotic. Don't be put off by this primary usage. Several of the drugs used to treat CH are cross over applications, that is, drugs approved by the FDA for one purpose which are found to be effective with unrelated conditions--BJ.
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Since this abstract was first posted Zyprexa has appeared in some lists of recommended meds for CH. [BJ]