Anyone have a recommendation for a doctor in the Atlanta area that has good results with cluster headaches?

LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

2.  Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

3. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or ; On-line screen to find a physician.

4. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

5. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
        Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.

Nothing like the beast to tarnish the golden years huh? While you're waiting to get into the neuro to get a formal diagnosis and a decent treatment plan:

Energy drinks. Red Bull, Rock Star, any containing the combo of caffiene and taurine. Chugged at the first sign of an attack many can abort or at least reduce the intensity of a hit.

If you're getting the hits within an hour of falling asleep at night, try melatonin. An over the counter sleep aid available at any health food or vitamin stores. Start with 9 mg about 30 minutes before you go to bed. Many can avoid the night time terrors this way. Have to experiment to find an effective doseage some go as high as 18 mg to get relief. Give it several days to see if it works for you.

Avoid alcohol, a very common trigger for CH'ers when in cycle. Good luck getting in to see the neuro, wishing you a speedy diagnosis and some pain free time soon.

Joe

Damnit I love when a plan comes together! The prednisone provides 100% relief to me at doses as low as 30 mg a day. But if I go off the prednisone without a preventative in my system I get creamed. Pred is typically used as a transitional med while you start a prevent, such as verapamil, lithium or topomax.

For a very small percentage of CH'ers, a pred taper will actually abiort a cycle. Did he start you on any prevents?

Joe

A dose of 120mg of verapamil is pretty low with most people needing 360-480mg and some up to 1000mg a day to prevent CHs. So it's likely that you'll need to be on a higher dose. However work with your doctor when doses are changed and be aware that it can take about 10 days before a dose level is effective so you need a bit of patience.

The SR bit means that the medication is Sustained Release, so the medication enters your bloodstream over a period of several hours. The other form of verapamil is released a lot quicker. Now some people find they get best results from the SR form and others don't. So this may be an area where your doctor needs to experiment too.

jcaskey wrote on Dec 13^th, 2012 at 10:49am:


Southeast Headache Clinic