Posted by Msanne26 on December 08, 1998 at 18:13:47:
In Reply to: ADVICE NEEDED FOR CHRONIC SUFFERER posted by DAN on November 19, 1998 at 08:34:17:
Dan,
My husband, Rick is also chronic and has been for about 12 years. He took lithium and verapamil at one time which completely stopped the headaches for about a year. I guess your body gets a tolerance to most treatments after a while. The only thing he has gotten guaranteed relief from is prednisone. He was seeing a neurologist who would only give it to him in quick tapers a couple of times a year. He is seeing a new neuro now who says it's OK if you take it in the smallest doses you can tolerate. He says it's best if you can alternate days. Rick is now taking 40mg one day and 20 mg the next. This is working for him with no side effects. About once every week or two he stops taking it for a few days. The headaches come back but not real intense if he's only off for a day or two. This neuro also prescribed Maxalt to take when he gets a headache. He LOVES this. He says it will knock the headache out within 10-15 minutes if he catches it immediately. He says it's like turning off a switch. The down side to it is that it's limited like Imitrex, maximum doses for a week are 4. I don't think he should take prednisone forever, but he says anything is better than having the headaches. He has another appointment with his neuro in a couple of days. The neuro wanted him to try Zoloft. He's been taking it for a couple of months, and it really hasn't done anything. I think we've talked him into trying the antifungals or ritalin next. We'll see. Hope this helps you. Good luck!