Posted by Brad Perrault on December 31, 1998 at 00:44:42:
In Reply to: Cluster Headaches: Nothing has helped! posted by Marie F. on December 30, 1998 at 23:55:14:
I am 41 year old man in good health. I have
suffered with cluster headaches for over 13 years.
My headaches always come every two years in the fall
and last for 8 to 10 weeks. The Cluster headaches
are excruciating. I get them on average two times
a day and they last about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. The
best thing I did for myself was to go to a headache
specialist. My Dr. is located in Sacramento, CA. He
is a neurologist at the University California at Davis.
He is a outstanding. At the onset of my episodes
over the years he puts me on several drugs. Verapamil
3 to 5 tabs at 80 Mg. per day. He also has used a
drug called Sansert with good results. He also
provides me with Imitrex injections. If the prior
medicine I noted fails to slow down the clusters
onset then I use the Imitrex. It aborts the headache
in 10 minutes. I feel for your husband his pain
is debilitating. I have several times gone to the
emergency room for a shot of Demorol. I hope this infomation
helps. Check out the below listed info on Verapamil:
Many headache patients are on verapamil for prevention of migraine or clusters,which is a 'calcium blocker'.
This is a very useful med, primarily due to lack (in general) of weight gain or sedation....this represents an
improvement over the beta blockers in that regard. The generic verapamilSR (slow release) is widely utilized,
but CoveraHS, while being relatively new, represents a better delivery system for this drug, particularly for those
with hypertension (high blood pressure). Sometimes, the non-generic versions of drugs work better than the
generics, and Covera(along with Isoptin) is most likely better and more effective than the generic. Side effects
include a rash (if allergic), dizziness, and constipation (among others).....however, verapamil is generally well
tolerated. We are awaiting further studies on the risks of calcium blockers in post-menopausal women.
Check out the web page www.headachedrugs.com it has some useful information.
I hope the best for both of you. I know your hurting for him also.
Take Care, Brad