Topamax and cluster headaches
Common Questions and Answers about Topamax and cluster headaches
topamax
When the 1st headache occured her eye became painful and swollen and the doctor thought she had iritis. Her intern then diagnosed her with Cluster Headaches and put her on Topamax but she could not tolerate the side effects. Now , 6 weeks later, she is having some tingling with the headache--at the base of spine and also down her arms and legs (no numbness). She is trying to get in to see a neurologist and get a cat scan or MRI. What do you think is going on.
I have been on 100mg of Topamax for almost a month (the 22nd of this month) for cluster headaches and have had a variety of side effects. I take 50mg in the morning and 50mg at night. I thought I was going to lose my mind honestly. But I was told that the side effects would taper off more than likely. Which the vast majority have. I no longer feel dumber than a rock (I wasn't even able to compose an email without reading it very slowly 4-5 times before sending it). And I feel pretty normal.
Good morning everyone. I am into my 3rd week of topamax and I am still having bad headaches. My nuero started me at 1 every night for the first week, then 2 every night for the 2nd week, then 3 every night for the 3rd week he was hoping that would get everything under control and we could wing me off of it so I wouldnt be dependent because he says i suffer from tension migraines and just regular headache migraines. WELL ITS NOT WORKING!! my head still hurts!!! how long does it take to work?
I had been on Topamax for almost three years. Suddenly in end of January my headaches came back. I was weaned off of the Topomax to Amitryptaline 100mg at night to prevent the headaches. It was also noted that I had an AVM on the left periatal lobe of the brain in addition to a cavernous hemangioma on the right frontal lobe. My headaches have continued despite the increase of Amitryptaline. Last night I had such a terrible headache I could not sleep.
these could be one of the chronic severe headaches like migraine, cluster or tension headaches. Observe if you have any associated aura of symptoms like nausea, vomiting, dizziness, photophobia etc. postural record of blood pressure to rule out any autonomic instability needs to be kept. trial of medications for preventing migraines like topamax and to treat them like triptans needs to be allowed. MRI brain is required to rule out tumors or aneurysm.
If this is still normal, primary headaches such as migraine and cluster headache may be responsible. Cluster headaches present with excruciating pain in the vicinity of the eye. The attacks may occur every day for weeks to months and then disappear for up to a year. This is usually managed with oxygen, prescription emdications or intranasal application of local anesthetic agent. Have this checked by your doctor for proper evaluation. Take care and do keep us posted.
The headache your wife is suffering from may indeed be caused by primary headaches such as migraine headache or cluster headaches, hemicrania continua, and even post traumatic headache. If the medications she is not taking are not helpful, inform your doctor about this for proper management. Further evaluation may need to be done also to help determine the underlying cause. Take care and do keep us posted.
I have had periods of migraine headaches followed by black outs, memory loss, and was hospitalized for seizures. I was placed on a seizure med which I had a terrible reaction to. My driver license has been revoked due to an accident - I drove off a bridge. My headaches have become unbearable and I am having problems finding information that links the TGA, seizures, and migraines.
Headaches can be caused by a variety of reasons often categorized into primary headaches, secondary headaches, and cranial neuralgias. The primary headaches include tension headache, migraine cluster headaches and similar pathologies. Secondary causes can be due to sinusitis eye problems, etc and the cranial neuralgias that include the trigeminal neuralgias.
I had my surgery dec 2008 and was without headaches for two months after surgery. I discontinued pain meds after two weeks after surgery. Headaches returned in Feb 09 from pressure from bending over as before surgery. I may have pushed myself too hard as my father had broken his hip and needed constant lifting. Now it's almost a year later and headaches are continuing usually later in the afternoon early evening. If I lay down flat the HD usually will go away after a few minutes.
Well i want to start by saying that i am 18 years old and have been suffering with these really bad headaches for about 4 years. I know that everyone get headaches and migraines but when i get them it always seems like something is wrong. I started to go to a neurologist about two years ago but after two visits i stopped going because he was claiming that my headaches/ migraines where related to food i ate which i know is not true.
My current md said there is interaction between amitriptylline and topamax and also compazine which i take as needed. I do lortab for the pain, but i am afraid to take the topamax rx'd for "migraines" i don't think they are migraines. I was thinking i should call tci tomorrow and see if i could run this all by dr shelat or dr insigna.
Hi,
Short bursts of severe head pains may be due to cluster headaches, paroxysmal hemicrania, hemicrania continua, or short lasting unilateral headaches with eye tearing. Migraines may also present severely in a variety of ways and will always be a part of any differential. You may discuss with your physician the advantages of nerve blocks or nerve stimulation for your husband's condition.
I am 31 year old healthy female. I work part time and have 2 small children. On Sept. 17 of 2012 around mid-morning when I began to have vision problems that included spots in my eyes and almost like a shadow fell over my left eye. I thought perhaps I was going to get a migraine since I had heard people describe them that way. The vision probs lasted about 45 minutes and when it went away a headache set in. It was what I would call a mild to moderate headache. Ever since I have a headache.
If there was no history of head trauma, this could indeed be due to primary headaches such as migraine, tension or cluster headaches. Avoidance of triggers, rest, ice pack and both preventive and abortive medications usually help provide relief. OTC pain medications which are taken excessively may also lead to rebound headaches. If there is no insurance, ask your local health department if there are free clinics that you could avail.
Hi,
How are you? Primary headaches such as migraine, tension and cluster headaches may exist together. It is possible that, aside from migraine, the other types of headaches- cluster headache which usually presents with eye pain and tension headaches which presents with stress, may be present. Other differentials such as eye issues like error of refraction should also be ruled out. If it persists, have this checked by your doctor or be referred to an ophthalmologist for proper evaluation.
t take triptans for other reasons... like because they get cluster headaches and triptans are actually bad for cluster headaches. Or a mild opiate (that isn't mixed with any sort of acetaminophen because that can cause rebound headaches). Basically... I think acute therapy is just as important as daily treatment too... because, you want to be breaking these pain cycles so that the headaches stop. Week long headaches aren't anything you want to be dealing with!
Sphenopalatine neuralgia differs from cluster headache in that cluster headaches are relatively sudden and brief, whereas the pain from sphenopalatine neuralgia can be longer, hours or days. Also, the quality of pain is different. In sphenopalatine neuralgia, the pain is usually burning and aching, whereas in cluster it is usually stabbing shooting pain. Also, the attacks of sphenopalatine neuralgia do not cluster the way cluster headache pains do.
Thank you for your reply.
Before my daughter had the lumbar puncture, she had a constant 'background' headache that she could control with paracetamol and ibuprofen, and migraine attacks that no medication prescribed seemed to touch. Doctors thought that these headaches might have been caused by high CSF fluid pressure, hence the reason for the lumbar puncture.
Headaches are of different types like tension, migraine, sinus and cluster headaches. Your headaches seem to be coming in cycles with either pain free interval or reduced intensity. They seem like cluster headaches. Please see these two links for more information on them.
http://www.relieve-migraine-headache.com/cause-cluster-headache.html
http://www.relieve-migraine-headache.com/cluster-headache-treatments.
You are male though so you fit the demographic (women can get cluster headaches too and lots of women do, it is just that men are much more likely to get them).
The medications you have tried in the past would not work on cluster headaches. Like with severe migraines, over-the-counter medications do absolutely nothing to touch the pain of a cluster headache. Maxalt is not a triptan that works on cluster headaches.
For example migraines, which usually a pulsating throbbing one-sided pain with nausea and discomfort in bright lights that lasts several hours. Another type is cluster headaches, which are sharp pains that occur around and behind the eye often at night and are associated with tearing of the eye and running of the nose. In primary stabbing headache, sharp or jabbing pain in the head occur, either as a single stab or a series of brief repeated volleys of pain.
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