| The medications on
this page are some of the more common ones prescribed to treat cluster
headaches. This list is made available strictly for you to have
options to discuss with your physician. Do
not take any medicine or nutritional supplement for your headaches without
discussing it with your physician first! |
Cluster Headache Medications
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Cluster Headache medications are divided into three main
classes: Abortive - designed to quickly stop an individual
attack; Preventative - to eliminate attacks all together or to
minimize them so a sufferer can lead as close to a normal life as
possible; and Transitional - designed to temporarily stop attacks until a
long term preventative can take effect. |
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Abortive Medications |
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Having trouble affording
medications? Click Here to go to a site that offers financial
assistance in obtaining medications. |
| Name |
Type of Drug |
Composition |
Comments |
| Imitrex |
vasoconstrictor |
sumatriptan succinate |
Comes in tablet, nasal and injectible
forms. If you don't like needles click here for a needleless
injector. |
| Amerge |
vasoconstrictor |
naratriptan hydrocloride |
1mg and 2.5mg tablets |
| Please
visit the medication
survey page at www.clusterheadaches.com
to enter your personal experiences with medications and to view other's
success with them. This is a great resource in helping decide which
medications work best for cluster headaches. |
Zomig |
vasoconstrictor |
zolmitriptan |
2.5mg and 5mg tablets; 5mg nasal spray |
| Axert |
vasoconstrictor |
almotriptan malate |
6.25mg and 12.5mg tablets |
| Oxygen |
vasoconstrictor |
oxygen |
7 to 15 liters/minute via a non-rebreathing
mask for 10 to 20 minutes |
| Click here for a comparison of all the triptan
based medications. |
| Cafergot
/ Ercaf / ergotamine |
vasoconstrictor |
ergotamine |
Tablets / suppositories / sublingual tablets |
| Get all the dope (pun
intended) on your medications. Visit RXList.com
to search for info on your medications. |
Dihydroergotamine
(DHE 45) |
vasoconstrictor |
dihydroergotamine mesylate |
Injection, IV or nasal spray (Migranal) |
| Lidocaine |
local anisthetic |
4.5%lidocaine |
Nasal spray or drops |
| Maxalt |
vasoconstrictor |
rizatriptan benzoate |
5mg, 10mg tablets |
| Butalbital |
sedative |
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Need More Imitrex?
If you need more Imitrex than your insurance company
will provide and your doctor is willing to prescribe, you can contact
GlaxoSmithKline directly. They have a division called "Reimbursement
Resource Center" (the name implies you have to pay up front, but that
is not the case). Call them at 1-800-745-2967 option #3, give them the
information they ask for, your doctor's name & number, insurance
company info, etc. and they will assign you a case worker who will contact
your insurance company and hopefully get them to increase the number of
doses
|
Stadol
NS |
synthetic opiod |
butorphanol tartate |
Also comes in injectible form. |
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Preventative Medications |
| Verapamil |
calcium-channel blocker |
verapamil hydrochloride |
tablets, blood pressure medication. |
| Catapres |
alpha-agonist |
clonidine hydrochloride |
tablets, blood pressure medication |
| Lithium |
anti-manic agent |
lithium carbonate |
Usually combined with verapamil or cortisone. Mainly
for chronic clusters. Side effects. |
| Depakote |
seizure medication |
divalproex sodium |
tablets |
| Neurontin |
anticonvulsant |
Gabapentin |
|
| Topamax |
anitepileptic |
topiramate |
Side effects |
| Methysergide
(Sansert) |
synthetic ergot / serotonin antagonist |
methysergide |
2mg tablets. Side effects |
| Indocin |
NSAID |
indomethacin |
capsules, suppositories. Can be hard on stomach |
| Bellergal S |
vasoconstrictor / sedative |
belladonna, ergotamine, phenobarbital |
tablets |
| Effexor |
tricyclic antidepressant |
venlafaxine hydrochloride |
tablets |
| Elavil |
tricyclic antidepressant |
amitriptyline |
10 - 150mg tablets |
| Tegretol |
anticonvulsant |
carbamazepine |
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| Lamictal |
anticonvulsant |
lamotrigine |
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| Tenormin |
beta-blocker |
atenolol |
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| Inderal |
beta-blocker |
propranolol |
|
| Amerge |
vasoconstrictor |
naratriptan hydrocloride |
1mg, 2.5mg tablets. Taken at bedtime, may prevent the
night cluster. |
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Transitional Medications |
| Prednisone |
steroid |
prednisone |
side effects likely |
| Dexamethasone |
adrenalcortical steroid |
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