Hi,

Just got a question about having cluster headaches during pregnancy.

When I was diagnosed with cluster headaches recently me and my husband were trying for baby. After seeing the docter and explaining that we wanted a child I was told because of the medication I would be on I shouldn't even bother getting pregnant as it would be harmful for the baby. I,m only in my first cycle which has lasted for 8 weeks so far and is still active and I'm now wondering what I should do. I don't know yet if this is going to be chronic or not and after reading the info on this site it looks like even if it does go into remission its still a life long condition. Still wanting to have a baby so would like to hear from anybody that has had to deal with cluster headaches during pregnancy and what they could use for the pain.

Thankyou

Each medication has its own, distinctive, profile re. use during pregnancy. This is not a general question which applies to all preventives, pain meds, etc.

Following your doc's directions is the only safe approach.

Oxygen as an your weapon won't harm you or a new life. Get after that baby makin.

          Potter

The issue of oxygen during pregnancy is very complicated and quite beyond the skill of our group to resolve.

Based on this brief comment from a very complicated article I'd strongly encourage you to talk the question over with your doc.
=====

Birth Defects Res C Embryo Today. 2007 Sep;81(3):215-28.

The effect of hypoxia in development.
Webster WS, Abela D.

Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. billweb@anatomy.usyd.edu.au

Abstract
There is increasing evidence that the oxygen supply to the human embryo in the first trimester is tightly controlled, suggesting that TOO MUCH OXYGEN may interfere with development. The use of hypoxia probes in mammalian embryos during the organogenic period indicates that the embryo is normally in a state of partial hypoxia, and this may be essential to control cardiovascular development....
(balance of abstract deleted.)

PMID: 17963271 PubMed

Bob,

Thanks for taking the time to explore this precarious territory.

Hi Gina!
Welcome!

Well, I'm actually currently about 6months pregnant.
My most recent cycle started when I was about 10 weeks pregnant.  Bad deal...

I was told by my OB not to use tripans and most of the preventatives.  I was trying to get by on O2 and narcotics (both of which helped some, but in high cycle not great) but it just wasn't cutting the pain and the life-disruption and I was heading into a real mess.

Contacted a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at our state university and he felt that verapamil would be fine in moderate doses - particularly once into the 2nd trimester.

Started the verapamil and it has worked great for me.  Currently take only 80mg 3x/day along with some magnesium, and extra folic acid.  When the cycle was at it's worst, I was also on a touch of lamictal. 

Largest concern with the verapamil is growth restriction and also a very rare potential for fetal heart block.  I've been getting monthly ultrasounds and as of yet, kiddo looks fine and has been growing well.

Main thing is work to keep your OB and neurologist informed about what is going on and if you need more opinions or eval - go to a maternal-fetal specialist or a perinatologist - they may be able to answer more questions (both my regular OB and my regular neurologist had never seen a pregnant woman with this issue)

Please, don't let your fear of what might happen stop you from living your life.  Yes, just for your own peace of mind you may want to wait until your current cycle is over, but don't let the fact that you get CH stop you from having a family.  There is help even without tripans and even restricted on what meds you can take...

Take care and let us know how you're doing!

I didn't have clusters when I was pregnant, but I am just one person.  Had 2 kids and no clusters, but right after I delivered...CH hell broke loose with my second child. 

Hi Gina2,

Warm welcome. :)

I'm not a mother myself, but I understand that some of our clustermoms had a PF (Pain-free) pregnancy, which means that they didn't need any treatments nor medications for ch whatsoever. I've read at these boards before that a new cluster cycle can begin right after the baby arrives, though.

It's a great idea to discuss your ch treatment plan with your doctor, but also: do not let your dreams and life be put on hold because of ch. Me and my boyfriend plan to have children in future and I plan to "worry" more about my age rather than ch. I do know that my current ch treatment, energy drinks, is not compatible with pregnancy, which means that when I'm pregnant one day, I will need to change my treatment.

My two cents,
Sanna

Main thing is work to keep your OB and neurologist informed about what is going on and if you need more opinions or eval - go to a maternal-fetal specialist or a perinatologist - they may be able to answer more questions (both my regular OB and my regular neurologist had never seen a pregnant woman with this issue)

Please, don't let your fear of what might happen stop you from living your life.  Yes, just for your own peace of mind you may want to wait until your current cycle is over, but don't let the fact that you get CH stop you from having a family.  There is help even without tripans and even restricted on what meds you can take...

Frame it...nicely put. ;)

Joe