Due  to my insurance I can only get a limited supply of Imitrex injectections per month. I am starting another cluster and have a limited supply of Imitrex on hand. If anyone knows of another injection that works I would be greatful. I can get other drugs from my insurance, just not the same medication. If you have any other ideas that would be great. I just am looking for medications that I can take once the headache has struck. Not looking for medications that I would have to take on a daily basis. Only when then clucters hit. Thanxs

Thanxs suffering

I take Zomig nasal spray. It's another triptan, and takes a few minutes more to take effect than Imitrex, but will abort within 5 minutes. You still only get 2 doses a day, including imitrex.

You can also try Migranal; it's a DHE based nasal spray. But, you've been given great advice on abortives and vitamin D preventatives in the responses to your previous post. Read them, mark, learn and inwardly digest the information. It's your life preserver in a storm of pain. Blessings. lance

wimsey1 wrote on Mar 19^th, 2013 at 8:19am:

You can also try Migranal; it's a DHE based nasal spray. But, you've been given great advice on abortives and vitamin D preventatives in the responses to your previous post. Read them, mark, learn and inwardly digest the information. It's your life preserver in a storm of pain. Blessings. lance

What he said. Imitrex and others work great, but a lot of people get either rebounds after a while, or other nasty side effects. Which is why I take mine in case of extreme emergency only (read maybe once a year).

Are you using a preventive med to reduce/block attacks? And correct dose is critical, also. (see PDF file below.)

If you are not having more than 1-2 attacks per 24-hrs, discuss, with you doc (print out for him), a trial of this med. It's almost as fast acting as Imitrex and has the convenience of being a pill and costs much less per dose.
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Headache 2001 Sep;41(8):813-6 

Olanzapine as an Abortive Agent for Cluster Headache.


Rozen TD.
Department of Neurology, Jefferson Headache Center/Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate olanzapine as a cluster headache abortive agent in an open-label trial. BACKGROUND: Cluster headache is the most painful headache syndrome known. There are very few recognized abortive therapies for cluster headache and fewer for patients who have contraindications to vasoconstrictive drugs. METHODS: Olanzapine was given as an abortive agent to five patients with cluster headache in an open-label trial. THE INITIAL OLANZAPINE DOSE WAS 5 MG, AND THE DOSE WAS INCREASED TO 10 MG IF THERE WAS NO PAIN RELIEF. THE DOSAGE WAS DECREASED TO 2.5 MG IF THE 5-MG DOSE WAS EFFECTIVE BUT CAUSED ADVERSE EFFECTS. To be included in the study, each patient had to treat at least two attacks with either an effective dose or the highest tolerated dose. RESULTS: Five patients completed the investigation (four men, one woman; four with chronic cluster, one with episodic cluster). Olanzapine reduced cluster pain by at least 80% in four of five patients, and TWO PATIENTS BECAME HEADACHE-FREE AFTER TAKING THE DRUG. Olanzapine typically alleviated pain within 20 minutes after oral dosing and treatment response was consistent across multiple treated attacks. The only adverse event was sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: Olanzapine appears to be a good abortive agent for cluster headache. IT ALLEVIATES PAIN QUICKLY AND HAS A CONSISTENT RESPONSE ACROSS MULTIPLE TREATED ATTACKS. IT APPEARS TO WORK IN BOTH EPISODIC AND CHRONIC CLUSTER HEADACHE.

PMID 11576207 PubMed

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Olanzapine has a brand name of "Zyprexa" and is a antipsychotic. Don't be put off by this primary usage. Several of the drugs used to treat CH are cross over applications, that is, drugs approved by the FDA for one purpose which are found to be effective with unrelated conditions--BJ.
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Since this abstract was first posted Zyprexa has appeared in some lists of recommended meds for CH. [BJ]

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