Posted by Doug R (209.30.65.85) on July 21, 1999 at 22:30:39:
In Reply to: The Doc's say it's CH still posted by Liz on July 21, 1999 at 08:47:27:
Sorry you feel so crummy. After a while with these seemingly
dunderheaded doctors sarcastic is about as friendly as you care
to be. Have they ALL become neutered drones in thrall to faceless
pinheads in HMO administrations?
Enough of that rant. It DOES seem there is no end to the number
of potential medications doctors throw at cluster headaches.
I looked up Verapamil on Planet Rx (simple info admittedly) and
headaches aren't even mentioned as something it treats
(http://www.planetrx.com/product/rx/shelf/info/2252_introduction.asp).
My doctor suggested I keep some Imitrex around recently and gave me
a sample box of 4 tablets. I checked the prices on the stuff. That
sample box is worth about $50!! And from all I've read here, Imitrex
isn't a sure thing either...at $13 a pop. Thank you Glaxo. Also, I
can't take it within 24 hours of any ergotomine...which my present
medication contains.
I haven't seen many others mention it here, but I have almost no pain
on a steady, fairly low, maintenance level of Bellergal-S (Bellaspas in
low cost generic form). I take a quarter of a tablet every two to three
hours and then three quarters or a whole tablet at bed time...and stay
basically headache free. If anyone wants to know more about the drug
combination, again Planet Rx has some pretty good summaries:
http://www.planetrx.com/product/rx/shelf/info/1095_introduction.asp
At least the stuff is pretty cheap and contains some things that have
been known to work before. It's also indicated for cluster headaches
(at least according to PlanetRx).
That's my offering. Hope something works...and soon.
Doug Ross