Cluster Headache Treatment
It is difficult to stop the pain of the first cluster headache because usually disappears by the time you’ve come to the doctor or emergency room. Once the problem has been diagnosed, your doctor may prescribe a treatment to keep on hand if needed.
It has been proven that breathing 100% oxygen through a mask for about 15 minutes helps when this procedure is performed during the first attack symptoms. This oxygen must be prescribed by a doctor and bought from a supplier of medical equipment. Other medications that may be effective when used at the beginning of a cluster headache include:
- medicines called triptans, including sumatriptan (Imitrex), rizatriptan (Maxalt), zolmitriptan (Zomig), almotriptan (Axert), naratriptan (Amerge) among others.
- intranasal dihydroergotamine
- intranasal lidocaine
- The combination of 100% oxygen with one of the triptans can be especially effective.
Your doctor will probably suggest a preventive medication to help decrease the frequency of headache and to shorten the active period of the outbreak. Verapamil (Calan, Isoptin) at a dose of 360 to 480 milligrams per day is often the first preventive medicine prescribed. Other drugs used as preventive treatment, including prednisone (Deltasone and others), divalproex (Depakote, Depakene), topiramate (Topamax) methysergide (Sansert) and ergotamine (Cafergot)
There is no way to determine which medicine is most effective for each person. You may need doctor and try some different strategies to find a medicine that is effective.
On rare occasions when a cluster headache occurs more frequently and can not be controlled with medication, can be considered a neurosurgery. The procedures have been used with varying success include permanent nerve blocks and the implantation of electrodes located precisely in the brain.