Chronic daily headache treatment
Chronic headache treatment is possible because there are a number of preventive medications available. Here are the medications your doctor can recommend.
Antidepressants
Antidepressants such as amitriptyline , nortriptyline , and other tricyclic antidepressants are the most widely used treatment for all forms of these headaches. These drugs are valuable because they help to treat depression, anxiety and sleep disturbances that often accompany chronic daily headache.
SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors)
There is also evidence that suggests other antidepressants, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors may be effective in the treatment of these headaches in some sufferers. SSRIs have been used to treat this condition are fluoxetine, sertraline, paroxetine, nafazodone, veniafazine, citaloprom and Escitalopram. The SSRIs can have negative effects so, again, it is important to discuss this with your doctor.
Beta-blockers
While these drugs are most commonly used to treat high blood pressure, they are often helpful in the treatment of episodic migraine. Beta-blockers for the treatment of chronic daily headache include Atenolol , Metoprolol, nadolol (Corgard), propranolol and Timolol . In some cases, these beta-blockers are used in combination with antidepressants.
Anti-seizure medications
Anticonvulsant medication migraine prevention are also increasingly used to treat this type of headache. Drugs in this category are as divalproex , gabapentin and topiramate .
Muscle relaxants
While not always effective in the treatment of chronic daily headache, muscle relaxants like Tizanidin Zanaflex) have helped in some cases.
Non-steroidal anti-(non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents)
Naproxen and other non steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and can be effective in the treatment of these daily headaches, especially if you are in withdrawal from some other pain relieve. Included in this group are naproxen (Aleve, Anaprox), ketoprofen (Orudis) and Mefenaminsäure (Ponstel)
Cox-2 inhibitors
While these drugs are comparable with non-steroidal anti, they work differently and have fewer side effects. Drugs such as Celebrex, Vioxx and Excedrine are very helpful in the treatment of chronic daily headache in combination with other preventive medications. Typically, they are prescribed for one or two months if you are from the pain relief medication to help decrease the frequency and severity of rebound headaches.
Other
Botox is currently being investigated as a possible treatment for many of this type of daily headache. Injections of a local anesthetic around a nerve (nerve block) or injection of a numbing agent and corticosteroid at the site of the pain are sometimes recommended for chronic daily headache.