It seems like a strange combination of medications to take to attempt to get rid of New Daily Persistent Headache, I know. I’m trying it out now, at the recommendation of my new neurologist. If you would like to read up on some of the research that supports this treatment, take a look at Elevation of CSF Tumor Necrosis Factor ± Levels in New Daily Persistent Headache.
I’m warning you, it isn’t crystal clear why this would work just by reading the research. Well, maybe if you are a doctor it would make sense. The author (Dr. Rozen) explained it all to me at length and I fully understood it in the moment. It was fascinating really, and I wish I could explain it back to you as well. I can’t! If I had on my reporters hat, I would have taken notes. Honestly, as I was sitting there listening, it was all about me.
When I mentioned the magic word cure to my doctor with hopeful eyes, he smiled. He ‘s not using that word. It may not be a cure, and the science behind it may not be black and white or clear as day to someone like me, but there is good reason to give it a shot.
Ok, this is my oversimplified interpretation: Doxycyline is an antibiotic. NDPH is often triggered initially by a virus or an infection and there is some suspicion that this is more of an immune system issue. So, treating it with Doxy and Singulair targets the inflammation in a different way then other migraine specific medications.
I’m on day 8 of this combo. It takes at least 2 months to know if it is helping or not. So far, I’m annoyed at the nausea (I’m easily annoyed) but my head pain has been under a 5 (on a scale from 1-10) for the past 5 days. I know, I said I wasn’t going to speak of those nasty pain scales this week. But how else can I explain? I haven’t had the need to take the abortive med my doc gave me to try out in 7 days.
I’m happy. I’m encouraged. Of course, it could be the fact that the weather changed that is making my head feel better. It could be that my house is much quieter now that the kids have gone back to school. It could be that I really believe it should work, therefore it is. It could be a whole host of other things and it has only been a week – not nearly enough time to judge if it is working.
But I am okay. Today, I’m okay. So does it really matter why? I take the good days and I celebrate. It is 9:35 A.M. as I write this. Normally by this time the pain would be settling in for the day. I’ve noticed over the past week that my pain (what there is of it) has been moving. Now, it always moves, but it usually has a focus point over my left eye and wanders around the rest of my head. I haven’t had pain over my left eye in days. That is so cool.
Actually, I was afraid to share all this. Knocking on wood over here! Last time I had a significant break in the pain (an entire two weeks over the winter) it came back as soon as I started telling people. Figures, right? But here I am putting it in writing that I am feeling better.
Some people just don’t learn.
2 Comments
September 12, 2009 at 8:31 am
I do hope this works for you. I have a son with Fragile X Syndrome, a genetic disorder, and closely follow its research and clinical trials etc. Promising results have been shown with the use of an antibiotic that has been around for a while – not as a treatment but a cure! Seems that the drug actually alters a part of the brain structure, growing bits that help pass signals from one brain cell to another!
September 12, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Thank you Sue – I hope this will work for me. That sounds very promising for your son! It is amazing that the drug can actually “grow” what is needed in the brain. I hope they will continue researching and that the cure will be soon!