I’m 75 year old disabled Veteran and I started having headaches in 1957 while in my early 20’s. They tended to come in “clusters of migraine.” Sometimes I had enough of a warning to head them off. In my case, the warnings came in the form of a throbbing in my temple or a sort of “tunnel vision,” which provided me with an opportunity to take medication to ease the oncoming headache.
About five years ago, after having a migraine every day of my life since 1957, I was at the VA being treated for shingles. The doctor prescribed 100 mg of Neurontin (Gabapentin) for me, and not only did it improve my shingles, but it also decreased the headaches! When it occurred to me that this medication was helping, on a return trip to the VA, the doctor offered to continue to use Neurontin, but to increase the dose gradually and over time. Currently I am on 900 mg, and I have the best outcome anyone could hope for…no more headaches!
After going through the standard trial and error of medications for years, such as Cafergot (Ergotamine), Tylenol, and so on, I had another interesting experience because of my struggles with headaches, and that was when I had extensive dental work to have the amalgam fillings replaced with other material. Although these teeth are now capped, and the severity of the headaches decreased could this have played a part or been another reason for less severe headaches?
Hard to say, but as of this date I am no longer suffering from them.
