New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH)
Treatment
- Since this is a continuous daily headache, the goal of treatment is focused on preventive therapy: What to take on a daily basis to try to lessen the frequency and/or severity of the headaches. Preventive medicines generally take 4-6 weeks to start working and 2-3 months for full effect, assuming the correct dose of the medication is reached. These are the medications used most commonly, although this is not an all- inclusive list.
- Anti-convulsant (Anti-seizure) medications:
---Topiramate (Topamax)
---Gabapentin (Neurontin)
---Zonisamide (Zonegran)
---Divalproex sodium (Depakote) - Anti-depressant/Anti-anxiety medications:
---Amitriptyline (Elavil)
---Nortriptyline (Pamelor)
---Venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR)
---Desvenlafaxine (Pristiq)
---Duloxetine (Cymbalta) - Anti-hypertensive (blood pressure) medications:
---Propranolol (Inderal)
---Timolol (Timol)
---Metoprolol (Toprol)
---Atenolol (Tenormin)
---Nadolol (Corgard)
---Lisinopril (Zestril)
---Candesartan (Atacand)
---Verapamil (Calan)
---Acetazolamide (Diamox) - Biologics:
---Onabotulinum Toxin A (Botox)
