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Mental Health (Expert Forum)
Headaches and medication
Questions posted in the Mental Health forum are being answered by Dr. Roger L. Gould, author of the Mastering Stress and Depression program and affiliated with the UCLA. Department of Psychiatry. Topics covered include anger, attention deficit disorder (ADD) , bipolar disorder , dementia , electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) , learning disabilities, memory, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) , panic , personality disorders, phobias , post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) , schizophrenia , stress , transitions, and work problems.
Headaches and medication
by Diane, Nov 15, 1999 12:00AM
I have been experiencing severe headaches due to several medications I've tried and don't know what to do. Let me explain.
I was on Wellbutrin SR for 2.5 weeks and had to go off of it due to severe headaches. The first 7 days, I started at 100mg (once a day). The next 7 days, I took 150mg (once a day). Then I took 150mg twice a day for a couple of days before I stopped. I actually started noticing the headaches when I was taking 150mg (once a day). They actually got worse when I bumped the medication to twice a day. So my doctor prescribed Serzone. I was going to take 50mg a day (at night) for a few days and then
bump it up to 100mg and so on. Well, I took 50mg Friday night and the next morning I woke up with a killer headache. So I decided not to take the Serzone anymore until I figure out what to do.
I'm not prone to getting headaches so all of this is very frustrating to me.
What are some other options for me???
I was on Wellbutrin SR for 2.5 weeks and had to go off of it due to severe headaches. The first 7 days, I started at 100mg (once a day). The next 7 days, I took 150mg (once a day). Then I took 150mg twice a day for a couple of days before I stopped. I actually started noticing the headaches when I was taking 150mg (once a day). They actually got worse when I bumped the medication to twice a day. So my doctor prescribed Serzone. I was going to take 50mg a day (at night) for a few days and then
bump it up to 100mg and so on. Well, I took 50mg Friday night and the next morning I woke up with a killer headache. So I decided not to take the Serzone anymore until I figure out what to do.
I'm not prone to getting headaches so all of this is very frustrating to me.
What are some other options for me???
Doctor's Answer
by HFHS M.D-SW, Nov 16, 1999 12:00AM
Dear Diane,
Headache is a possible side effect of many medications. Wellbutrin may be associated with headache as you have personally experienced. Also the higher the dose the more likely the occurance of side effects.
Your physician appears to have taken proper steps in slowly increasing the dosage of your medication.
There are other antidepressants which may be considered, Paxil, Remeron, Zoloft or Prozac. Ironically these antidepressants that may cause headache in some patients are used to treat headache in others.
I recommend continued follow up with your psychiatrist, and possibly a slower rate of increase of the dose. If headache develops at a specific dosage your psychiatrist may consider maintaining you at a lower level, if it is effective for your depression.
Good Luck,
HFHS M.D-SW
Headache is a possible side effect of many medications. Wellbutrin may be associated with headache as you have personally experienced. Also the higher the dose the more likely the occurance of side effects.
Your physician appears to have taken proper steps in slowly increasing the dosage of your medication.
There are other antidepressants which may be considered, Paxil, Remeron, Zoloft or Prozac. Ironically these antidepressants that may cause headache in some patients are used to treat headache in others.
I recommend continued follow up with your psychiatrist, and possibly a slower rate of increase of the dose. If headache develops at a specific dosage your psychiatrist may consider maintaining you at a lower level, if it is effective for your depression.
Good Luck,
HFHS M.D-SW
