DHE trial for migraine and pain?

[jason80]

My Dr. has suggested that I do a one-week trial on DHE to be given by IV every 8 hrs. Requires that I stay at the hospital. He claims that it is definitive for clarifying whether the root cause of my problems are due to migraine. He admits that not all of my symptoms seem migrainous, but most do. Note that my bad headache symptoms are basically gone, perhaps this is due to the Gabapentin I am taking.

Since my health is not improving, I feel like I should try something else (e.g., this DHE study or antibiotics in the event that I do have a bacterial infection). Naturally, I am concerned about doing more damage than good by any therapy.

I would appreciate any comments from those who have tried this DHE study and/or how definite it was for helping you find the appropriate therapy.  Below are my key symptoms:

Thanks in advance, Jason

Key Symptoms:
Brain/fog dizzy persistent headache (6/06 to 2/07)
Sore /burning Butt (6/07 to present, gradually worsened over that time)
Cognitive Impairment: brain fog, clumsy (2-08 to present)
Bad floaters (4/08 to present)
Visual Snow, photophobia, etc. (4/08 to present)
Parathesis, allodynia all over body (3/08 to present)
Tinnitis (5/08 to present)
Esophagus/stomach pain (5/08 to present)
ALT strange (3/08 to 5/08 was high and then returned to normal 6/08)

Neuro Test Results:
1st and 2nd Brain MRIs w/o contrast (taken ~8/06 and 3/08, respectively w/o change, UBOs unremarkable), EEG, VEP taken 4/08, both normal

Blood work: std batery of tests all normal, liver panel normal, auto-immune tests normal. Complete viral testing, nothing remarkable.

Lyme Tests (4/08-6/08): ELISA (negative, twice). Western Blot negative/inconclusive (repeated with same results: IgM +, but IgG -, but -- by CDC, ). CD57 was low (42) which indicates chronic Lyme by ILADS study.

[jason80]

Thank you very much for your reply. It still seems quite severe so understandably I'm reluctant.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

Thanks for posting.
Intravenous DHE has been proved to be safe and efficacious by a number of studies conducted in patients with severe migraine, menstrual migraines, migraines with allodynia, medication overuse, migraine recurrence and status migrainosus.
In one study in teenagers IV DHE was able to terminate chronic migraine all together.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/561217_3
IV DHE therapy has shown good overall results, you can refer to the link above and take decision.
Take care!