Verapamil for Cluster Headaches User Reviews

• Grafw...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• August 26, 2014

"I have suffered from episodic cluster headaches for almost 50 years. 25 years ago, my doctor prescribed 240mg ER verapamil twice a day as a preventative when an episode began. Excellent results...no headaches unless I drank alcohol or ate chocolate. After about 8 weeks, my episode would be over and I stopped taking the verapamil. Another episode would occur in one to two years, 30 months max. After switching primary care doctors, my new doc suggested taking 240mg slow release verapamil every day to reduce my blood pressure and maybe act as a deterrent to the clusters. It worked...it has now been four years and no recurrence of the headaches. I only hope this goes on forever. My deepest sympathy goes out to anyone who has cluster headaches."

• CJs
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• December 10, 2014

"I am 29 been suffering since I was 15. I was Diagnosed with chronic cluster headaches until I was about 24. Dr currently has me on verapamil 240mg 2x daily. I've been on for approx 18 months after trying other various methods and well it Works EXCELLENT. I have 1 serious side effect..."I lost my mojo baby" no but for real being 29 and having zero sex drive and impotence problems with my current girlfriend is becoming an issue. I have tried to taper off verapamil but 2-3 days later the headaches come back. Verapamil is the only medication that has worked for me. I am not sure what I should do. Sex vs Clusters. Sad to say but I'd rather not have the headaches."

• Anonymous
• January 19, 2015

"I was diagnosed with cluster headaches 5 years ago, I have them everyday, I take 480mg of verapamil daily, oxygen, Maxalt wafer, Aspalgen, oxygen, morphine injections. Nothing is helping me so far, my dr is now trialling me on Topamax. I hope this works. My heart goes out to us all that live with this condition. You are not alone."

• Paveh...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• July 7, 2016

"I first experienced cluster headaches when I was 20 years old. Never felt anything as severe in my life. The first experience was pure hell, and unsuccessfully treated. Thankfully they subsided after a month in a half on their own. 3 years later (almost to the day) came round 2. This time, new doctor prescribed verapamil. Virtually made the headaches disappear within 48 hours. Had to stop taking the medications once a week to see if they were gone so I could discontinue the use of the medication. Been through this cycle 4 times now, and verapamil has had the same results each time. Frequency is the same, length of cycle is the same, and pain is the same... But as soon as I get on verapamil, It's almost like not having them at all."

• SkiPat
• January 16, 2019

"I was misdiagnosed for years. I went to a sinus specialist and was also referred to chiropractor. I spent thousands of dollars out of pocket having my neck cracked. Often during attacks. Because my cluster attacks typically last about 3 hours I thought the chiropractor was actually doing something. I also think it affected my marriage and that my wife did not believe the severity of the headaches. Finally my chiropractor told me his treatments were not working. My neck muscles were tight but my alignment was fine. I was experiencing one of the worst attacks I’d had. He sent me to the walk in clinic and a PA actually listened to me and she knew immediately what was wrong. She prescribed 240mg Verapamil SR once a day, took me off Ibuprofen entirely and prescribed Imitrex Nasal for abortive. I still get some attacks. I now go months with no headaches and when I do enter a cluster period the attacks are much less severe. I also use O2 to treat an attack before it gets severe."

• Fisso
• May 12, 2016

"Suffered for 4 years in a row from a very strong cluster headache, the doctors prescribed all sorts of medications, from migraine medications to steroids based medications, until I met a brilliant neurologist, who successfully diagnosed my case as Cluster Headache, and after 2 month using Verapamil the headache disappeared for 3 consecutive years, I still suffer from mild attacks every now and then, but it is not comparable in intensity and frequency with my previous state, in brief, Verapamil is magical in healing cluster headache,"

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 26, 2015

"Life saving..10 yrs of dealing with Cluster Migraines then with research on my own and A understanding Dr. Willing to write the prescription..I am now able to function with a normal life. Within 7 days of starting 80 ms x 3 daily no more clusters...Zero !!!! Been on meds 4 months. Excited to enjoy life again!!!"

• Mattp
• June 11, 2013

"It does work really well. I have been dealing with these headaches for about 6 years now and this is the best treatment yet. Headaches are not as frequent, I was having 4-6 a day lasting about an hour, extremely intense. Now it's down to two a day and not as intense. I do also take Imitrex when they are really bad or if it wakes me up in my sleep I noticed drinking a lot of water helps too, I hate these headaches and empathize with all of you."

• David...
• December 10, 2014

"I have suffered for three years, at my whits end I too did my own research and after two weeks I am pain free. The bad attacks stopped instantly and the minor ones subsided after about day 7. I feel like I have my life back. I was exhausted for the first week until my body adjusted...but push through people....this medicine saved my life. I can even enjoy a glass of wine now and again!"

• Omnious
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• January 8, 2015

"Was diagnosed with chronic Cluster Headaches at the age of 18, was finally put on verapamil and as long as I stick to the schedule of 2x240mg verapamil SR daily (one in morning, one at night) I have gone from 3-5 severe headaches a day to 1 or 2 less severe headaches per week! This medicine makes my life tolerable and livable again. It really is an amazing medicine, I often can't believe how effective it is and I really fear that it might stop working for me one day but 3 years in and still OK."

• Dozer...
• Taken for 10 years or more
• November 3, 2019

Calan SR (verapamil) "I was prescribed this drug when diagnosed with cluster headaches. I used to get between 3 and 8 clusters daily for several months in a row. Once I was prescribed Calan SR (verapamil) the cluster headaches stopped. After having suffered with them from the age of 14 to 24 I considered verapamil a miracle for cluster headaches."

• Miste...
• Taken for 5 to 10 years
• February 27, 2015

"Verapamil has transformed my life. I have lived with cluster headaches for 15 years now. The other medicine I can highly recommend is Sumatriptan succinate injections. Self administer via pen injector. During a headache the pain relief these bring me is euphoric, as they seem to switch off the pain within 20-30 seconds."

• anubis
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 17, 2015

"Was diagnosed with cluster headaches approximately 6 years ago in Canada. Took prednisone to end a couple of cycles, but decided to try verapamil. It works, but I must stress that you must stop drinking any alcohol whatsoever - NONE, don't even smell the bottle (no kidding!) Also, for me, other sure triggers include dark chocolate, white chocolate, but small quantities of milk chocolate are OK. Also, stay away from MSG (monosodium glutamate). Verapamil WILL work, but you have to stay away from triggers to give it a chance! It might take a week or two. I also had to spread it out to 3 times in a day, rather than all in one dose for it to block all headaches at first. Now I'm on 2x120mg and headache-free!"

• Zukov
• August 1, 2015

"Headaches ceased. None in 6 years. No other changes in diet or habits. This drug saved my life, actually close to suicide on several occasions. Not a great blood pressure drug for me, but willing to endure moderate edema for the sake of headache relief. Had a wise and gifted neurologist."

• Anonymous
• July 25, 2011

"I am writing this about my son...4 years ago is when the headaches started. As he got older they got worse and worse. His migraines would last 45mins to 2 hours long and have 4-5 headaches a day. He lost his job because of this terrible nightmare, couldn't do anything but stay home and deal with this terrible pain. He at that point had no medical insurance and I was desperate to find out what was wrong with him. I began to search for some kind of emergency help and called Valley Medical. Had a CT scan, and saw a Neorolgist and put him on Verapamil and he has no more headaches. Our nightmare is finally over and I want to thank Valley Medical for all their help with their wonderful doctors to help my son. Now he can live a normal, pain-free life."

• Robbie...
• April 28, 2013

"I note that this is US based, but thought we could make this trans-Atlantic. I was VERY lucky in that my GP diagnosed cluster headaches very early on and referred me to a Neurologist. I was having an average of 7-8 headaches a day. Have been on 480mg a day (2 x 240mg a day) for a month and half now. Major improvement in about 10 days. Now I am having only a couple a day and they are not as intense. Oxygen at the onset usually clears it, otherwise I have to use a sumatriptan injection (but not very often). Would very much advise verapamil as treatment. The side effects are annoying but better than the excruciating pain."

• Human...
• July 30, 2008

"This medication was originally prescribed for high blood pressure, but in higher doses has 99% eliminated my cluster headaches and helped with temper outbursts. A powerful, multi-purpose and inexpensive medication."

• qtipw...
• July 20, 2013

Verelan PM (verapamil) "My neurologist put me on just about every preventative medicine on the market and none helped stop my clusters. A high dose of Verapamil ER finally did the trick. (240 mg 3x a day) After almost 25 years of episodic cluster headaches I have finally been virtually headache free for about 3 years now! I am a bit worried about the side effects of taking such a high dose for such an extended time though. I've recently been having some voice issues and I'm wondering if there is a correlation."

• Jonas
• February 4, 2016

"This drug has been a life saver I've managed to keep cycle at bay using 240mg although now have increased to 480mg as had few creeping in. There are side effects but what could be worse than the pain of cluster headaches!! Hugely recommend to sufferers."

• Couther
• March 6, 2016

"Been having cluster headaches for twelve years. I'm on my forth cycle now. My cycles come about every three years. I tell everybody I know cluster headaches are sooooo painful. Im so blessed to have been prescribed verapamil by the first doctor that was seen by. Verapamil usaully takes 10-14 days to fully work. Im so thankful for all the advice and its good to hear from people understand my pain."

• KY Dan
• April 24, 2016

"I've been experiencing Chronic Cluster Headaches since 2005. I had no idea what was going on, and suffered for 3 years untreated and undiagnosed. After some internet sleuthing I was able to tell my doc what was going on. Fast forward to 2016. I take verapamil 180mg er twice a day. This treatment has worked almost without fail, until just recently. In the past I have had to take other meds in combination with the verapamil such as... Topamax, imatrex, magnesium, prednizone, and now lithium. None of these work for me, been having daily headaches again. I now have a sumatriptan injection I take when I feel one coming and it stops it within 10 minutes. I need help, please. "

• Sala
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• October 5, 2014

"I have had chronic cluster headaches for the past 6 years. My doctor tried all the usual meds to no avail. I did my own research and told him about trying Verapamil. I am now cluster-free for the past 7 months! Yes there are side effects (weight gain, sore neck for a couple weeks) but being that I was able to break the cycle at the lowest dosage (80mg 3x/day) I am beyond thrilled!"

• Suffe...
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• November 18, 2014

"My fiancé started with cluster headaches about six years ago. At first he was misdiagnosed by two doctors. We had to relocate due to work and found the best neurologist at Hershey Medical. He was diagnosed within seconds as having cluster headaches. It was explained that these headaches are usually misdiagnosed. The doctor put him on verapamil 120 ER and sumatriptan nasal along with oxygen. We had to increase to 180 but my fiancé has finally began to live a more normal life. He still gets the episodes but we are learning to adjust his meds as needed. THANK GOD AND HERSHEY MEDICAL"

• Kamik...
• April 4, 2010

Calan (verapamil) "I get episodic Cluster Headaches and taking this medication keeps the headaches from happening. I took 80mg three times a day the first time it was prescribed, but had to double the dosage this time around."

• Don...
• January 13, 2014

"This medicine is very effective. It did stop my cluster headaches the day after initially taken. However, the side effects (unusual weight gain, sinus pain, constipation, bloating, shortness of breath) have outweighted the benefits. Going to the Dr. tomorrow for alternative therapy."