My husband has been suffering with unbearable headaches for 15 years. Over the last few months they have become so much worse to the point that he is in a ball, crying in pain, he can't see, can't walk, he was ranting during one attack that he was going to take all of the tablets he could find. He has no memory of saying these things when the headache has eased. He tells me the headache is there constantly but gets worse really quickly. He usually wakes up with the headache although they sometimes come on during the day. They are usually at the sides of his head above his eyes but swaps sides and sometimes goes down his neck. He gets them everyday for a week then has a few days to a week then they start again. He has had a number of GPs all of which have said he doesn't need to be referred to a specialist it is migraines as if it was anything 'serious' we'd have known by now ie nOt a brain tumour. He has had many preventative medicines but none have helped. His latest GP has prescribed gabapentin which was prior to his last and worst attack so far. When we explained what happened she merely raised the dosage and gave imigran for pain relief. I just wondered if anyone has been prescribed gabapentin long term for migranes and if there are any long term side effects as I've heard there are a number namely vitamin B 12 deficiency, pulmonary problems, long and short term memory loss. I just wondered what people's experiences are?
Hi there ;-)
I've been suffering from migraine since I was a teenager then(in short) I was diagnosed with cfs/me and sever short term memory loss. During this time I was also diagnosed with "Cluster Migraine". Initially for my migraine I was prescibed "Amytriptyline" and then later for my cfs/me they gave me Gabapentin, I take 8 a day plus 3 amy's and Imgran nasal spray.
I know exactly how your husband feels, its the worst kind of pain there is and there have been times when I could happily smash my head against the wall. I've had this for many years (I'm 51) and never seem to be able to catch it at right time. At the moment with all the meds I take I feel like I'm eating sweeties (I also take Serraline and Tramadol and co-dydramol :-)))-Oh! happy days.Well thats me, now for your husband;
A cool pillow sometimes help, you can get them from ebay and also an eye mask which you place in the fridge, again from the same place. I do find that the nasal spray usually stops me vomiting-which is great because if I am sick, then its really, really bad, oh! and some water with ice cubes in, and of course a darkened room and virtually no noise . I think that everyone who suffers from this would agree that its a real B***!!!!! Try those things it might help a little, my thought are definatley with him (and you) :-))))
Hi, I tried Gabapentin for a couple of months a few years back. Torrid side effects almost worse than tge headaches they failed to stop. I recall tiredness, fuzziness so I was unfit to drive etc. There are lots of otgers out tgere, but insist on seeing a neurologist that specialises in headaches! Go private if necessary an initial appt is gen less than £300 could be money well spent to get a consultant rec on meds
No sorry I have not tried Gabapentin. What I have found is that for me 500mg of Magnesium Chelate (twice daily) ; 100mg of Vitamin B2 ( twice daily) ; 500mcg Folic acid - totally prevents my migraines from occurring.. first thing to properly work in over 20 years. My wife always suffers and this also works for her so -hope that helps as feedback...
Thanks Rob, the US WebMD site lists both magnesium and B2 as "possibly effective" for migraine and your folic acid dose is normal for women anyway. May explain why I crave marmite when I cannot eat anything else, good B2 source! I'll raise it with my neurologist next month. In the middle of a Botox treatment and don't want to skew the results.
Yes - good thinking.
If you eventually discuss, I think it is the folic acid into the mix which is new here - perhaps its ability to reduce higher than normal homocystein enzyme levels is the missing link, or perhaps taking folic with b2 increases the rate of B2 absorption....
No worries and best of luck with your botox...
Hi there, can't believe that your husband is suffering the same as me. I was referred by my GP, to be told it was just migraine, although I didn't want it to be anything else, it doesn't help because I was just put back onto noritripeline which I had tried before. I took it for a month, but again it didn't help. So this week I went back the GP and have been put onto Gabapentin. I am interested to know how your husband has got on with it. I have now been on it for five days and it's making me feel very light headed and quite strange. I can't see it working to be honest. Would like some feedback.
Your poor husband! I used to suffer horrible migraines when I was younger and I know what it's like to seriously wish for death rather than suffer the pain any longer. 
Through trial and error, I found a combination of ways to reduce the frequency and severity of my migraines:
1. Stop eating artificial sweeteners. The ones you most want to avoid are aspartame and sucralose. Be sure to read the ingredients to everything! Often, products don't mention that they contain artificial sweeteners anywhere BUT the ingredients list. If you see a label that reads 'Contains a source of phenylalanine', best to avoid it. Don't forget to check the ingredients on your medications as well!
2. Keep away from foods heavy in nitrates. Cured meats or heavily processed (usually inexpensive) meats can trigger migraines. If you can't go without bacon or sausage (Lord knows I can't) then buy good quality and eat in moderation.
3. Be careful with red wine, aged cheese, chocolate, or activated yeast. Some or all of these may trigger headaches... everyone is different. To see if a specific food is a trigger for you, either keep a headache/food journal and look for patterns, or try each item by itself a few times (the same way you introduce foods to infants to check for allergies).
4. Be aware that caffeine withdrawal can mimic the feeling of a migraine. This is why so many migraine medications contain caffeine. Consider switching to decaffeinated coffees or teas.
5. Try Botox. Sometimes what starts off as a tension headache can snowball into a migraine. I tried Botox in my forehead several years ago and within three days went from being affected over 20 days a month to no migraines for five months. Some doctors specialize in Botox for migraines but I've always gone to regular dermatologists and had the Botox injections where I notice I start to tense up when a migraine is developing.
6. Be careful with your environment. Smoke, perfumes, air fresheners, and bright lights can be a trigger. Try unscented laundry detergent, unscented hygiene products, and you might want to try letting someone else take the wheel when you have to drive at night. For me, the lights of other cars flashing off mirrors and through trees can trigger a headache.
7. Control your nausea. If I feel a headache coming on, sometimes I can keep it from turning into a migraine by controlling the feeling of nausea that usually accompanies the pain. If you can make yourself vomit, do it. It's unpleasant but I find it usually helps. Then, take an anti-emetic like meclizine and a pain reliever. Try Sumatriptan or a prescription migraine pain reliever like Fioricet.
8. Try a low dose anti-depressant. Often, this will help with the pain even if it doesn't stop the migraines completely.
9. Try alternative therapies. Acupuncture, acupressure, massage, meditation, biofeedback, or even cold packs on the back of the neck work for some people. Everyone has different triggers and different therapies will work better than others.
DON'T GIVE UP! Find what works for you! Also, don't let a doctor bully you into accepting less than optimal care. If a treatment isn't working then it's their responsibility to work with you until you find one that does! Your individual treatment plan may take some time to fine tune but the frequency of pain and quality of life you're describing is unacceptable.
Good luck, my thoughts and prayers are with you!
Ditto since the age of ten 4 to 5 Migraines etc in any 24 hour period. I am self employed which was good initally but being an entertainer I am having to take time off . The world health authority class Migraines worse than blindness so I have applied for disablment benefit . My Nuro Surgean is suggested I have an emplant so if initial test on nerves show I am a candidate this his proceedure I can push a button and block the pain to some degree . Hope this helps as just writing this the screen on laptop is causing irritatiation and sweating like a pig with th pain . Goodluck to you all.
Chris
Hi.
Botox is not cost effective to NHS and has limited value 20 in one 100 success rate but has to be administered every 12 weeks . Please see my reply to Polly62
Chris
Hi I've suffered the same symptoms and experiences as your husband is! I have been on neurontin 300 mg for approx 3 months now though they are taking the edge off I still need my back up of zomig , I feel without zomig I wouldn't be here today as it's the only thing that I feel gets rid of the pain !! I have felt at times for someone to cut my head off and I would be quite happy for that to happen when the pain is so intense!! My GP has mentioned b12 , I have looked this up and wellanything that helps get rid of the pain and let me live a normal life I'm willing to try.. I am in process of going for a blood test to check if it could be a b defiency , I'm trying to look at options that are not medicated , more natural remedies because I feel like I walking drug store ! I know of foods that help such as almonds banana spinach but ive only just started looking ito his as my migraines / headaches have only just started to get very intense over last year to the point where I cannot work as I never know when im going to have an good day!
I have also been told about sweetners , avoid like the plague etc I wish you well and hope that you find what works best for yur husband soon
i overload myself with vitamins and do yoga seems to relax my body so helps when I'm able to do this .. Maybe will work for others I donknow
Gabapentin is no joke.... :-\
I have taken gabapentin for a chronic headache(yes, singular.... all day, every day!). It was the pletherer of other things we tried. I was given gabapentin to attempt to control the pain. I was given 100mg in the evening to start with. Then was supposed to up to 100mg 2x per day(evening and lunch). Then 100mg 3x per day(morning, lunch and evening). And we would keep adding until the max dosage. Ummm yeah... we didn't get there.
First week I saw zero improvement in pain and started struggling with feeling down. Added in the second 100mg at lunch. That didn't go so great. At all. My thought process got REALLY cloudy. My thoughts would get all mixed up. I started having suicidal thoughts. Felt EXTREMELY drugged.
At first I didn't realize that the suicidal thoughts were associated with the medication, until something triggered me to think about when I started feeling down... the day I started the gabapentin. It had just progressively gotten worse.
I proceceded to ween myself off over the next week. As soon as I backed off to 100mg, the suicidal thoughts were gone, and when I finished taking the 100mg dose for a week(as you can't just stop taking it, you have to ween off) the feeling down and depression was gone.
If he did take it(as I see this was posted a long time ago)... I hope you had better experience than I 
Good luck!
I did smile when reading the above list as I have finally fullfilled the check list and having PENS and now the Doc is applying for the money for a perminate inplant to control the pain as he feels it will help to some degree.
My comment isnt relevant to the use of gabapentin. Ive been on every other preventative migraine drug. Amitriptline and Sandomigran are the only two i have found to work. Amitrip helps me as it gives me a guaranteed good nights rest and it has reduced the severity of the pain. All with chronic headache i can assume find it draining and upsetting like me, so the antidepressant quality is a plus. Sandomigran reduces the frequency and intensity of my headaches. They both make you tired and both increase weight but being fat is better than a 24/7 headache every day. Im a radiographer, not a doctor. If you wanted to suggest exploring another possibility other than chronic migraine. While there may be no pathology such as a tumour causing the pain. There may still be a possiblity of benign intercranial hypotension. It can be picked up by certain MRI csf tests. Or a spinal tap...Treatment for intercranial pressure which is too high and is not caused by the presence of a tumour can be successfully treated by a drug called Diamox.
Hypertension not hypotension*
Hello,
I don't know how recent your email was added to this website but my story is the exact same as yours.
I have recently come off Norotryptylene (or however you spell it) and the doctor has just started me on Gabapentin. I know I am only getting used to it but I started on 100mg and am up to 200mg and am experiencing extreme head pain consistent with my migraines at their worst and have now got pain down my neck. It is giving me spazaming pain in my head and doesn't feel pleasant in any way. There is certainly no relief.
Please may I ask what your doctor has recommended for you now? Or are you still on Gabapentin, just the 100mg dose?
Many thanks for any help you can offer.
Hi Sarah
I have suffered with migraines for 20 years and have tried amitriptyline and atenalol in the past which have not helped as a preventative but for the past 3 years I have been taking 600mg of sodium valporate daily and it has given me my life back. Unfortunatly my daughter of 17 has beed diagnosed with severe tension headaches and not a day had gone past in the last 10 weeks that she has been free of a severe headache, until today when i gave her 300mg of Gabapentin which my partner had some time ago and within an hour her pain had gone from a score of 10 out of 10 to 2 out of 10 and back to a happy go lucky kid she had been... not sure i done the right thing but waiting on a referal to see the neurologist is a bit of a joke!!
I used abbapentin for nine months no side effects but of bsolutley no use to help with migraines waste of time try different medication
Yes it made me crazy I had horrible withdrawals
Oh my goodness, because of daily migraine and constant triptin use (I think the trigeminal nerve was irritated by a series of complicated oral surgeries this summer - or so we suspect) my doc prescribed 300 mg gabapentin 3x daily. Took first dose last night, after looking at the bottle for several weeks and too afraid to try it. No problem just vivid dreams. Took second dose this morning. Neck and back of head in spasm most of the day. Dizziness so severe that I could not drive and had to call off of work that I do. Slept for a couple hours and spasm is relenting but head in not-a-good-place. Fuzzy. My sis, who is a psych nurse suggests just taking nighttime dose for awhile and then adding afternoon dose. I really want to give this a try as my daily migraines (I have a very stringent migraine prevention diet for many years) require some medical prevention. I have had migraines since I was 18. I am 56 now. How are you all doing?