Agents for Headache Treatment

HPI KO is a 57-year-old man with a history of migraine headaches and MTN who just completed a course of antibiotics for an upper respiratory infection. He had a severe migraine headache for which he took 10 tablets of ergotamine over 6 hours. He is presenting to the ambulatory care clinic with complaints of muscle cramps and numbness in his extremities. Medications Ergotamine 2 mg at onset of headache, then 1 mg every 30 minutes until headache resolution metoprolol and erythromycin for 10 days, KO has NKDA. 

How does treatment of migraine headaches differ from treatment of tension and cluster headaches  

What are some contraindications to using the serotonin agonists  

The International Headache Society classifies headaches into one of 13 categories, ranging from migraine, tension-type, and cluster headaches, to headaches that are not classifiable. Effective headache treatment is thus guided by an accurate diagnosis of the headache type. 

Tension headaches are initially treated with analgesics such as aspirin, acetaminophen, or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents such as ibuprofen or naproxen. If these agents are ineffective, combination products such as those composed of acetaminophen/caffeine/butalbital may be effective. Amitriptyline is the agent most commonly used for headache prophylaxis in patients with recurrent symptoms. 

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