Cafergot (caffeine; ergotamine tartrate) Side Effects, Uses Dosages
Side Effects for Cafergot (caffeine; ergotamine tartrate)
Fingers turn white and have no feeling. Now that I'm older I don't use cafergot now but wonder if earlier use could cause problem as I age?
Cafergot relieves my migraine within 30 minutes, sometimes takes a little longer if I don't take at the outset. A positive side effect is that on two occasions when I have had a sore neck and a sore hip (muscle and nerves affected) cafergot has eased these pains. No doctor can explain the reason why this happens but it is certainly no co-incidence. Would love to know why this occurs.
One of the problems with this drug is the caffeine it contains. Caffeine is well known for creating "headache rebound:" The migraines/headaches are aborted, simply to come back a few days later and then, much more frequently. The more I took of Cafergot, the more migraine attacks I suffered. But what I also didn't know was that Ergot, the other part of the compound, is what's used to induce labor contractions in women. I began to develop blinding convulsions of uterine pain. It was so bad that the blood supply to my lower body would be constricted, and I'd be stuck on the toilet, rocking in agony, icy from the waist down. I can only describe the pain as feeling like I was giving birth to all of hell. Even after I gave up Cafergot, the contractions continued. I had to abandon work, school, relationships with people, my entire life. No gynecologist could help me. My world plunged. Years passed, about 16 in all, until my estrogen levels dropped, and the contractions
If you've got migraine, don't use Cafergot!
Cafergot gets rid of my occasional migraine headaches (less than once a month) within 20 minutes. It also lifts me out of depression and stops severe body/muscle aches within 20 - 30 minutes. It takes me from a non-functioning, painful state to a fully functioning, pain free state.
stomach upset - mild to annoying, certainly not enough to offset the effects of the med.
Cafergot has been a godsend - I'm in the middle of a cluster, so I take a pill before bed - and I DON'T WAKE UP WITH A HEADACHE in the middle of the night. AMAZING!!!!!!
"hair" hurts (hypersensitivity to touch); mild nervous twitching
A godsend is right! Migraine throughout my life. Can remember headaches back to 8yo, caused by diesel exhaust. Drinking coffee/cola seemed to help. Taking Anacin helped too. (All contain caffeine.) Started taking Cafergot in 1980. Actual first time relief of the migraine cycle (aura/stars, set-in, nausea, throw-up, feel better). Over the years, less frequent headaches and require only one pill to knock them out now IF timing is right--shortly after aura/stars, right before/during initial set-in of headache. Tried a couple other "newer" meds, but none worked as well as Cafergot for me.
Nausea if I took one on an empty stomach.Also I would find it difficult to get to sleep if I took one in the evening (the caffeine I expect)
The tabs don't work so well if the migraine has started BUT if I take 1 or 2 glasses of water with the cafergot this helps. I assume that as the pill increases the blood pressure - the extra liquid helps this.
Cafergot has been a god send for me, if taken right when I frist feel a migraine coming on, it really does work for me.
Felt like someone beat me over the backside with a bat.
When I took Cafergot back in my mid to late 20s (a few to several times), it usually relieved my headache within 2 to 3 hours, but I had to lay down on my chest. When I awoke, it felt like I was beat with a bat or something. However, after trying it again in my early 30s, it had no effect on my migraines.
I wish I would have known about cafergot years ago. I get certain warning signals before a migraine hits - blurred vision in right eye, numbness in right hand and right side of face. If I take cafergot as instructed, immediately at the onset of these symptoms, then in about 10 minutes my preliminary symptoms go away and the headache never hits, saving me hours of pain and discomfort. For my migraines, cafergot is like a miracle cure all. Note though, that if I don't take the cafergot until well after the headache sets in its effect is minimal. The key is to take it as soon as the warning symptoms begin to appear.
CAFERGOT (CAFFEINE; ERGOTAMINE TARTRATE): This combination medication is used to treat or prevent certain types of headaches (vascular headaches including migraine and cluster headaches). Headache pain can sometimes be caused by widened blood vessels in the head. Ergotamine works by narrowing these widened blood vessels. Caffeine increases the absorption of ergotamine and also narrows widened blood vessels. (Sources: U.S. Centers for Medicare Services, FDA)
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