Clonazepam is believed to be aneffective migraine preventive medication by various doctors, especially in patients who are considered to be refractory to the conventional care.One report stated that the use of this medicationfor primary headache prophylaxis as it relieves anxiety. This drug comes in the form of a rescue when patients have failed to respond to at least three classes of preventive therapies. The researchers also add that Clonazepam cannot be taken for first time therapy as it is to be used only when other therapy methods fail. So, now you might not ask again, why my doctor prescribed Clonazepam (Klonopin) for refractory headache. Read more about Clonazepam and its ability to suppress refractory headaches.
Relationship between Clonazepam and refractory headache
The drug Clonazepam has a significant role in alleviating refractory headaches. The limbic system and the limbic influences like the patient behaviors, stresses and any previous traumas have a very important role in migraine expression and they also modulate the pathways of pain in a constant basis. This concept of limbically augmented pain syndrome was utilized in order to explain the symptoms in a various patientswho were suffering from chronic pain inclusive of atypical and also refractory pain that included mood swings, disturbances of sleep, libido, behavior, concentration, energy and intolerance to stress. This theory made the doctor determine that it can be an effective model for certain patients who even have migraine.
One doctor explained that migraine is a kind of spectrum disorder from episodic to chronic. When the headache turns to be morechronic and refractory, there can be more limbic influences. Patients who have migraine have two well-known comorbid conditions i.e. anxiety and depression. When patients are screened only for their depressive conditions, there are chances that anxiety could be misdiagnosed as depression. In order to clearly distinguish anxiety from depression,there is a need for a tool to be designed that can separate the cognitive items of anxiety and depression and also somatic items. The tool should be able to detect if the patient is obsessed by anxiety, depression or somatic.
Efficacy of Clonazepam (Klonopin)
Though there is insufficient data available supporting the use of benzodiazepines like Clonazepam for relieving chronic pain, a review of chronic pain in a clinical study suggests that the meds could have a key role in the treatment.Though it was revealed through an observational study that Klonopin is not so effective when compared to placebo, it was also found that patients who received about 1mg Clonazepam experienced about 50% lower headache frequency.It was also stated by a few researchers that migraineurs can be from different population and there can be different migraineurs who respond different to varied therapies. In a survey conducted, about 50% of the patients were known to tolerate this pill or at least had a positive response to it. Those who had a refractive headache did tolerateKlonopinefficiently. The common symptoms that were recorded during the study were somatization, dizziness, anxiety and paresthesia. One of the commonly observed effects of the drug is sedation. Doctors however add that users limit the use of the drug, though the clinical effect of the drug is rapid. It works efficiently well in treating refractory headaches, but one has to consult the doctor before taking it.
