Cafergot: drug overview
Cafergot (caffeine and ergotamine) is a stimulant medication that works by narrowing the blood vessels to treat and prevent certain types of headache. This drug belongs to the class of ergot alkaloids and can be used once your headache has already begun. There are different kinds of headaches that you may experience. They are different in intensity and areas where you experience pain, and different kinds of treatments are supposed to be used for each type. Since this medicine is intended for a specific kind of headache, it is not going to treat tension headaches. In case of being allergic to any ergot medicines never start taking Cafergot, as the same allergic reaction is very likely to take place again. The following drugs are also classified as ergot medicines: dihydroergotamine, methylergonovine, ergonovine, and methysergide. If you take Cafergot in spite of a history of an allergic reaction you may experience such symptoms as rash, hives trouble breathing and swallowing, itching and swelling of your face or other parts of the body. Make sure you always check with your doctor to see if the drugs you are taking can be combined with Cafergot or not, as it’s always better to check instead of learning from your mistakes and allergic reactions. Many drugs can cause interactions with Cafergot, and your health care provider is supposed to know as much as possible abut all of them. Please tell your doctor if you are taking or are planning to take heart or blood pressure medications, nitroglycerin, birth control pills, fluoxetine, nicotine, paroxetine, cold or allergy medications, nitrate medicines, sertraline, diet pills, nefazodone, stimulants, ADHD drugs, fluvoxamine, or zileuton, as the efficiency of your treatment with Cafergot may otherwise be affected. Please report any other medicines that you are using, even if those are just herbal supplements or some products of this kind. Never share your dose of Cafergot with other people to whom it was not prescribed, as every person needs to be examined in order to be able to take Cafergot. As there are different types of headache, Cafergot may not be efficient for each type, and the person with whom you decide to share this medicine may not benefit from it, and can actually develop some side effects that could be avoided. In case you are pregnant or breastfeeding – make sure you tell your doctor about it and avoid taking Cafergot until you have discussed al the risks and benefits of the treatment. If you think Cafergot is not being efficient for you – do not adjust the dose yourself. Always talk to your doctor to see what can be done and by how much you can increase the dose you are prescribed. You may get some side effects of Cafergot too, and it’s very important to know what to do about them. Your doctor will tell you everything you need to know about taking this medicine right and benefitting from your treatment as much as possible.