IV antibiotics and Migraines

[justbecauseicannotseeit]

I have only ever had one other migraine in my life - it was back in August, and it came seemingly out of nowhere, but I had the "warning signs" of a migraine aura, tingling/ numbness in my hand and face, before the actual headache started. I went to the ER and they gave me reglan and ibuprofen which made me feel better almost immediately, and I've kept them on hand just in case.

I haven't had another migraine until today, and I'm wondering if it has anything to do with being on IV Ceftazimine and Tobramycin. I started noticing the warning signs of a migraine this morning (right after infusing Ceftazidime), so I took the ibuprofen and reglan which seemed to help a lot - I still got a headache, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the last time. Everything seemed like it was going smoothly until a couple hours ago when I started noticing the aura and numbness/tingling again (after infusing Ceftazidime again). I'm about a week into IVs, but I had a bit of an issue w/ the pharmacy and long story short, they had to send me some new IVs that are slightly higher concentrations and take longer to infuse... I started getting the migraines when I started these new doses of IVs, so I'm wondering if it's connected.

Does anyone know if Cerftazidime can cause this? I tried looking up side effects online, and it looks like there are a TON, so I wouldn't be surprised... (I saw "headaches" but not "migraines" specifically). I'm wondering if I should try to get the lower concentration of the medication again, of it's it's just a coincidence that I had another migraine while on it, so... does anyone know if this is a likely side-effect?

 

[ethan508]

Are you staying hydrated? I’ve heard it is hard to do properly (with the correct water to electrolyte balance) when on IVs sometimes. Dehydration is one of my migraine triggers.

 

[justbecauseicannotseeit]

Dehydration is also my main cause of head aches, so I've been trying my best to stay hydrated, but it that doesn't seem to be alleviating the symptoms. Thank you for the input though! I've also heard that one of the best ways to prevent a migraine from getting bad is to drink coffee? Apparently caffeine is good at preventing migraines, but I find that sort of ironic since caffeine will dehydrate you, and I usually associate that with headaches...I'm not sure if there's any truth to that.

 

[ethan508]

Migraines are a tough nut to crack. IVs being a trigger seems reasonable to me. Tobi is not tolerated by some people for many reasons. Also, I tend to get them more when I'm not feeling well (like that is when I need them).

My mom gets them and likes to take a pain killer with caffeine (like Excedrin). I like taking Aleve with a Coke at the first indications. Time, sleep, darkness, and quiet work too, if you have copious amounts of time, sleep, darkness, and quiet to pull it off (not common in my house).

Sometimes I'll miss the warning signs or just wake up with one and then I use a PX migraine pill (sumatriptan) with an Aleve (there is a PX drug that combines these two drugs (Imatrex) but buying the generic and over the counter separate was cheaper). This drug combo will take the pain away, but I feel a little bit outside of myself. Plus I can still 'feel' the migraine is there, even though the pain in minimal.

This is one of those things you need a doctor's guidance because these drugs can put a load on your kidneys and/or liver. With the IVs already loading your kidneys/liver I'm not sure which pain meds (and in which doses) would be safe.

I hope you can find something that works. Good luck.

 

[benthyr123]

Yes, the only time I have migraines is when I'm on this combination. I drink plenty of water and try not to be over active.

 

[justbecauseicannotseeit]

Thanks for the tips guys! Haven't had any migraine symptoms yet today, so I'm not sure it's directly correlated to the higher concentrations of Ceftazidime (or maybe all the water I've been drinking has helped )

 

[MissAlexsBP]

Hello!

Yes, almost every time I am on IV antibiotics I get at least one migraine. Now that I know that I really try to drink TONS of water. I think it is the dehydration that gets me. I also get migraines when I'm overtired and more stressed than usual, so I'm sure that does not help when on IVs either. For me, Excedrine Migraine tends to help knock it down to a bad headache. Good luck!!