Tizanidine for Cluster Headaches User Reviews

• Oodle...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• March 25, 2017

Zanaflex (tizanidine) "Absolutely love this medication. I suffer from chronic migraines and daily headaches. I take 4mg of Zanaflex at breakfast, 2mg at lunch, and 4mg at bedtime. I'll take 6mg during a migraine attack and it helps tremendously with the pain, helps me sleep, and actually helps with the nausea. Zanaflex made me very drowsy at first and still does taken at doses of 4mg. Overall, incredibly helpful drug!"

• Ninasky
• May 16, 2015

"I've tried everything for my cluster headaches per my doctor with little success but this medication in combination with topamax seems to be *magic*!!! I feel like a new person! When I first went to my neurologist I was deeply depressed because a day didn't go by that I wasn't suffering from a headache and I would cry at night wishing that in the morning I wake up headache free. And for the first time in my life I am. I pray this doesn't change!!"

• rrdul...
• August 13, 2009

Zanaflex (tizanidine) "I take Zanaflex for chronic tension/cluster headaches, I was suffering daily with tension headaches and I also get migraines. This drug has been a life saver for me. I have tried everything. Imitrex is still good for the migraine, when one will slip through and you are not able to take this during during the day. This medicine will cause you to sleep. I take it just before bed. But I have actually had days without a headache and before this medication that was not possible. I was truly waking up and going to bed each day with a horrible a headache and as a high school teacher, that made my job a lot harder. I am still on Topamax to keep the migraines from breaking through. I am hoping when I go through menopause, all this will go away."

• Rexie
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• July 3, 2019

"I began taking this medication in September 2018. It has been so helpful for my 24/7 head pain that came as a result of Hashimoto encephalitis disease activity against my brain. Also I suffered from long term subluxed ribs that cause horrible pain and pressure in my right eye. The tizanidine has helped give me rest, pain relief and has calmed my anxiety. Basically has helped give me my life back and I am so thankful!"

• Anonymous
• Taken for less than 1 month
• February 6, 2015

"I have severe and debilitating cluster tension headaches. I had a problem with doctors trying to treat me for migraines and I DON'T HAVE MIGRAINES. This is the only medication that seems to work. My headaches seem to stem from my neck. This medicine totally relieves my neck pain and may also be helping my sciatica. Sleepy.... YES. However I usually have trouble sleeping from the headaches and neck pain, so I'm not complaining."

• RN...
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• February 17, 2018

"I suffer from tension headaches, migraines, cluster headaches, you name it. I take Fioricet when I feel a migraine coming on. Sometimes it doesn't help and that's when I realize I have misjudged the type of headache I have at that time. As the symptoms progress to a classic cluster headache I take between 4 to 8mg of tizanadine and in about 30 minutes my pain goes from a 9 or 10 to a 2 or 3. Many of my headaches come from my neck and cervical spine issues. This medication helps the stiff, sore muscles in my neck and upper back which goes along with some types of my headaches. Sometimes it's hard to tell as I go through a cycle of cluster headaches with other types mixed in. This medication, above all my other headache meds, is the most effective. It does have side effects of dry mouth and sedation. At night the sedation is great, but tough to function during the day. I can take 2mg without getting sleepy but it's not enough to help sufficiently with the intense pain."

• Kaety
• May 28, 2009

Zanaflex (tizanidine) "This works great. I take it for back spasm but also for cluster headaches. I had a stroke several years ago at age 28 years, so I am limited in what medicines I can take due to my medical history. My doctor has me take more than I need for back spasm/pain. I was warned it would make me sleepy and usually does, but in that time my headache/pain goes away almost completely. It is wonderful, especially since it is not a controlled substance. I'd rather take this for both conditions than the 100mg Demerol every 4 hours I was on for several years. Not only don't I miss the injections, but since it does not have the side effects and addiction I can do more since I can think more clearly and function more."

• Anonymous
• March 22, 2012

Zanaflex (tizanidine) "I suffer from migraines and also have difficulty falling and staying asleep. Following. A sleep study my doctor put me on Zanaflex to help me fall asleep faster and reduced random leg movements during the night. I took for it about a month and it really helped me sleep although I did have a groggy feeling in the morning that was hard to shake off. However, it aggravated my migraines so that instead of getting them 2 or 3 times a year, I got a migraine every week during the month I was taking Zanaflex, so unfortunately I had to stop taking it."

• K8ano
• August 28, 2018

"I have occipital Neuralgia my nerve pain has been horrible and exacerbated by insomnia. This medication has been the only one is 10 years to actually make me sleep without feeling groggy in the morning. I will say that you should take a minimal dose becuae I have felt slight hallucinations and like I’m having problems swallowing although I feel that this is more of an anxiety than actual reality. I’m in medical field so I feel comfortable saying this. I have taken it too late in night and had difficulty walking the next day and which can pretty scary. However, it is a muscle relaxer. Take as prescribed."

• Anony...
• April 22, 2017

Zanaflex (tizanidine) "I have suffered from daily migraines for over 20 years. Have tried many medicines through the years and this has really decreased the number I have. Went from daily to once every couple of weeks or so. I take 4 mg at bedtime every night and immitrex when I feel one coming on."

• Anony...
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• June 18, 2018

"Have been on Tizanadine 4 mg every night for about a year for migraine prophylaxis. Have tried so many meds over 25 years. Couldn’t afford Botox even with my insurance was going to be $200 at least. This is the first med that has actually worked at decreasing the amount of headaches. Went from daily to maybe 2 or 3 a month. Still take Sumatriptan when I do get one and that always works for me. This message is a life saver for me."

• Anonymous
• April 20, 2010

Zanaflex (tizanidine) "I have been taking Zanaflex and Desipramine for my daily headaches for about 1 1/2 years. They have greatly decreased the number of headaches and I am very thankful for the relief. I do experience dry mouth and frequent urination but I can live with that. Much easier than the horrible headaches I was experiencing daily."

• Rhonda
• Taken for less than 1 month
• September 14, 2021

"I suffer from chronic migraine and cluster headache attacks. This medication seemed like a god send the first few days. My muscles were so relaxed, I swear every bone in my back, neck, and shoulders cracked. However, this came with a huge price. This medication made me feel hopelessly suicidal. I also had tight chest, vomiting, dizziness, feeling like I might pass out, and felt like I was fevering (chills!). I had mental/mood changes as well- I went between euphoria/manic feeling to agitated/angry and suicidal within minutes. The bad side effects only came about a week into treatment. For reference, I was taking 2mg once at night per day. I am two days without it and still suffering side effects. Please proceed with caution as this medication can be dangerous."

• paprys
• March 22, 2013

"I am on my fifth cluster headache episode. The last time I had one was four years ago, and they generally last about a month. My doctor prescribed the medication to take only at night, and what a difference. Even though I am awakened about an hour after I have been sleeping with the cluster headache, the pain is only about a 3 - 4 on a scale of 1 - 10. I am up for about 5 minutes and generally fall back asleep as the pain is dull. One night I didn't take it, and I was awakened with the cluster with pain at about a 9, and it lasted for 1 1/2 hrs. I will never do that again. I am very happy with this medication!"

• Black...
• June 8, 2013

"My doctor prescribed tizandine for Migraine headaches, to relieve the tension in the neck area. I started with a quarter pill for 4 nights, moving to half pill. It does not make me overly drowsy or cause bad dreams (yet!). I am working up to an entire pill. However, I have oddly begun to develop a rash. This seems to be a rare side effect. Unfortunately, I think I will have to discontinue use - it seems to have started working."

• Ashley...
• August 8, 2017

"I've been on this medicine for about a week now. It helps me relax at night but doesn't make me sleepy like it makes others. I'm currently on 4mg at bedtime. I wake up with the same headache that turns into a migraine almost on a daily basis. My doctor said that it can take 6-8 weeks before the therapeutic dose starts working. I hope that's the truth and it does eventually start working. I'm desperate for a normal brain with no headaches or migraines."

• Karma
• September 13, 2010

"This medication is very sedating for me. I cannot take so much as 1 mg during the day unless I want a nap. I take 4 mg at night and get about 4 hours of deep sleep. Then I wake up and the rest of the night is restless with very vivid dreams. If I take more, I get leg/foot cramps. When I tried to taper off of it, I got some intense jaw pain that I had never experienced before. I believe it helps my daily headaches somewhat by working on muscle tension and jaw clenching at night, however I do believe there is some addictive property such that coming off of it can be difficult due to increased muscle tension. The leg cramp side effect seems to be really rare, and not all people find it so sedating."

• Anonymous
• September 21, 2011

"This has been great so far, been on it for 7 months and has helped reduce the amount of migraines and constant neck and shoulder tightness/pain. I can only take it at night as I still will become sleepy even after this long but way better just at night then not at all. The dry mouth hasn't lessened either, but only lasts about 4 hours, so if you don't fall asleep right away it can be annoying."

• Poker...
• January 4, 2009

"I suffer with chronic cluster headaches. I normally do not sleep more than two to three hours per night. My doctor decided we would try this medicine. I have only been on it for three days but it is the first three days in the past year that I have slept through the night."

• Jfull
• Taken for 2 to 5 years
• December 13, 2016

"I am supposed to take 6 of this medicine per day. I started doing this weird thing where I have to look at everything around me, and I have to look up at things. I call it "doing my weird thing" has anyone else done this? The medicine helps me with my migraines and I don't want to stop talking it but I also don't want to do my weird thing anymore. It happens almost every night."

• KRD
• Taken for 1 to 2 years
• November 8, 2022

Zanaflex (tizanidine) "It knocks me out but it’s the only thing that works when I have a migraine and triptans aren’t working. I use it as my “Big Gun” when everything else fails and I’m not planning to drive any time to on after taking it. I also use it for cervical and thoracic radiculopathy when flexeril and meloxicam aren’t enough. Gives me dry mouth and constipation but I take a stool softener and a big glass of water with it."

• Anonymous
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• July 25, 2021

"Take as needed for insomnia and migraine attacks. This medication is fantastic for insomnia. I don't know why it isn't prescribed more often for this purpose. It doesn't just make you sleepy...it knocks you out and you just relax and mellow into a peaceful sleep. Due to the drug's short half-life, there is no groggy or "hungover" feeling when waking up. It doesn't seem to be at all addictive and is not a controlled substance. When it comes to migraines I get a lot of stiffness, restlessness, and neck pain and this helps a lot with that. And a low dose of 2mg is all I need. The only side effect I've noticed are vivid and unusual dreams. If this med has a downside it's that I can't take it for a migraine during the daytime because it's too sedating."

• Thean...
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• August 7, 2022

"For headache pain, I don't feel like this does anything, BUT it has a side effect of making me really sleepy, so it acts as a sleeping med for me. It doesn't really keep me asleep, but I fall asleep easily. For someone with chronic pain, this is at least a little silver lining because I am often unable to sleep because of my head and facial pain."

• Melissa
• Taken for 6 months to 1 year
• June 29, 2022

"I've had migraines for years. As I got older the migraines started coming more often until they were happening every day. I have degenerative disk disease in neck and back, fibromyalgia, arthritis in all my joint. The pain doctor finally said migraines are from muscles in my shoulders, stemming from the neck issues. Put me on 4mg Tizanidine. It immediately made difference in migraines. Unfortunately I have to take one every two hours or the neck pain creeps up into my head causing a migraine. This includes at night when I'm sleeping. I wake every two hours to take this. Appt next week. Hope to see if there's something that last longer."

• 7032
• Taken for 1 to 6 months
• February 4, 2023

"Im 17, female. I was prescribed the lowest dose for my headaches and migraines. It helped a lot with those but caused severe nausea and a weight loss of 25 lbs. My doctors didn't take me off it until after 4 months."