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Cerebrovascular disease and depression?
I suspect I have cerebrovascular disease. I also have major depression. I have tried a couple of antidepressants now but they all give me headaches (Wellbutrin, Abilify, Sertraline, Amitriptyline). I don't know the exact reasons why but I have found that anything that has a constricting action on the blood vessels around my head (caffeine, too much sugar, the antidepressants I've tried, some pain medications) gives me headaches. I have read a bit about the relationship between CVBD and depression and supposedly there are some antidepressants out there that have a neuroprotective effect on older patients who have had a stroke because of their CVBD. Hopefully, I understood the abstracts right. I'm only 28 and I'm really scared that I'm doomed to be depressed and have headaches for the rest of my life, I would like some advice to remedy my issues and if possible, some antidepressant recommendations to look into that don't exacerbate CVBD. Thank you in advance!
3 Answers
Dear Madam,
Sorry to hear that you are suffering and some of the meds have not been effective. As medicine is not my area of specialty I would suggest you contact a neuropsychiatrist, a neurologist, and a neuropsycholgoist (who has prescription privileges) in your area and consult with them.
Take care and remain safe.
Dr. Lata Sonpal
This question is far too complicated for this forum. You should see both headache specialist---headaches in themselves do not equal cerebrovascular disease--and a psychiatrist for a thorough evaluation of your symptoms, which may or may not be connected.
It looks like you have reviewed the research on this. This is outside my expertise, sorry. I do not know if you've looked at this article, but take a peek:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22801433/