Suggest Treatment For Constant Headaches And Lyme Disease

Posted on Wed, 14 Jan 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 14 Jan 2015 Answered on

Wed, 11 Feb 2015 Last reviewed on

Question : Hello, I am writing to request any help you could give with regard to my son who is 18 years old. He has had a constant headache that doesn't go away since last February. He was diagnosed with Lyme disease last XXXXXXX and has been treating for it with no avail. We ended up taking him to a lyme specialist in October, but he still feels the same, he says. He also still has the constant headache along with the symptoms of fatigue from the lyme. He has continually been on several antibiotics used to treat the lyme during all this time but nothing has helped. A blood test recently showed that his liver showed to be a little high. I'm not sure of the correct term but his doctor also prescribed Resbid for that symptom. My question is, could the headache be possibly linked to his liver and not the lyme disease? And if so, is there anything he could try to take to maybe help the headache? Thanks so much for your time,
Susan

Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
possibly gabapentin or tricyclic antidepressant; neurologist

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question. If the headache is chronic and severe then it would be good for him to see a neurologist. The headache may be related to the lyme disease and it is good that the doctors are trying to clear him of that with the antibiotics. Some medications that often help with chronic daily headaches are gabapentin and tricyclic antidepressants. It would also be good for him to be on a very clean diet free of any possible headache triggers such as caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and nicotine. The headache is not likely linked to the liver enzymes. If the enzyme levels are not terribly elevated this could be just a reaction to all the antibiotics, though it would be good if they tested him for hepatitis B and C just to rule out those causes of elevated liver enzymes. I sincerely hope he an get some relief soon
Thank you for using HCM
Dr Robinson

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D