Q:  Cluster Headaches & BP--Update

Dr. Phelps,

I have had cluster headaches for 20 years. I'm currently 37 and have been recently diagnosed bipolar. I noticed that the medications used by my neurologist to treat my headaches are the same medications (mood stabilizer) used by my psychiatrist to threat my bipolar. My question is; is there a relationhip between bipolar and cluster headachs? If there is, has a causal connection between the two been established?

Thanks
John

Hi John --
Somebody asked the same question a few years back and I wrote this. Since then, on repeat literature search (there's an earlier result list in the previous letter), there are two cases of people who became manic while getting steroids for their headache problems, but nothing else on the connection.

Dr. Phelps

Published December, 2003