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http://www.docguide.com/ketamine-infusion-combined-magnesium-therapy-intractable-chronic-cluster-headache-report-two-cases?tsid=5 BACKGROUND Chronic cluster headache (CH) is a rare, highly disabling primary headache condition. As NMDA receptors are possibly overactive in CH, NMDA receptor antagonists, such as ketamine, could be of interest in patients with intractable CH. CASE REPORTS Two Caucasian males, 28 and 45 years-old, with chronic intractable CH, received a single ketamine infusion (0.5 mg/kg over 2 h) combined with magnesium sulfate (3000 mg over 30 min) in an outpatient setting. This treatment led to a complete relief from symptoms (attack frequency and pain intensity) for one patient and partial relief (50%) for the other patient, for 6 weeks in both cases. CONCLUSION The NMDA receptor is a potential target for the treatment of chronic CH. Randomized, placebo-controlled studies are warranted to establish both safety and efficacy of such treatment.

All, I want to start my post with an apology to everyone. It was brought to my attention that a spammer sent messages to some users of the board. The content of the spam was explicitly against Cluster Busters ethics. If you received a message with links to go to web addresses to purchase anything, please DO NOT click any of the links. Just delete the message. I believe I removed them already, but might have not been successful in removing all of them. The user has also been banned from the board. Reluctantly I've had to make a change to the messaging system in response to this persons activity. To reduce the likelihood that a spammer would take advantage of the board messaging system again I've made some changes. Going forward any users in the Member group will only be allowed to start 3 new messages to other users per day. You should be able to respond to unlimited conversations (same as it is now). Also I've reduced the maximum number of recipients per message to 3. This should allow users to continue to send new (and respond to) messages, but also provide a bottleneck to potential spammers that would attempt to abuse the system. Please feel free to provide any feedback as I really appreciate hearing from you guys and gals on how any changes affect you. If you think this is too restrictive on the messaging I'm ok loosening it up if you use more messages or regularly send to more than three users in each message. Also, thanks to the mods for the quick action as well as several users for reporting the abuser. It's much appreciated! You guys and gals ROCK!! Cheers! J

How about restricting messaging to members who have at least 3 or 5 posts under their belt? I have seen that done at other locations. It forces the user to post first so we get an idea of what is going on before they start any private conversations?

To the tune of sound of silence in the style of Disturbed: Hello Clusters, my ol' friend. You've come to haunt me once again. You rudely wake me when I'm sleeping. My nostril's blocked and my eye's weeping. And the demon that was planted in my brain Still remains. I feel the pound Then shadows. From restless dreams I wake alone With the pain I toss and moan Search thru darkness for the table lamp As I whimper with a cranial cramp When my eye was stabbed in a flash with a red hot knife I cried in fright And felt the pound Then shadows. In the naked fright I'm raw 10,000 attacks, maybe more Doctors assessing without treating Doctors speak without connecting Doctors writing scripts where patients lose their hair And no one cared Of the pound nor shadows And in the next few year's I saw Ten thousand doctors maybe more Doctors hearing without listening Doctors touching without healing Doctors writing scripts, that seemed like living hell And nothing helped Erase the pain, of Clusters.... The unafflicted cannot know The shadows like a cancer grow Hear my screams that I might teach you Feel my pain that I might reach you But my tears like acid raindrops fell And held me in the realm of sorrow But what this devil doesn't know I will fight and I will grow Because those shadows will soon give up and you'll support me until they stop Cause we're all in this together.. no matter what..until it stops. We will continue fighting And I stood and fought and stayed Of the beast I'm not afraid And the beast lashed out his warning Feel the burning and the pain swarming And the beast said your head and your body will be bouncing off the sheetrock walls I kicked his balls And now he feels the pound, and shadows. Composed by several members of the Facebook cluster headache group.....I know, ya just had to sing it right?!?! Dallas Denny

There have been some posts here, and some reports at conferences, about ketamine. Here's a link to one, from a beloved CB member, "Ricardo." https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/4780-ketamine-conference-talk/#comment-50317 You can probably find more by putting ketamine into the search box, top right side of the page. FWIW, there's a pharma drug, rapastinel, not yet on the market but due fairly soon (next year or two), that works on ketamine receptors without ketamine side effects. So, far, in extensive clinical trials (not for CH, but for depression), zero side effects, period. I have some high hopes for this, though it might, please Lord, be surpassed in efficacy and sooner availability by the monoclonal antibodies currently being tested with what seems to be good promise against migraine and CH. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapastinel