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I would agree with Rod. Pred makes me hyper. Wide open for hours on end. And on occasion, I feel like my head and behind are no longer wired together!! Are you taking all your Verap at the same time, not in two doses? That is not the norm. Not the way it is meant to be taken either. Does your Doctor approve of taking both at once? Just wondering. In addition, the short acting is better for CHer's, not the Extended Release. Have you checked your blood pressure an hour after taking the verap? You really should. It will drop with the verap and that will make you dizzy. And if you are taking both at once, that could be the issue.

I wouldn't stop the verapamil until 2 weeks after the prednisone. Usually I get hit 1 day after the prednisone taper is over. I would also associate your disconnect with the prednisone and not the verapamil.

@dehabel multivitams contain calcium and Batch suggests taking it 8 hours apart from verapamil since it’s a calcium channel blocker

For the last year, I have just done the Benadryl. In the past, during cycle, I did both. Now, with the D3 and a bit of maintenance, I have not had a cycle in over two years. Not to say that I don't get the occasional break-through or random hits, I do. But they are milder and usually a one of, not the four brutal hits that I was accustomed to in cycle. Life is good.

Melatonin makes it worse for me and a few others here.

@spiny so I skipped the melatonin last night and just did Benadryl and skipped my 6 am headache. I woke up with one a few days and not today! Maybe the melatonin was making it worse? I will continue experimenting and let you know. Do you have success with melatonin? Kat

I assume you were taken an ECG before verapamil was started and have heart monitoring scheduled. You need an ECG after discontinuing it so you can't just be on and off it when you want to.

...be aware of and prepared for the beast to reappear post steroid taper...while it can break a cycle, the usual purpose is to buy a temporary( 10-14 day) reprieve until a prevent (like verapamil and others) kicks in....

I think one of the side effects is dizziness. I’ve heard verapamilcan be very helpful if you give it a chance and let it work a bit. If you can get past the side effects I’m sure it’s a great drug for clusters

I wish I had answers for you Kat! It is hard with the presentation of your symptoms and such to say 'Oh yea, those are CH.' I just don't have a good answer to that one. The ramp-up at the same time of year does sound like it of course. CCH's have that occur. And some people begin with not so 'typical' CH, only to have it become more obviously CH over time. On the other hand, because there is one, you are on the Extended Release Verap. The short acting works better. As in you take it three times a day, not twice. Patients have a better response to the short acting version. Can you get your doctor to change that so that you can try it? And 320mg/day is a fairly low dose. So, you could get the short acting and go a bit higher to see if that does a better job. Just make sure that your BP is okay with a higher dose. You are taking the full D3 Regimen, right? The vitamins all work together. Have you added Benadryl? Sorry, I don't recall. Hugs!!!

Thank you! I am about to stop my verapamil I hate it!