Bejeeber

I suppose blood pressure must have also been thoroughly checked? Me: Nothing even vaguely resembling a medical professional, but when I was having very near passing out episodes multiple times daily, I put 2+2 together and realized the CoQ10 component of the D3 regimen is a known blood pressure reducer, so I went off of it and haven't had another pass-out episode since (close to a year). I'm not aware of passing out episodes being an actual cluster related sign or symptom.

Man time flings by in a jiffy whether you're having fun or not!

"Pray from both ends". That is another REALLY good one , for a really awful situation. You must be reaching some genuinely therapeutic levels to have had such a reaction, right? I mean c'mon, there's gotta be an upside there somewhere.

It's bad enough that Dallas Denny is going into a full cycle, now I'm hating the [BLEEP] out of this thread, with the news that the cluster bunny has gone completely ape on everyone right at the same time. WTF is happening?! @BoscoPiko I have to imagine you're getting real serious with the RC for the counterattack?

Agreed of course with Dallas Denny that the answer is yes, you need larger doses in the range he outlined, along with a detox from any busting blockers, of which triptans (e.g. Imitrex) tend to be the most notorious.

Looking forward to a report of a smoooooth flight, no CH issues! Flight fingers crossed.

I won' t be receiving any awards for sharp memory or perfect recall, but I do not recall any other reports of the initial high dose phase of a prednisone burst causing CH to get worse (you're on day 2 at 60, right?). Reports of CH worsening following the taper down, yes, but not at peak dose. I would hope you still may encounter some of the expected relief any minute.

What @big j and @BoscoPiko said. One prominent member went on record here as having had a specific day on the calendar planned, but successful busting found them decidedly cancelling the plan. Please forgive though for even mentioning busting, even in that context, if it is something that isn't for you.

Thank you for posting the photos and stuff here @Tony Only, this coinciding Finnish/European event that I see you are personally a prime host of is seriously cool, spare brain from Bob Wold and all! Well it's as cool as an event revolving around a condition that is patently un-cool gets. You may find yourself a prime suspect as the "someone" who painted the moose's eye purple.

"yee feckin haw" inDEED Feck yes. Well unless we relocate to some other region in the interim, which is a possibility currently under discussion. How entirely fecked up would that be if my Texas residency were to occur exactly right in between Texas CB conferences??!! Still, any of us who can travel distances if necessary and make it, should, and that'll go double for me going forward (I'll be RETIRED by the time of the next conference).

You do not disappoint @Racer1_NC - thank you!

Keeping an eye out for any additional pics you capture as the festivities continue @Racer1_NC!

I for one hope someone will come along who can answer this, @Doctalkjoe! If you end up having to inquire with the original doctor's office or some other source in order to find out though, would sure appreciate you posting what you learn here.

Others have reported remissions lasting several years, followed by a sudden surprise episode out of nowhere. This is a scenario where the CH'er typically is caught off guard, having been lulled into believing the shenanigans could be completely over and done with, never to be revisited. Switching sides (even after decades of always being same-sided) is also a pretty widely reported phenomenon.

Thank you Debra, information like this is always valued, and when included in a story like this, very touching.

Oh not the dreaded swollen face routine - I've seen wisdom teeth extraction swelling aftermaths that included cheeks the size of cantaloupes (!!!), but didn't want to to mention that earlier, in order to avoid unnecessary scares. This does seem one of the best arguments that it in fact may not strictly be the teeth.

WELL, @Billie Bea? If you're still on here, hoping for a positive as can be (under the circumstances) report on how the tooth yanking went for you, whilst also adopting a traditional half cringing stance, in case results have been mixed.

I'm no expert by any stretch, but if they're not impacted, you can hope for recovery to not be a big deal (mine weren't impacted and weren't a big deal). Main thing I remember was hopping onto the LA roadways in my flimsy VW beetle immediately following extraction while getting hit with a CH attack. But even that was early CH days for me and could have been significantly worse. No we won't! We're already sick of your flip flopping!! JUST KIDDING - here's sincerely hoping the tooth deal could be the entire cause of your severe pain issues, that this will be the end of those issues, and you can end up bidding us all "so long, suckers!!" Fingers crossed!

Very well played @BoscoPiko - I've done bits of the so perfectly described @Shaun brearley style neurotic house cleaning during busts before, and now that you mention it I may get re-inspired and attempt some more of that, in order to actually stay productive, but those snacks and movies are likely going to be calling my name pretty loudly and irresistibly. On a momentarily serious note, your updated analysis of the potentially serious warning sign that your spikes can be is definitely some pertinent input for me right now - thank you!

Resurrecting this dormant thread because I find the reports pertinent. I don't recall in my 44-ish year CH career previously having a succession of spikes like I've had lately. I've probably had some here or there, but they were forgettable. I don't care a lot about the short spikes (behind the usual right eyeball) themselves so much this time either, other than whether they are a warning sign of impending full blown activity, in which case I thank the spikes for the heads up. So yeah I may have a legit call for some preventive busting coming up soon here!

It's good to hear that this neurologist is nice, concerned, listens and is trying hard. One thing that doesn't help clarify things at all, but I would consider keeping in mind, is that he likely hasn't benefitted from the level of training or clinical experience that would more thoroughly familiarize him with all the ins and outs of headache type diagnosis, so visiting a headache specialist when one is available still seems a good idea. Since this was some incredible pain you experienced, I suppose you could also prepare with dual contingencies and have well researched versions of both CH and sinus preventives ready to deploy if there is any dreaded revisit (we all hope not!!!). FYI I would wager that most of us CH'ers have had teeth yanked, mistakenly believing that was the cause (for me the fruitless dental pursuit involved wisdom teeth removal).

Well at least you've braced for that in case it happens, but hey you never know, you might get a good diagnosis out of the deal. Especially if this neurologist is a headache specialist. It's unfortunately true that regular old garden variety neurologists are thought of us as often being ill informed regarding CH. I bet you've seen that this is indeed some straight up classic CH behavior. I've known some diagnosed CH'ers that mainly get hit in the temple (upper trigeminal), as opposed to the behind the eyeball routine I got used to thinking of as the CH standard. It sure sounds like how a cluster cycle often ends - CONGRATS ON MAKING IT THROUGH, and now hopefully you'll gain a nice long remission. Yep - all they can really go by is a description from the patient, and your descriptions seem fine. Best of luck and results with the upcoming appointment. I'd say don't make too big of a deal out of it - if the doctor isn't right, just set this as another appointment/doctor to ignore, and seek out a headache specialist while you're in remission. They can have long waiting times, but you don't have to be in an active cycle to go in and get a diagnosis.

The thing about ginger tea is (in my opinion anyway) it can be classified in the highly enjoyable beverage category. Versus other teas It also really raises my temperature and makes me think "it suddenly got hot in this room!", which hey, might come in handy for some of our mid southern hemisphere folk right around now.

Yep this is the sort of thing that for some of us can make it hard to definitively pin a smoking gun of blame on a drug for cycle extension. But can't fault you for casting a suspicious eyeball towards the verapamil. Often enough some nice extended remissions can go along with the lousy extended cycles as the years hurl by - here's hoping you too will at least get the benefit of some remission extensions!

Day 107? That is brutal @Inno, very sorry to hear it. As far as lengths etc. of cycles/remissions are concerned, while CH'ers often do find they have a predictable pattern for a while, those patterns sure do have a habit of mutating right when we'd least expect it. So all I got are a couple cliches: Expect the unexpected Change is the only constant