Bejeeber

I should've provided more detail and worded that more clearly. Here in the US melatonin is sold in all manner of dosage strengths, with 3mg being fairly common, 10 mg not so common. So the CH'ers who I've seen report getting up into the 20 mg range were typically gradually bumping up from a starting dose of 9 mg in 3 mg increments, only getting as high as 18mg or 21mg if the 12mg or 15mg doses they tried on the way there still weren't working.

Last time I looked into it, CH'ers were finding a dose around your 10 mg at bedtime to be a good starting one. If it doesn't do anything, others have reported bumping it all the way up into Spiny's 20mg range was required before they started seeing results for night time attacks. During my last full blown cycle I think I tried around 9 mg with no results. At that time I didn't know up to 20 mg would be worth trying, so I didn't get that far into the experiment.

[smiley=thumbup.gif] [smiley=cool.gif] [smiley=thumbup.gif] !

Hmmm...based on a true story, Best Actor (Matthew McConaughey) and Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes....I'm definitely gonna watch it - thanks MG.

Well this is kinda exciting to have a whole new thang under investigation, thanks to DD, Didgens and CHf. Ricardo, the herb specific info and bit of healthy skepticism are also appreciated. I know I'll be following this, (and whether there will be a work around for the alcohol content) with real interest.

The MJ just so clearly sounds like the obvious least of all evils for pain relief for you, so how could anyone not agree that pure insanity reigns when you are deprived of it while being prescribed opiates instead (??!!). I suppose moving to Colorado is not an option for you, so I guess I'll just hope you're in a state that will follow suit - or at least legalize medical marijuana - sooner than later. Meanwhile maybe something like the legal in all 50 states high CBD hemp oil might've been helpful, and likely wouldn't cause the flunking of a urine test, but I guess since it takes so much hemp oil to produce the high CBD extract, the stuff I've seen so far is crazy expensive, so um yeah, probably forget that too. This is when I can entirely relate to Dumpstaphunk's song Livin' in a World Gone Mad. :'(

Jeez that sounds horrible Tom, sorry to hear of your predicament. In my recent bit of searching online I have seen some claims that CBD rich marijuana, or concentrated CBD hemp oil, can give people with severe nerve pain relief when opiates don't, so I'm not surprised to hear of your results with it. The eye socket part yes, but otherwise no (the trigeminal pain can radiate into the cheek area for some CH'ers, but not rear of skull). I wish I knew whether the busting, O2, etc. we CH'ers do could help with your condition - has it been diagnosed by a genuine headache specialist? We find that ordinary neurologists and other doctors, unless they've done lots of headache disorder independent study (which would be unusual), are typically dangerous for us to consult with, as they don't have adequate training/knowledge at all. [Edit: I wish you lived in Colorado - check out this bit from http://cbdfreeforall.org/about/free-for-all: "CBD Free For All is a project that has risen out of the passage of Ammendment 64. Adults in Colorado are now allowed to cultivate up to 6 cannabis plants (3 flowering). With the passing of the new law, this project's goal is to distrubute FREE high-CBD cannabis clones/cuttings to any adult in Colorado who wishes to grow it for their own health."]

I like the sound o' that. Sold. Now adopting said outlook.

Plus it says he's the Marlboro Man! Sorry. Apparently I have ZERO shame.

Thanks - I've actually gotten through the cannabinoids first half of that, and searching out info online for a relative who suffers from severe nerve pain, I eventually realized that Cannabidiol (as a concentrated form of high CBD-rich hemp oil), being 100% non psychoactive, is fully legal and available for purchase (even on Amazon.com!), with some preliminary positive user reviews regarding it's effectiveness for severe pain. Well supposedly those reviews came from users, not the vendor. This: http://cbdgum.networkofhemp.com/order-cbd/rsho-high-cbd-hemp-oils/ ...is the most potent Cannabidiol I've seen for purchase online so far, and in my hasty enthusiasm, I ordered some for the relative with the nerve pain, having read the wrong description, thinking "it's expensive, but hey it's 2 months worth", only to realize too late it was only 3 DAYS worth. DOH. I intend to post here about results if there are any that are pertinent. I do think it's cool that that this particular stuff is devoid of THC [Edit: it actually contains 1% THC], but am discouraged by how ungodly expensive it actually is.

I don't know what to say... :-? :-? ....except it's time for a round of Mama Juana for all CB members! ;D . It also makes me wonder whether there is a reasonable way to evaporate the alcohol out of concoctions such as this...?

Interesting article indeed - thanks. I too find the CBD stuff to be particularly interesting: "Recently, research has shown CBD to have analgesic, anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety properties without the psychoactive effects (the "high" or "stoned" feeling) that THC provies"

I too have seen reports over the years, and sometimes (guys at least) say it's the, um, *happy ending* that can stop the CH. Me neither - and I wouldn't have any faith that it would work, as typically the hopes for aborting an attack with exercise revolve around catching it right at onset before it has ramped up fully, and doing all out extreme sprint 'til you drop type exercise that couldn't be sustained for anything close to a half an hour anyway.

LORDY that is clever as all heck!! ;D ;D

Hey cannon, glad the shrooms helped - they appear to help a lot of different conditions. Just FYI, pain around the eyes (plural) is not a common CH symptom - typically it's just one eye that is involved. So yep it still might be worth doing the annoying doctor thing just to get the MRI and rule out other stuff. A genuine headache specialist, not a garden variety neurologist, is usually the only type of doc worth visiting.

LadyLuv! Hi! Here's the good news I just dug up on the parking: "Complimentary on-site parking" [smiley=thumbup.gif] MartyO - it'll be great to see you'n the wife. And I imagine the knowledge you've acquired about CH may have come in handy a time or 2 at work if you've encountered a CH'er and you were the only one in the room (or likely even the building) knowledgeable about the affliction!

Understood where you're coming from there iPain - FWIW, the wife seems to have had her success when the attack is still at her visual/aura stage, hasn't gotten to the pain/nausea point yet. Her triptan backup which she finds effective for anything an energy shot hasn't dispatched is Maxalt lozenges (no water required).

I can tell ya that my wife has been able to pretty consistently abort migraines at onset with an energy shot. If you haven't tried this yet, always having an energy shot on you and ready to gulp at a moment's notice could be something to consider.

There is indeed exactly that - it's called BOL-148 - but in this twisted world it is unavailable to us at this time. :'( Something you may want to still look at for busting though is Rivea Corymbosa seeds ("RC"). Many of us find we can take them right before bed and just sleep right through whatever mild effects there may have been. 8-) Some find RC doesn't work for them but mushrooms do, and on occasion others have found the opposite to be true, so there can be a bit of trial and error involved. Also, there's the vitamin D3 regimen, and, well anything CHfather mentions should be paid very close attention to.Â

Hi Echo, I voted "Oxygen stops the attack (entirely)", although it's not entirely as simple as that for me. After the intensity of a cycle would ramp up for me, I found that O2 would do exactly *nothing* for me when administered in the tired, old, outmoded (but sadly still prescribed) low flow rebreather manner. Then I got educated by our headbangin' bruthas and sistahs on high flow 100% O2 and could even abort stronger hits. This is an extremely typical, common experience. At the apex of a cycle when the intensity is through the roof and the CH seems to have some pent up ferocity from being stifed so much, even the high flow O2 can fail me, or for wake up hits, only last an hour, then the beast is back, so I've deployed imitrex shots in such cases as a back up (an injection could buy me 3 hours of sleep before the next hit). This was all before busting, which has rendered me not in need of any abortives for a good while now, and that is also a pretty common experience. Lotsa CH'ers swear by an energy drink/shot's ability to help the O2 work, and to keep the attack at bay longer BTW. Your doggie looks like he was about to snatch the camera.Â

Cool! ;D 8-) Given an opportunity to make an appointment at either Mayo Clinic, or with Dr. McGeeney, I would unhesitatingly opt for Dr. McGeeney. Of course a whole lot of us long time CH'ers here have found the research at Harvard medical etc. to be true: there are natural substances that are more much more effective as long term CH preventives than anything available by prescription. If you haven't heard much about it yet Echo, I think this Newsweek article on the subject provides a good intro: http://www.newsweek.com/treating-cluster-headaches-psychedelic-drugs-81473 (this article doesn't however cover a currently popular "busting" agent, the mild acting Rivea Corymbosa seeds, AKA "RC", which can be ordered online).

That is interesting and encouraging - your reports on the Gammacore are very appreciated davidj.

Whoa that is very good and intriguing, it's length correlates to my attention span , and I liked the zinger at the end about CH, thanks MG.

I personally haven't had a migraine for decades, but there are definitely chronic CH'ers here (such as MoxieGirl) who have reported busting to be very effective for migraine prevention - in fact it has been MORE effective with migraines for them than it has for CH, with it practically wiping out the migraines for some. [smiley=vrolijk_1.gif] I'm surprised and disappointed to hear it hasn't done more for your migraines so far , here's hoping the next bust will tip the scales in that dept. and get you PF for both CH and migraine.

Yep, that is definitely referred to as busting.[smiley=vrolijk_1.gif] Just based on my own experience, I'd say yes. :D