Bejeeber

OK for some the use of the word 'uber', or referring to oneself in the 3rd person is an annoying pet peeve , but I have a particular word that makes my blood boil - or at least simmer some - whenever it is used in conjunction with the affliction we are dedicated to busting here. Yep, the "H" word. The one that is aptly used in the term tension headache, since there can be something like an actual ache involved here. The problem here is that there is no ache involved in a cluster attack! The term cluster headache is an incredible disservice, and gives an entirely wrong perception of this condition. Makes about as much sense as calling a broken back a backache, or the sensation of having one's leg amputated sans anesthesia a leg ache. Clearly it's use should be discontinued immediately, and a much more accurate term should be officially adopted. Meantime you'll never catch me using the term headache to refer to a cluster attack! I would like to strongly encourage others to adopt either 'attack' or 'hit' to describe their attacks or the attacks of their loved ones and not propagate this evil H word misnomer from hell any further. ;D Pet peeve out, -Jeebs, preacher to the choir.Â

Hey Joe, Where you goin' with that - ahem SORRY I came way too close to reflexively inserting a rudely inappropriate song lyric there. :-[ What I really wish to say is how happy I am to see the absolute FIRST RATE advice you're getting here!! Yes yes YES to all the RC, O2, etc. advice above. Most of us CH'ers find that only the injectible or inhaler triptans work, the pills don't. They do block the receptors that make busting possible, so triptans are not a particularly popular option around here. High flow 100% O2 is much more highly regarded as an abortive, due to it's non toxicity, and the fact that it doesn't interfere with busting. This site/forum is where a lot of long time sufferers find out how to suffer no more (or a lot less). Glad you've landed here!

Not sure what brand has what, but this is reputed to be the best form of melatonin: n-Acetyl-5-Methoxytryptamine

Oh man Jeff, glad you're becoming free of that. Anthony g, I hope you can banish all funeral talkers during your dose.Â

My personal experience is that yep 1.5g is a pretty ideal dose. I've learned to take skullcap and/or another relaxation herbs with mine to combat anxiety, although my first bust (a dose of 2g) was actually entirely enjoyable with plenty of laughing and without a hint of anxiety/negativity. Hope yours goes like that too! 8-)

I know there are those CH'ers (and probably doctors) who think that if you're not "doin' the dance", you must not even have CH, but from comments I've seen and my own experience I believe some of us, due to personality type or whatever, won't act real agitated, at least not until the really high kips kick in. In my first years with CH I actually used to lie down during attacks (albeit with some writhing), and I've seen others report the same. Heck, sometimes there may even be a cultural component to this (or just "the way you were raised"). At one point I tried finding books on how to cope with pain, and one of them pointed out the cultural differences in responses to the pain of childbirth, contrasting your typical Japanese maternity ward where you can practically hear a pin drop with a typical Italian maternity ward replete with non stop deafening, blood curling, top o' the lungs shrieking and screaming.

It will air for the first time on January 15th, 2012 at eight o'clock. Here's the preview: http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/national-geographic-channel/shows/drugs-inc/ngc-mushroom-medicine.html

Ooh I want one of those quantum levitation toys for Christmas! ;D Cool video. 8-) [smiley=thumbup.gif]

Above the filed you enter text into, there are some buttons on the upper left, starting with an earth icon at the farthest left. 5 buttons over to the right from there is the 'insert media' one that has a couple mini red musical notes in it's icon - that's the one to press then paste in your youtube link. Like this : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhTk-ottouA

Judging by that recent thread here it would appear that Hejada is in the minority, agreed, but from a larger anecdotal sampling of responses I've observed over the years at ch.com I believe he may actually be in the majority. You certainly have a good thing going there Hejada where when you feel an attack coming on you can just holler "NURSE!" and the GF will save you. ;D Just DON'T BE FAKING ANY CH ATTACKS - that's cheating!Â

Here's to this being the end of the cycle for you - good riddance to both the beast and the idiot.Â

That's a tuff spot you're in at the moment to say the least, Zac, sorry. I do know that when I finally gave the finger to the neuros as far as strictly following their treatment plans was concerned, I started getting much better results. A common story around here. I know that if it was me I'd be saying screw the step by step approach, I'm in high cycle here, this is a critical situation, and I'm going on the D3 right now whether the doc likes it or not. There would be the matter of being careful with the calcium so it doesn't interfere with the verap though. Separating the verapamil and calcium doses by at least 8 hours is discussed in the newly updated D3 info. Of course I take a very aggressive self directed treatment approach, so if it was me I'd probably also still be seriously looking at busting, although the fact that O2 doesn't work for you admittedly makes that a much tougher proposition right now. I don't think Neurontin is a particularly popular choice of drugs among the members here or at CH.com, but I can tell you that at a high dose (2400 mg a day) I had it kick in and cut the number of attacks by half or so right when I was hitting a vicious peak high cycle that was about to spin out of control, which made it well worth it for me during that episode before I started busting. So yep there just might be some hope there.

From my personal experience in the 'ol days and what I've seen others report, I think its fairly common for the intensity to ramp up as the years go by, as you've found so far. Don't let it worry you about the future though - the future is much brighter for CH'ers here in the new days. 8-) The beast has a tuff time treating you to his nuclear pinging behind the eyeball delights when you've busted him with a merciless knockout punch. Or 3.Â

Well I can laugh at that, and totally did. ;D

I should've also mentioned that unfortunately sumatriptan completely blocks the therapeutic effects of busting agents, and verap blocks them somewhat. So it's necessary to be off the triptans for 5 days before busting. This is where getting the O2 and using it instead of triptans to abort attacks comes in really handy.

Most CH'ers who've tried weed report it makes their CH worse, and attribute it to the fact that it's a vasodilator. Occasionally someone (like I think our Ricardo here) won't have a problem with it. If I'm not mistaken I believe I've seen UK'ers report being able to legally order RC (Rivea Corymbosa) seeds online, and those have become a popular busting substance around here, especially since they provide little to no psychedelic side effect. I bet those'll be really good to look into. 8-) Maybe some others can weigh in on whether the UK site for ordering RC http://www.allsalvia.co.uk/ is a good source. Some more specific RC "how to" can be found here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290128974

Hey Hejada, Sometimes it seems like it's rare to find a CH'er who doesn't play guitar, leading me to joke that it could be the nickel in the strings that is seeping into our systems and causing the CH. ;D If you're playing a nylon string that blows that whole theory though.Â

Hi Hejada, Wow your case is an extremely typical test book case type. So glad you've found your way here where people (such as myself!) are finding truly significant relief, and REALLY glad that CHfather has responded already and laid things out so clearly for you. I've seen many folks from the UK (and the US!) speak of how their doc refuses to prescribe O2. Something else I've seen is UK'ers talk of how there's a new NHS rule that allows patients to switch to a doctor who isn't an a-hole! Yay for that! Here's a link to O2 in the UK info provided by OUCH UK: http://www.ouchuk.org/html/news/High%20Flow%20Oxygen%20Therapy2010.pdf I bet at their message board they could really help you with the switching doctors thing too. This is the place to be though for learning about the most effective CH preventatives, which also happen to be natural/non toxic. I've read that melatonin is not available over the counter in the UK, darnit. Maybe some OUCH folks could advise on that ...? I'm not sure, last I heard, very much unlike the US OUCH, they were very conservative in regard to therapies, strictly endorsing the medical establishment's take on how to treat CH, so beware...

Hey Spiny, Thanks for the extra details and stuff. Sorry to hear how hard yer getting hit. :'( The latest replies from the fellas to your post are certainly golden and IMO when CHfather lays out some details they should be practically be enshrined as holy scriptures! Seriously, trust this guy - if it weren't for his one typo a year I'd be suspecting the 'H' in CHfather stands for 'Heavenly'. ;D I'm diggin' how he spelled out the verap/calcium issue and it's solution for ya. 8-) Here's a thingy bit I'd like to add: I believe you may have mentioned before that the energy drinks don't agree with you (?). But coffee is burnin' the 'ol hole in the tummy and your O2 aborted attacks return every hour. Well the energy drinks with the taurine are known to help the O2 aborts last longer for many CH'ers - like it could be a few hours between re-attacks instead of just one. Have I asked yet whether you've tried the teeny energy shots? They can be gulped in one swallow, and you could potentially immediately chase 'em with something that is tummy settling for you.....maybe it'd be worth snagging one from the mini mart down the street and trying it on for size?

I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that was intended to read "Very, very unlikely that you'll experience anything psychedelic". ;D Oops I didn't realize or forgot you've tried D3 already Spiny. Sorry. :'(

I'll echo both Mystina's concern and Lieutenant2's tuff love, and both of their suggestions. Melatonin - starting at 9 mg, all the way up to 18 or even 21 mg if necessary. This form is reputed to be most effective: n-Acetyl-5-Methoxytryptamine Have you tried the D3 regimen yet? It is reputed to affect your arterial PH in a manner that makes the O2 more effective. That bears repeating. The D3 regimen can render O2 more effective. I know that waking up every hour to abort with O2 routine all too well and it SUX!! It BLOZE. Sorry you're in that terrible high cycle mode right now. Those RC seeds can be overnighted BTW, so you could get some and be dosing with them on Friday night. 8-)

LOL now that's keeping your beastie disciplined. A hit peaking at 9 - there's a horror show that'll screw with your day! > Here's hoping it was strictly a one time rogue visit from old feckface.  :-/

Why yes, yes those are eggzactly what I had in mind. ;D

Eggcellent, eggcellent work there keeping the D3 file info packed in a concise sorta way and up to date. Super helpful. [smiley=thumbup.gif]

Ooh good catch Tommy D, thanks. That article certainly is a good thing to have out there in the mainstream media IMO, and I see it also touches on the positive after effect a psychedelic mushroom experience can have on a person's outlook, as some of us have personally reported here. [smiley=thumbup.gif]