Brew

Here is a photo of my bride's contribution to the auction. It is as yet untitled, 14" x 6", mixed media, layered glass mosaic. (I don't know about you, but I see a clusterhead in there).

I'm pretty sure Dorothy wore pale blue socks, but I'm still digging the white ones. "Poppies... Poppies. Poppies will put them to sleep. Sleeeeep. Now they'll sleeeeep!"

Yeah, it's WAY too early for the beer test - unless you're into unnecessary pain. Two weeks pain free before a beer test.

Can't answer that because I have no clue. I would look at it as the beginning of the end of ALL of my cycles. My advice would be that if you're still getting CH activity between busts, continue - with the goal being to stretch out the time between busts.

Yes, it's quite common. The psychedelics will have a tendency to "shake things up" in your head before it starts to settle down for good. Kind of like a snow globe. Don't be alarmed - be prepared. Have your O2 at the ready and be ready to bust again in 5-7 days. Eventually things will get much better. It took me about 5 months of that pattern, but now I bust every six months or so - whether my head tells me I need it or not.

Never - not when you're a Mary Ann guy.

We live in a world where both good and evil duke it out every minute of every day.

Just keep the covers over yourselves. They'll be fine.

If you get a flight into Midway, let me know when you are scheduled to arrive. It may be me, it may be someone else, but someone will be there to pick you up.

Okay, don't look now, but I think this is the one my bride is fixing to donate to the auction. Not done yet, but she posts progress on some of her pieces for her artist community friends to see. This is where it's at as of this post:

Maybe we could start the campfire with LOX:

The short answer to "should I take shrooms" is "Not yet!" Not until all those other meds are out of your system for a minimum of 5 days. You'll need to tough it out for at least this long using nothing but O2, energy drinks and ice packs. Some have reported success busting while on verapamil, but if you're going to detox, why not go all the way? Those 5 days can be hell. And then the next 5 days can be hell. And the next. And the next. Because busting has a tendency to stir things up in the brain. But you need to stay med free in order for the next bust to work. It wasn't pretty, but you can use me as an example. I detoxed, busted, busted again 5 days later, ad nauseum for a few months. But each time it came back with less and less cojones. Then I was able to stretch out the time between busts. A week. Two weeks. Now I bust every six months or so, whether I feel I need it or not. Just to be safe. All my time in between is spent pain free. The entire time it took me to get to this point was about 5 months. And I'm convinced if I had really known what I was doing, it would have taken only half that time. That's the unfortunate thing about busting - almost every one of us is in a really bad place when we start. I will never - NEVER - go back to mainstream meds for this affliction.

You could also benefit from finding a new doc. Preferably one who has experience in treating CH patients. Like a headache specialist. Said that he couldn't do that... Phooey.

You really need to check out the "Clusterbuster Files" board. All the "how, what, where, why" stuff is answered there. Here is a small snippet from one of the threads there:

Welcome back, brutha! Pain free is good. Especially when there are no side effects.

O2, energy drinks, and ice packs. For a minimum of 5 days before each time you bust. Otherwise you won't get the results you seek.

Rent a tank for $70/day? That's nuts. You can buy one for around $200. Refills will probably cost you around $25. And there's a lot of damned O2 in a welder's tank.

I never doubted it's validity. Anybody with some experience could look at that chart and say, "yeah, that seems about right." I just wanted to know where the details were.

That graph looks promising, but I don't see the studies to back it up.

When verapamil was the only thing being recommended, I took it. It worked relatively well. Lost its efficacy after awhile. Combined it with lithium (the "chronic cocktail") and regained some of its abilities. At one time pushed it to 720mg/day, started feeling heart palpitations. Constipation, loss of sex drive, lethargy. But my head didn't hurt as much. Or as often. When the only tool in your box is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail. But some problems ARE nails. I'm not going to diss it too badly. It helped me. I don't need it anymore.

But it's much hotter there, and if heat is a trigger for you, then... Nevermind. There's just no winning with this silly affliction.

...and I replied - just before I read this. ;D

Anthony - Go back to the main board, six boards down. There's a board entitled "Clusterbuster Files." Everything you ever wanted to know about the "how" is there.

My bride and I will be there.