CHfather

I was able to read the whole thing (it's great -- thanks, Ricardo!) just by doing the free registration. Jerry

very good advice. thank you. my apologies, especially since what i was saying wasn't really relevant anyway (i could link to the online source of my speculation, but that would just be adding to the potential fire).

 it's kind of out of date now, but the blog of dr. richard sewell (psychiatrist at yale med school) contained a number of reports about CH treatments, along with sewell's thoughts about them. www.clusterattack.com  his name is richard andrew sewell, and if you google that in various forms, i think you'll find a bunch of things by him about CH and psychedelics. he was involved with dr. halpern in the early work, which i assume you've seen (e.g., http://www.neurology.org/content/66/12/1920); they had a falling out, as i understand it, over some aspect of halpern's decision to patent bol for use with ch. (maybe sewell falls into the category potter was describing. i can only say that he seems to have tried to keep up the fight, his early work made a big difference, and he was personally very generous with his time with me when i asked for his advice on several occasions.) i'm going far afield now, but it's a curious thing to me that the so-called "anti-inflammatory vitamin d3 regimen" seems to have helped so many people with ch as an effective preventive that also sometimes quickly lessens or even in some cases eliminates CH pain. i have wondered whether that regimen is somehow doing something with brain chemistry, as opposed to just creating a general anti-inflammatory effect in the overall system. (it doesn't help everyone, but there are lots of testimonials, at this site and particularly at clusterheadaches.com). http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1314134804 also relatedly, i have wondered (though some people may already know the answer to this) why some substances that are prescribed for CH interfere with the effects of psychedelics, since (knowing absolutely nothing) i would assume that they do not block the brain receptors affected by psychedelics. you can see a list of some of those meds here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290130731 finally, there was one thoughtful fellow here who undertook to treat his CH with GABA supplements. i know that the GABA mechanism is in the brain and some gaba-related things (such as gabapentin) sometimes help with CH. another possible mechanism???

ub, i think you'll find that what you describe here is pretty much what happened. i don't know that for sure, but from all i've seen, that's what happened. as a non-researcher, i wouldn't characterize it as negatively as you do here. the question was: does this stuff (which as you say has been used before) work? as i recall, clusterbusters financed or partially financed that small open-label trial.

shahooty, every once in a while at this board someone reports on trying to order bol, or have it made for them. the last person, whose screen name i do not remember (and who lived somewhere outside the US), was quite confident that s/he could purchase it. no one has ever come back and reported that they got it, but i don't suppose that necessarily means they didn't. one person, whose screen name i do remember but who hasn't posted here in quite some time, got a couple of shipments of stuff that was supposed to be bol, but which upon testing turned out not to be. this is reflected in ub's concerns about trying to get it on a "black market." in general, as ub says, purchase of bol is restricted to researchers and others with authorization. also, as ub says, some researchers have expressed concerns about possible long-term effects of bol, which have not been fully studied. i assume that the "other options" that ub is talking about are the ones currently used by people at this board -- psilo, lsa, and lsd.

Well, I can tell you that I'm thrilled to see you here, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Right now, you might only be able to imagine somewhat dimly what a breakthrough would mean for one person, let alone for tens and even hundreds of thousands of people with CH. I believe that the person here who has thought the most about the chemistry of CH is probably Ricardo (his screen name). Could be wrong. As I recall, he has had some doubts about the centrality of the 5-HT receptors. There was a time when we discussed some stuff related to this, particularly to the possible role of tumor necrosis factor, at this thread: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1325136848 And Ricardo also pondered lisuride here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1327360561 These might not be doing Ricardo justice. Or maybe some of it will be useful for you. I'm a decent googler. If I can start digging anything out for you, let me know. Jerry

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1361807077/0#0[quote

 Don't. Most folks just want to get away from it and, as you say, stuff those memories someplace far away.  On the other hand, the voices of folks like you, with experience, can be very valuable to people in similar situations.   Everyone understands that you gotta do what works best for you.

You know, I went to iamshaman.com today for a different reason, and I couldn't find RC (rivea corymbosa) seeds listed at their site. Maybe I just missed it, but I looked in several ways. If they don't have them, and you don't want to chance a slow delivery from tranceplants.net, you might consider www.psychoactiveherbs.com.

?First stanza and last three lines of chorus of ? Â

If your therapeutic idea works, it will henceforth be know as THE (Sorry . . . I saw this today, thought of you of course MG, and just wanted an excuse to post it.)

Are those real questions, Jeffrey? The seeds had a lot of positive effects for you last time, didn't they? Why wouldn't you order quickly and get started? (I don't know where you got your seeds last time, but a caution that tranceplants has been really slow on several shipments in the last few months, so that might not be the best place to go for a quick turnaround.) Hope you don't see this for a long time, or at least long enough to mean that you had no "wake up call" tonight. Â

Dan, I'm sure you encouraged Mr. Passi to come here to meet more people with CH. But I also remember that a frequent poster here, Tony Only, is Finnish and is an administrator of a Facebook CH site that is partly in Finnish. Also, as I recall, Salander (also Finnish) is very active at that site. So he might want to tune in there. This is the URL: https://www.facebook.com/groups/385160354828914/ He could also come here and PM Tony Only or Salander. There was another person from Finland, Panu, who was active here for a while, and of course the wonderful Tingeling is not far away.

Wow, wow!

As so many times before, thank you, shocked. This is really interesting, and hopeful, information.

Donnie, Generally (to the extent that "generally" applies to any of this), there's at least one very severe hit, in addition to a shift in the pattern of attacks. And generally, things settle down after a third bust. Really, really hoping it works that way for you. I just looked at Nova Scotia weather, and it looks like maybe you've been having some pretty big swings in temperature and precipitation lately. (Since I don't know what Nova Scotia weather is usually like, I can't say that for sure.) A lot of people here do find that their CH is very sensitive to changes in barometric pressure, so I'm wondering whether that might also have something to do with what you're experiencing.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, one and all. Or, as Jeebs would put it: [/img]

islandguy, I got nuthin' to add, except (a) Maybe consider trying the D3 regimen -- http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1314134804 -- or licorice root: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1298659068; and ( The next time anyone asks me, "Sir, could you please provide an example of that fabled Down East Laconic Understatement?" I will show then your post. Folks here will help in any way they can, so please feel free to ask questions, laconically or otherwise. There is some info about high-flow O2 in the Oxygen document at the "MENU" tab over on the left side of each page.

Glad about the O2, Donnie. I hate to ask this, but do your anxiety meds include Prozac, Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil, Zoloft, Effexor, Pristiq, Cymbalta, Elevil, or Tofranil? These are all considered to be likely to block busting. (The general categories for these are SSRIs and tricyclics.)

Yes, not uncommon, and should definitely get better!' Some people find ginger tea quite effective for the shadows.

Seems like it's not too late to modify the title to “LSD and Psilocybin for Cluster Headaches: Preventing Pain, Saving Lives: My 30,015 Years of Experience.”

It seems like President Obama's recently-proposed BRAIN Initiative (Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies)) would be very much in the interest of understanding more about CH mechanisms. Of course there is a danger: http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/425102/april-04-2013/obama-s-brain-initiative

Yes, yes, yes. 35-40 is almost certainly "safe" ("safe" in the sense that it's probably enough but won't cause any psychedelic effects). I'd say that most people, after a tentative first dose, seem to be winding up at 60 as a nice level these days. MoxieGirl's preparation guide is good, and detailed: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1357378289 I would make three comments about it: (1) There has been debate here about whether an electric grinder (coffee grinder, for example) is okay to use. Some insist that it creates heat that harms the LSA; others dismiss that, since the pulse you need to grind them is so short. I think MG's suggestions, of a mortar and pestle or hand-operated pepper grinder or spice grinder, are wisest. (2) You don't need to add the lemon in order to extract the LSA, but some people think it helps with the taste. (3) Some people drink the "slurry"; some don't. I kinda figure why not? It might have some nice LSA in it. You can wash your does down with something other than water, if you want -- something more palate-cleansing, like juice. Most people do their dose near bedtime, since a good night's sleep is often (not always, unfortunately) the first "side-effect" of a dose. Hey Donnie -- Lots of folks here pulling for you, big-time.

Sabina, welcome. Do you have a prescription for oxygen from a doctor? I don't think you can get medical oxygen without it. (If you do have a prescription, usually your doctor will have a provider that he or she prefers to work with.) I guess I could be wrong about both of those statements . . . just my experience. Have you tried energy drinks such as Monster, RedBull, or 5-Hour Energy to abort your attacks? They work quite well for a lot of people, taken as soon as possible when you feel an attack coming on. If they don't abort them, they usually at least reduce the severity. Strong coffee works well for some people, too. Also, this conversation just appeared on another thread here, and since it's still quite chilly in many parts of New York right now, it might help you in the short run: >>>I've aborted attacks with those COLD night air walks and have kept the boots on in order to be able to bolt out the door immediately too, so I know it can be done on occasion. For me, it can work during a ramp up phase of a cycle, before the intensity goes through the roof. I've also successfully deployed the summertime version of this where the nose goes right up to the blasting car air conditioner vent for some deep breathing of the freezing air. <<< This, and a longer note in the post before it about cold nighttime walks, appears here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1363717423/38#38 There are quite a few other things that people here do that help with their CH (not for everyone, but for some or many). Melatonin taken at night helps some (maybe starting with 6-9 mg.) The "vitamin D3" regimen has been helpful for many as a longer-term preventive. You can read about it here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1314134804 And many people here use "busting" to treat their CH. You can read an introduction to busting here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290127865 The good people here will help you, whatever questions you have.

Thanks. If it has a good new home, that's fine with me. Kind and thoughtful of you to offer it here!