CHfather

You can do morning glories, or some equivalent, again. See https://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290128974. (Most people here prefer RC seeds.) But you will have to be off the migraine meds for five days (I'm not positive about the fioricet: Don't know what the butalbital does to busting). Is the imitrex in tablet form or injection? You'll have to be off that to bust, in any case . . . I'm just curious with regard to the CH or CH-like attacks you're having (those bad ones definitely sound like CH). The fioricet would definitely do nothing for CH, but imitrex injections usually help. Please look at the other numbered files in the area (ClusterBuster Files) where the file I linked you to is located. #6 is about interactions with medications. #1 and #3 are important. Some folks here have had very good success treating migraines with busting. I don't know anything about racetams.

Here's an early article about neuroplasticity: http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/08/magazine/08WWLN.html?pagewanted=all Quote from it: >> How will our image of ourselves change as the wrinkled lump of gray meat in our skull becomes increasingly transparent to such exploratory methods? One recent discovery to confront is that the human brain can readily change its structure -- a phenomenon scientists call neuroplasticity. A few years ago, brain scans of London cabbies showed that the detailed mental maps they had built up in the course of navigating their city's complicated streets were apparent in their brains. Not only was the posterior hippocampus -- one area of the brain where spatial representations are stored -- larger in the drivers; the increase in size was proportional to the number of years they had been on the job. It may not come as a great surprise that interaction with the environment can alter our mental architecture. But there is also accumulating evidence that the brain can change autonomously, in response to its own internal signals. Last year, Tibetan Buddhist monks, with the encouragement of the Dalai Lama, submitted to functional magnetic resonance imaging as they practiced ''compassion meditation,'' which is aimed at achieving a mental state of pure loving kindness toward all beings. The brain scans showed only a slight effect in novice meditators. But for monks who had spent more than 10,000 hours in meditation, the differences in brain function were striking. Activity in the left prefrontal cortex, the locus of joy, overwhelmed activity in the right prefrontal cortex, the locus of anxiety. Activity was also heightened in the areas of the brain that direct planned motion, ''as if the monks' brains were itching to go to the aid of those in distress,'' Sharon Begley reported in The Wall Street Journal. All of which suggests, say the scientists who carried out the scans, that ''the resting state of the brain may be altered by long-term meditative practice.'' <<< (Happens to be a subject I write about, for lay readers, from my own very lay understanding. (I didn't write the above.)) (One way in which the "discovery" of neuroplasticity has been very valuable is in working with underperforming kids in schools. Many studies show that when they see their intellectual capabilities not as fixed ("I'm bad at math") but as being like a muscle that develops with use ("If I put in the effort, I can become good at math"), their performance, and their approach to schoolwork, improve significantly. Neuroplasticity science demonstrates to them that the brain-as-muscle thing is true, and not just something their teachers/parents are telling them.)

Fab, a fairly/somewhat thorough study of characteristics of people with CH was done around 2008, using a survey that I think was administered at ch.com. There are definitely many things missing from that (much of what you mention in your post either was not studied or did not appear as significant results -- I'm not sure which). Here's the report on the full study --http://www.docstoc.com/docs/102870436/Cluster-Headache-in-USA_Demographics_Clinical-Characteristics_Triggers_Suicidality-and-Personal-Burden-Nov-2011-Headache -- and here's a related report comparing women and men based on the study: http://www.jns-journal.com/article/S0022-510X%2812%2900128-1/abstract. I have found some of the information in these reports to be helpful when communicating with people with CH . . . but my general feeling about what you are suggesting is that knowing more about characteristics of people with CH is interesting and useful for individuals, but I don't see it as getting one quickly closer to a treatment/cure, since treating these characteristics probably doesn't significantly treat CH. It could be that a complex of typical characteristics would lead back to a common source somewhere that could be treated, but you'd have to factor out (or somehow deal with) all the other people in the population that have the same complex of characteristics but don't have CH. Not yet having done anything more than skimming the article, I'm wondering whether it could be that the complex of brain areas affected by CH might some relationship to these characteristics or other CH characteristics (maybe this is the "paradigm shift" that Lt2 refers to). Just wondering.

Lt2, to help me understand it better as I read it carefully in the next couple of days, can you say a few words about what you see the paradigm shift as being?

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Thanks, cluster!!! Gonna have to commit some real time to studying this. d'maker -- frustrating, isn't it, when your shrink is the one who's crazy!

HB, The "vitamin D3" regimen that has helped people has a lot of stuff in it -- including calcium carbonate -- beyond just D vitamins. It's here: https://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1314134804

HB, Melatonin? Some folks find that a strong dose at bedtime helps. Starting 6-10 mg. and working up. (Did you see my reply in another thread to your question about energy shots? It got kind of submerged by other posts pretty quickly.) More importantly, did you notice in the D3 thing this instruction about separating the calcium from your verapamil: >>>If you are presently taking verapamil as a cluster headache preventative or for a heart condition, studies have shown that after repetitive dosing with verapamil, its serum half-life can be in a range from 4.5 to 12 hours. Other studies indicated calcium supplements interfere with calcium channel blockers like verapamil. Calcium gluconate is also used to treat reactions to oral verapamil. Accordingly, in order to minimize a possible interaction with calcium that may limit verapamil effectiveness, separate the verapamil and calcium doses by at least 8 to 12 hours. Discus this regimen with your PCP, neurologist, or cardiologist in order to work out an optimum dosing schedule.<<<

My first computer had no hard drive, two 5.25" floppy drives, 256K of RAM, and a monochrome monitor. That was before there was such a thing as Windows -- you could only do things by typing in your own DOS commands. No internet, of course, but you could send messages, if you could afford it, by sticking your phone into an acoustic coupler and waiting a few hours to see whether it worked.

NOW you tell me!!!! Seems like in Windows, both "Copy image location" and "Copy link location" work. (I always figured you for one of those hoity-toity Apple types, Jeebs.)

In terms of shots, Jeebs likes 6 Hour Power, and there are folks who like Monster Hitman Sniper, which is loaded with caffeine. 5 Hour Energy has less caff than those two, but more than (or at least as much as) a RedBull. 5 Hour Energy Extra Strength has as much as the Sniper one. Here's one list (which doesn't include the first two I mentioned): http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/12/the-buzz-on-energy-drink-caffeine/index.htm Be sure you're also getting taurine in whatever you buy; that's generally believed to be what makes the difference in effectiveness (for many people) between energy shots/drinks and just plain coffee.

TE, the little globe icon at the top left of the area where you compose a message is for inserting hyperlinks. Find the URL you want to include, right click on it and select "copy," and in your post, click on that globe icon, right click, and paste. (All of this is of course for Windows computers. I don't know anything about Apples.) Here's how I post images, though I figure there must be an easier way . . . Upload the image to your computer (into your "My Pictures" folder for example) -- to do that, click on the image you want and then select "save image as." Then, from my computer I upload it into the free photo storage website, www.photobucket.com. It will then be in your "Library" at photobucket. Click on Library, then click on the image you want to post. When you do that, the image will appear and on the right side of the page you'll see a column headed "Share Links." Put your cursor into the box to the right of the bottom item, IMG. The cursor turns into a pointing finger. Left click. The box briefly turns yellow, and you'll see a message in the box that says "Copied." All you have to do now is go to the post you're composing, right click, and select paste. Voila!

There are reasons why we call you Fab (this being only one of those reasons). Learn to upload images and we'll have to rename this place:

OMG -- 16 years!! What a survivor you are!

There's a little "20 Facts About CH" thing that ClusterBusters created. I don't know whether someone at work might benefit from seeing this . . . but it's attached. 20_Facts_brochure_8-24-13.pdf

T'E', as I'm remembering, you have an M tank at home, but it takes a neuro appointment to get a portable tank. In addition to lighting the aforementioned fire, might you look into getting a small welding oxygen tank that you could bring to work (or at least keep in your car)? That's very easily done in the US, but I have no idea what the challenges might be in the UK. Does anyone know whether it's feasible to get welding O2 and a regulator there? Is see this, for example -- http://gascylindersuk.co.uk/shop/index.php?_a=product&product_id=1014 -- but I'm not sure at all . . .

I'm no expert, but I think there's a difference between meditating and fantasizing. All wonderful to read!!!

didg, With your diligence (maybe we should call it didgigence from now on!) and commitment, I don't think you should leave any path unfollowed to help your son and others. I was only pointing out that nitroglycerin seems to have its CH-causing effect not by exciting the sinuses in some direct way but through vasodilation, the evidence being that sublingual nitro, which probably doesn't have a pronounced direct effect on the sinuses (as far as I know, which is really not very far), causes CH attacks (and the injections of histamines that can also bring on CH attacks also bypass the sinuses as their first location). None of this means that your son's attacks, or the attacks of others, aren't possibly related to sinus/ear/throat cavities; it only means (to me) that the effects of inhaled nitroglycerine don't seem (to me) to support your thesis, since nitro has the same effect when taken in in different ways. I also remember reading something posted over at ch.com where a person (a research professional of some sort, as I recall) was skeptical for some reason that I don't fully remember (having to do with the timing of vasoldilation created by nitro in contrast to the timing of when nitro-induced CH attacks occurred, as I remember it) about whether it is really the vasodilation effect of nitro that provokes CH attacks at all. In which case . . . maybe it is some effect on some cavities, more indirect than just inhalation, but still there. Complicated.

hot weather, you mean. overall, this list (except for the alcohol) seems pretty quirky and unreliable. i don't know why they would mention only inhaled nitroglycerin, which takes us back to your point in your preceding post. many, if not most, of the studies that induce CH with nitroglycerin use it sublingually (for example: http://archneur.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=568492; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12807519; and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8895232). . so my overall point is that if sublingual application induces CH, it's almost certainly the presence of nitro in the bloodstream that creates that effect, and not likely to be an effect on the sinuses.

didg, Nitroglycerin isn't inhaled to create a CH attack. It's put under the tongue (as it generally is in "normal" use), as a tablet or spray, so it can be absorbed rapidly. Its effects are generally (but not universally) understood to be the result of rapid dilation of blood vessels. There might be some fumes that are inhaled, but that's not the source of its effects. (And nitroglycerin does not cause CH attacks in people with CH who are out of cycle.) As I was checking on this to be sure, I noticed that in some early studies attacks were induced by injecting histamines (which also dilate blood vessels) under the skin. Looking into that a little further, I saw at some reputable sources something I had never seen before -- that cluster headaches are also called "histamine headaches" (here at the National Headache Foundation website, for example: http://www.headaches.org/education/Headache_Topic_Sheets/Cluster_Headaches). I also noticed this at that same website: >>Cluster headaches are not associated with the gastrointestinal disturbances or sensitivity to light that is found in migraine.<< I mention this in relation to your curiosity about "gastrointestinal disturbances" and CH. I don't know enough about migraine to even know what this is referring to.

Paul, hang in there. You are a very courageous person, and we all believe that this will help you. We are pulling for you. Since you have been in touch with Tony and others, I will assume that you have received advice about other things you can do to help you quit the triptans -- oxygen, energy drinks, and vitamin D3, to name a few. If you want to know more about those things (or anything else), just ask. We are here for you.

Yes, indomethacin is good for the hemicranias (paroxysmal and continua), but pretty much worthless for CH. I would think he'll know pretty quick whether it's working or not. It can be very hard on the stomach/digestive system, and is sometimes prescribed along with something like nexium for protection. (Since I might sound like a doctor here, I should make it clear that I'm not.) Seems he's tried, or is on the verge of trying, all the major stuff, and is now looking at last resorts. Almost certainly the doctor won't know anything about D3, and there's a good chance she/he will tell you it's too much D3. Which it isn't, or at least doesn't give any indication of being. Get a blood test that includes vitamin D level (pretty standard) and testosterone (sometimes a culprit). If he hasn't tried energy drinks/shots, or at least a strong cup of coffee, to abort, he should do that. Drink it down at the first sign of an attack. Some people find that melatonin at night is beneficial--again, usually at doses that would be considered high, starting at 6-9 mg. and working up as high as 20 or more. I wonder whether your doctor was actually suggesting www.clusterheadaches.com (where conventional treatments are discussed a lot). We try hard not to be argumentative here, but I gotta say that looking at his situation, if the indomethacin doesn't work (if it does, it would mean he almost certainly doesn't have CH), I would seriously reconsider the idea that "busting is not a consideration at this time." You might want to take a look at this thread (and the blog post linked to in the first post), from a guy who said the same thing: https://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1411480973. You don't need to respond to this -- like I say, we're not here to argue -- but just to be clear, there are effective busting strategies that involve no or almost no psychedelic experience at all. They can easily be pursued with close to zero legal risk. He wouldn't feel stupid all the time (as you put it), and he could possibly break free from all that he's suffering.

That's outrageous, and I would think there must also be something illegal about it. I'm sure you've called your doctor. If medical oxygen suppliers are regulated, you should call the offices of your state representative and state senator and get them involved. As a possible workaround, might you be able to get them to bring you a big tank (M tank) that wouldn't need refilling as often? If that's too expensive and/or you can't arrange it or find a different supplier, what about getting welding O2? [i see THMH just suggested this.]

Fab, the real meditators will probably have better advice. I can tell you two things. First, the "relaxation response" popularized by Dr. Herbert Benson is a pretty simple form of mind-clearing meditation: >>>Benson can be largely credited for demystifying meditation and helping to bring it into the mainstream, by renaming meditation the “Relaxation Response.”<<<<  At the bottom of this page -- http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/heart-and-soul-healing/201303/dr-herbert-benson-s-relaxation-response -- are the recommended steps. I have to say that instead of the word "one," I liked using "Om." (I found that "one" did have suggestive meanings for me that were distracting.) Some people find that relaxing background sounds (water, gentle chimes, etc.) can also help. Tons of these on youtube and in stores. Here's something I've done for many years, which I suppose might be considered quite a bit stranger. There are some lovely mantras in the Hindu tradition. I picked a short, simple one related to the "elephant god" Ganesha, "the obstacle breaker." Found a youtube video that I could just play in a comfortable seated position, usually with headphones on. I would "watch" it (just letting the images be there, without paying much attention to them, or closing my eyes) and say the words along with it. After a while, I could easily do it without the video, just on my own. Here are a couple: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsNpEyu9TfE '>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h2rFVPCSPE In Hinduism, these mantras are a form of prayer, invoking the help of the deity. It is believed that they must be said in multiples of 9, with 108 repetitions being optimal. (That's why the second video tells you that they could only fit 98 repetitions on the video.) That raises two things. First, some Christian sects would see reciting this mantra as a sin, since it is "praying" to another "god"; second, if you want to respect the tradition and you're doing it on your own (without a video), you have to count each time you say it. Eventually, I could confidently count it on my fingers, but one can also buy a "mala," which is a string of 108 beads for counting. I found that this mantra was just about the right length (10-20 minutes) and very refreshing. One thing it has taught me is that the reaction I often have -- too busy, don't have time for that -- is related to how much stress I have let into my life. I have plenty of 10-20 minute periods for other things, but when I find that I don't think have 10-20 minutes for just being with me and relaxing, something's wrong.

Renee, I can't answer your specific question, but if you tell us more about your husband's situation (episodic or chronic, years with CH, treatments tried, why you're looking for a second opinion, etc.) I'll bet we can at least help you/him be well prepared for that appointment. I'm sure you've read already that oxygen, with a proper flow rate and non-rebreather mask (or, better, the mask made specifically for CH) is the #1 essential. After that, most folks here have opinions, based on experience and study, about the other pharmaceutical options (most typically, that would probably be verapamil, prednisone, and imitrex, alone or in combination, and maybe topiramate and a whole bunch of other possibilities, such as gabapentin and lithium). You probably have also read enough here to know that practically everyone here would urge him to consider busting as the highest-effectiveness, lowest-side-effect treatment there is.Â