CHfather

Melody, just to have terms clear, what we mean here by a "blocker" is something that prevents busting from being effective (not something that "blocks" cluster headaches from occurring). So it isn't just that if you take a blocker along with a psychedelic you wouldn't know which was working -- you could be pretty sure that the psychedelic isn't working, because it's being blocked. To add a little to what Denny said about lithium, here's what is written in the file, "Playing Well Together," that he suggests you should look at. It could be that more is known now about the interaction between lithium and busting, but from this it sounds like something to be wary of. >>>Lithium People taking lithium, whether it is for preventing cluster headaches or for some other reason (it is often prescribed for people with bipolar affective disorder - see below for more on bipolar disorder). Anecdotal reports suggest that lithium can greatly potentiate the effects of LSD or mushrooms, and that it can produce very unpleasant feelings. An examination of a number of reports suggested that lithium can either increase or decrease effects. The combination of lithium and tryptamines may even produce episodes that seem like, and that perhaps are, epileptic seizures. If people are taking lithium for treating cluster headaches and it is not working, they may want to talk with their doctor about not taking it any more before trying mushrooms or LSD. If people are taking lithium for bipolar affective disorder, they probably should continue taking lithium, and they should avoid taking tryptamines for cluster headaches. <<<

timmyy, There are quite a few people here who have had success with mushrooms while still taking verapamil. How much are you taking? If it's a lot, you might have better success with busting if you can cut back. Lithium you have to withdraw from gradually, and you should do that with a doctor's supervision. No one really knows the minimum time to be off medicines before taking mushrooms. Some have tried and been successful after four days. I don't think anyone would recommend less than four days. Most would say that it's much better to wait the standard five days.

Lt2, since it's legal to buy and possess 5-MeO-DALT, I don't feel uncomfortable asking this, though you might not feel comfortable answering it. par says s/he bought the stuff here: https://www.brc-finechemicals.com/5-meo-dalt.html But that site seems only to ship within Europe. Are you willing/able to say where the testers you mention got theirs?

It's very late for me to putting in this two-cents-worth, but I wonder whether there would be any way to create some kind of organized discussion about obtaining SSI Disability status. Maybe there's not much to say, and maybe there's not much interest, but it is a topic we've discussed here at the board from time to time, and I'm curious about stories of success (and non-success) in getting disability.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

didg, to save you the trouble of doing this googling yourself . . . http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15658944 http://www.electrocoremedical.com/clinical-trial-shows-electrocores-non-invasive-vagus-nerve-stimulation-therapy-is-effective-in-reducing-cluster-headaches (these foks were at the last CB conference and will be at this one, too) http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CEUQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thejournalofheadacheandpain.com%2Fcontent%2Fpdf%2F1129-2377-14-S1-P231.pdf&ei=3_cAVL-ZMciBygS1iIDwBg&usg=AFQjCNFg6-DZochCQO0OksSuughRumrrSA&sig2=8kDvfEjZ69-QrRMxZ9l02g&bvm=bv.74115972,d.aWw (an earlier paper related to the previous one) I'd be surprised if the GERD tree itself is worth barkin' up (too many people with CH don't report GERD as something common to them; way too many people with GERD don't have CH), but your wise brain might just find something!! (And if I were you, I guess I'd have your son see a doctor about his reflux, because it sounds like it's too darn frequent, which could either indicate that something else is wrong, or can eventually lead to something he would very much want to avoid, like http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/barretts-esophagus-symptoms-causes-and-treatments.

That would be September 2, I'm pretty sure.

Just a note about melatonin, with apologies for maybe overcomplicating this topic. It's not very "bio-available" (doesn't get into your system very quickly or very thoroughly). Some have had good success with a chewable brand (available at Trader Joe's, among other places) that comes in very small dosages (like .5 mg); I think others will say the time-release version is also good. So there are a lot of variables in kind and dosage. Also -- While some people have good results with melatonin (which, as you say, stands to reason given melatonin depletion observed in CH patients), a few others have found that it seems to make their CH worse. (I'd say -- though I could be very wrong about this -- that for a lot of people there's no difference. But they might not be pushing the levels as high as might help.) These things are so tricky to get specific about because there are so many other factors. Just sayin' -- if you feel like things get worse, it could be the melatonin.

ClusterBuster founder Bob Wold says the folks who developed this device will be at this year's conference.

Fab', How much melatonin are you taking? What form (chewable, under-the-tongue, plain ol' pill . . .)? Did you get your oxygen?

gg, it's my understanding that lots of people stay on the 10,000IU of D3 all the time. Have you had a blood test for your D level? Do you ever try an energy drink or energy shot to about your attacks? Seems like at your level, that might work for you.

I think we're increasingly seeing that verapamil is not the full blocker of busting that it was once thought to be. So (my opinion only here) if you think verap will help you, and your dosage is low or moderate, you might be able to resume it while continuing busting. Not the ideal course, probably, but not crazy if you feel that maybe busting is losing its effectiveness. 5,000IU/day of D3 is probably not enough. I'd suggest stepping up to the recommended 10,000IU -- and you should get a blood test to see what your D level is. Are you doing all elements of the D3 protocol: Omega-3s, acidic juices (lime, etc.), other vitamins? https://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1314134804 (maybe the regimen has been updated over at ch.com since this was posted; this is my latest info). as Jeebs says, you might try switching to a different busting agent. LSD is indeed often hard to find, but LSA/seeds are easy to get.

g'gal, have you tried higher-flow oxygen with the mask specially designed for CH? Those things can make a big difference. See the CB Oxygen Page under the black and white MENU tab for more information and other suggestions.

Got it! Thanks, FG, for this and all the other things you do. See you there.

This is useful, didg -- thanks. Here's some additional information, including a chart on the second page, comparing CH (first column) to Charlin's Syndrome. Unfortunately, the whole chart can't be seen. http://books.google.com/books?id=1mDa08pQ-G0C&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=charlin+syndrome&source=bl&ots=bB_fmwdUln&sig=40Q6PLt2Ry9fOcHWIQRn19BkjLk&hl=en&sa=X&ei=vfjsU7-sMdGAygTdvYDACg&ved=0CDUQ6AEwAzgK#v=onepage&q=charlin%20syndrome&f=true It's clearly not impossible that given all the sloppy diagnosing going on out there, some people think they have CH when they have Charlin's. I guess the "nasociliary block" test would help determine it, as well as a well-read MRI.

Yep.

FWIW, still no rooms as of 3:55 Eastern Time.

I've read one or two accounts of people who were labeled as "cholicy" but who now think they probably were suffering CH attacks. I think that's true of my daughter, who cried hysterically from time to time as a baby.

So sorry you won't be there. You're always a great contributor.

Thanks!

A multi-tasker! Thanks!

What I get for dilly-dallying, I guess . . . Nothing available online at the group rate, and when I called I was told the same thing. I could only get a completely non-refundable room, at a higher price, and I don't feel comfortable making that kind of advance commitment. Suggestions, anyone? Places nearby, maybe?

Epinephrin, which is used as a local anesthetic, is considered to potentially cause problems, at least with oral surgery. At a previous thread, Bob (alleyoop) wrote in relationship to oral surgery: >>do not let them deaden you with Xylocaine with EPI (epinephrine) . . . request prilocaine or anything without EPI.<<< I don't know whether those anesthetics might be something they'd use for your shoulder surgery.

John Bebee posted this on his Facebook page today. I hadn't seen it before. http://www.thejournalofheadacheandpain.com/content/14/1/48 The conclusions: >>Patients with episodic CH who are also smokers appear to have a more severe form of the disorder. However, it is unlikely that between CH and smoking there is a causal relationship, as CH patients rarely improve quitting smoking. <<

Grace, At 10 lpm, an E tank will give you about 50 minutes of O2. If you get results at 10 lpm, it's probably going to take you at least 15 minutes to abort an attack, and 20 minutes to follow the recommended procedure of staying on the O2 to help prevent subsequent attacks. We can hope for better, and you might get it, but 15-20 minutes per abort is probably a good guess, maybe an optimistic one. You can do the math: you might abort about two or three attacks, maybe four, with an E tank before it's empty. Even if your results are better, you're still going to run out of O2 pretty quickly. I should have asked this before -- Did you get this tank, regulator, and cannula from a company that supplies medical oxygen? Somehow it sounded less "official" than that to me. If so, you should be on the phone to them ASAP demanding that they bring you a larger tank (an M tank), a 15 lpm regulator, and a non-rebreather mask immediately. Many O2 suppliers don't know anything about CH -- they're mostly supplying people who have COPD, where the low flow and the cannula and the smaller tank are fine. If they're resistant, get them somehow to see that JAMA article about O2 for CH that's linked to in the CB Oxygen Page -- fax it to them, send them a link to it, read it to them over the phone . . . whatever it takes. Do not relent about this. I think most O2 suppliers want to do a good job; it's just that some of them are clueless about CH. (I am saying all this from experience.) If you got the equipment in some other way, you're going to have to get that E tank refilled pretty often, or get some more tanks. If your O2 supply is seriously limited, you won't use the high flow and really get into the aborting, because you'll constantly be afraid of running out again. The regulators that fit medical oxygen E tanks have a CGA870 fitting. But if it's a "E size" tank for welding oxygen, the fitting will be CGA530 ("E" is only an official designation for medical O2 tanks; it's not used for welding O2 tanks, but the tanks are roughly the same size). Here's a 25 lpm CGA870 regulator for sale at Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_odkw=oxygen+regulator+medical&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H1.Xoxygen+regulator+870+25+lpm&_nkw=oxygen+regulator+870+25+lpm&_sacat=0. The fittings for all welding tanks, of any size, are CGA530. The truly large medical tanks (M tanks) also use CGA530 fittings. But again -- and I'm sorry for not saying this sooner -- if you're getting your O2 through a prescription, from a medical supply company, they should be giving you the basics of what you need. They might only give you a regulator that goes up to 15 lpm, but that will be sufficient for good aborting (I hope) in the beginning. They should also give you at least one M tank in addition to the E tank.