Jeffrey

Thanks Ting, Glad you are feeling better today........... I was hurtin with you the other day. I had typed a loooong one finger type, one hand holding ice bag, reply for you. Then hit the wrong button and it all disappeared. I was just too cranky to re-do it all. I could certainly do better with the overall healthy living thing. Quitting smoking, eating better, exercise etc. I am ordering seeds. Thanks Will keep ya posted. Keep smiling.... Makes em wonder HOW you do it!

Wow, we sure have come up with LOTS of potential helps eh? Being somewhat scientific I have hesitated to throw too much at these because I may never know WHAT exactly is producing results. Having said that I also have to say that the hits have not been as bad this cycle so the desperation factor has been lower. I am not sure why this is. Perhaps because Ive had 8 years between cycles in the past and this one is 7 years early? I tried the water thing a couple weeks ago and for a minute there thought I had a real miracle going! Spoke too soon. But I am still hitting it early as possible with a big (14oz) glass, then ice and O2. But again, I dont know WHAT is responsible for the difference in intensity and duration this cycle. My GF brought home 2 energy drinks last week so, no, I guess I havent really tried them enough to know. Also, I HEARD about the high flow O2 but 45lpm and garbage bags was not the image I formulated about it!!! Ive been thinkin that at 15lpm I cant breath a quantity higher than that flow rate. Maybe Im missin something but it seems that blowing more O2 from the tank than I can inhale has to be wasteful? And I dont have an endless supply. A friend is "donating" some of his moms O2 to the cause here The benadryl and melatonin I WILL try asap, but the ambien scares me...... I am Imagining ambien keeping me knocked out till Im too far into the hit to abort it. And waking up to early light pain is bad enof! What edge?? In between shadows you mean? Not yet, but I did fresh ginger and ginger powder last cycle. Not sure if it helped. I AM going to order seeds,,,,, prob RC. I have memories of an experience with BHWR or morning glory seeds from back in high school (35 years ago!) and the taste and puking remains FRESH in my recall!! (so does the ensuing trip btw) 8-) Can I expect results with seeds equal to shrooms? And is the 4-5 day "wait" between doses needed with RC seeds? Thanks SO much for the support, ideas and encouragement!!! We all know what its like to be alone with this crap!!

I started licorice yesterday at 5pm after a very bad night. I am 26 days into cycle, (aprox halfway). Been aborting with ice, O2 and water mostly. Saturday 2-5 230am h2o o2 ice k5 15 min 430 am H2O ice O2 k6 15 min 630am h2o,o2,water k7 15 min * 8am H2O k4 quick * 915am H2O ice NASTY K8 45 min -only toned down to k3 by 1005 * 1045am o2, ice, monster energy drink, O2 for 35 min, up to k7 60 min back to steady k3-4 this SOB will not go away!!!! Lots of pain neck to base of skull too ***5pm start licorice extract 1:1 2ml 815pm ice water k3-4 shadow 45 min 145 am woke with shadow—water ice, k3 never got worse, light shadow persisted, I could not find "tincture" so am using a 1:1 extract. Best as I can tell its NOT DGL and claims to not be "heat treated" for process of removing alcohol. I will continue to post HERE ONLY and keep up reports on my "chart". Keep smiling...... it makes em wonder what those mushrooms REALLY are about ;D

really!??? thorazine shuffle off to dream land eh? sounds interesting as ive not seen that drug mentioned here yet. one of my problems is that i have no isurance, no cash and have not seen my doc in a few years. he would never prescribe anything without a visit. i got licorice today. doesnt seem to help,,,(here i sit holding ice on head to kill heavy pre-ch shadow)....... of course i just read les' comment that the no alcohol tincture prob wont work, sigh. it was the only form i could find in my area. ting........ hope you are feeling better today.

OK, Im hittin the nutty stage here peeps!! This is the last 10 hours ……… Saturday 2-5 230am h2o o2 ice k5 15 min 430 am H2O ice O2 k6 15 min 630am h2o,o2,water k7 15 min * 8am H2O k4 quick * 915am H2O ice NASTY K8 45 min -only toned down to k3 by 1005  * 1045am o2, ice, monster o2 for 35 min, up to k7 60 min back to steady k3-4 this SOB will not go away!!!! Lots of pain neck to base of skull too              ** This cycle now at 30 days. Half way? Maybe this is a peak? I don’t even know what to say………. Ummmmmm, how bout, THIS SUCKS. But then ya’ll know that Ive been using O2 all week since my Optimask came. I don’t really know how helpful it is. Maybe its been keeping the kip level down? Maybe keeping duration down? I have been needing to O2 for 10-15 minutes. Up to recently most of my HA’s haven’t been longer than that so Im not sure if O2 is aborting them or not. Things are cranking up today. HA’s closer together and they are not going away in between, just backing off to a k3-5. I am at 30 days in this cycle now…….. “the halfway point”. The last 3 days have been not good. Today is the worst so far, time and intensity both. I have not been able to procur any shrooms yet. Thinkin about ordering seeds….. but by the time I get em and bust I think my cycle will almost be over. Im frustrated and pissed……… oh yeah, sleep deprived too. Mr. GRUMP here. Any thoughts??? Love all your feedback, encouragement and ideas.

............. I modified the re-breather by putting my own "custom flaps" in. It works ok. My Optimask should be here by 3 pm today. The regulator I have goes up to 15. Burns through a 645 L tank pretty quickly tho. I did the math and it says about 45 min per tank. Which in fact is what Ive gotten. But so far thats covered 3-4 CH's at best. Can I expect more efficient use with the new mask?

Thanks Chris,,, Being both an open book and a teacher by (new) nature, These issues have already been addressed. As I mentioned earlier, I am not really concerned about inducing a "relapse" by busting. I believe that as long as I am spiritually fit, plugged into Gods will, and doing the right thing all will remain as it should. Grace is abundant. Grace to deal with CH as well as grace to protect thru course of busting. I will of course keep ya'll updated here. Bless Ya'll

wow........... TG4O2!! and great friends who will bring fresh tanks over at 1 in the am! Had a 3am and 5am fast moving k7 yhat turned around in 5-7 min and gone in 15 total. Now if my other peeps manifest shrooms today.............. ;D

LOL everyone I know is either straight or in recovery............ BUT it is amazing how resourceful one can get when in massive pain. As a friend once said 'To God and philosophy we make great promises but TO PAIN WE OBEY". So I have two sources working to obtain my "meds". I hope (realistically) to be able to dose by Sun or Mon. Which will be a good thing. I am 3 weeks into the cycle and intensity, duration and shadows are all increasing. I O2'd finally last night BUT the mask the supplier sent home is NOT a non-rebreather although the receipt says it is. I burned a whole 645 L tank in two CH's. And it didnt work so well. Ive never seen or used one but I KNEW that it wasnt right when I saw no one way flaps. My paint respirators have em and I knew I was suckin air with o2. I ordered the mask from our store here and will "modify" this piece of crap for tonight. Thanks everybody for your support. I actually feel like a bit of a whiner knowing that many here are far worse hit than I. Ill be prayin for all of us!! jeffrey PS.... Last two nights Ive been getting heavy shadows 1-2 hours before sleep time. Is this common?

thanks ron and chris, forgive the no caps. i have one hand holding the ice bag ron, i am reading all i can. great stuff in abundance. almost inspires me to get back into '' pharmaceutical" research and indole structure takes me back to high school chemistry, but then i did blow up the lab one day...... my former life of "better living thru pharmaceuticals" didnt end up so great either! but in all seriousness for me recovery is really about being spiritually fit, and if i am dosing with anything for the right reasons i dont have to fear "relapsing". i have seen posts where people have said some of their dosing bordered on or crossed to recreational highs....... i cannot safely cross THAT line, and do need to be careful that i am accountable to my best friends and sponsor. i COULD justify a 4-5 g dose cause the pain is so bad, but thats what it would be, rationalization. well i think ive killed the pre sleep shadows tonite. Im gonna hit the pillow and see how much time the beast lets me sleep.

I am a recovered alcoholic/addict. So thankfully THATS not an issue for me. I can't identify any other potential triggers other than smoking. And I was NOT a smoker nor drinker etc. when I had my first cycle back in 90/91......... The beast seems to have a mind of its own

Whoops, looks like I screwed that up.......... LOL

G'Mornin, Went to bed with pretty heavy shadow last night. Figured I MAY get an hour before the rude awakening. In reality it was 15 min. So I had a 2 am, 5am, 7am and 830am. Im still hitting em with water, ice and prayer. Currently they all are around a k5-6 and thankfully fairly short duration 15-30 min. The O2 mask did not appear yesterday. The supply house was out of stock. But it should be here today. Just a reg non-rebreather. I guess the guy at the store said something about "high flow rate tubing" too. Anyone know about this? I had a problem getting logged back in yesterday. Not sure if its resolved or not, but I just went back to my registration email and got back in that way. Stayin logged in for now. A friend in Ann Arbor is hoping top track down some PS mush for me today or tomorrow. LaST time I dosed (09) I think I split up 2g over 9 days. I did a light initial hit then 2 more. My CH did not go away immediately but they did lighten up and after 4-5 more days the cycle ended. That MAY have just been the natural end of the cycle ( I was just past 2 months). I am under the impression that best results may generate from a good initial hit (2-3.5g) and subsequent doses need at LEAST 4-5 days "rest period" between. Anyway, it was a lousy night for sleep but Im alive, hopeful and in touch with my God. Not yet sure WHY I am going thru rather than averting this illness, but then I don't have His perspective. I KNOW that good things often proceed from "bad" circumstances and am fully persuaded that HOPE is not a futile venture! God Bless Ya'll jeffrey

There are no true strangers, only friends and family we haven't yet met. Sooooooo....... Hiya Friends and family! First post from this head banger. Short history; Had first cluster cycle in 1990 @ 32 years old. Was doing re-mod work in a 110 year old farmhouse and got the HA's every day at 4:30 (quittin time) I figured it was somehow related to exposure to stuff in the walls that had not seen the light of day in a 100 years. My GP put me on Vicodin, WHEEEE, not a really great idea for a recovering drug addict but ya'll know the desperation associated with this beast. Best as I can recall the cycle lasted a couple months. Had no clue and no answers, but hey, the beast went away eventually.   I had no further "visits" till Dec of 1999. Yup, about 9 years. This time I had insurance and saw a brain doc at the M.I.N.D. Institute in Farmington Hills Mi. If I recall it was then I got the CH diagnosis but I do not recall any extended care or meds. Vague memory of Imitrex ( oral).   June of 2009 was my next cycle. At this point internet opened a whole new vista to me! I started to learn ( but was prob 2/3 into my 2 month cycle) I happened to be working at a friends house whose daughter was a college student in the Ann Arbor Mi area. Hmmmmmm, "mushrooms may be helpful and Im in college town!" Concerns over dosage and getting "high" resulted in less than ideal utilization of the small quantity I had come by. But impact seemed to be made, my HA's "changed" character for a couple weeks and then stopped. This may have just been the natural end of my cycle anyway.   By this time I had ordered spores and growing medium but since I was no longer suffering and concerned about the legalities I just put everything in a closet. Also I figured I had at least 8 years of freedom coming.   I finally pitched it all about 3 weeks ago, promptly got a nasty cold and along with it a NEW CYCLE....... 7.5 years early!   So here I am to join the fray.  I have noticed quite a few "changes" since the beginning of the 09 cycle. Time of day shifts. Multiple HA'S in one day. And additional areas of pain (sometimes) like lower left back of head to neck. I swear its almost like these things have a freakin nasty trickster personality! ( I could SO identify and laugh at the Devil "poem",,,, perfect!) Just as the intensity of individual HA's started to increase (2 weeks into this cycle) I tried the water treatment. And at first it was just water at onset. My God it worked!......... for a "minute" I thought the cycle may have actually been breaking but....... maybe not.   So, thats my overview story. I,m stickin to it! lol   At this point I am inserting what notes I have kept this cycle so far and some really loose notes from the 09 cycle................ ...... Old Notes written in 2009............. cycles of aprox 2 months began in 1990, again in 99/2000, and now am 6 weeks into current cycle. Symptoms of individual headaches are classic CH. At beginning of THIS cycle they were "alarm clock", once a day, quite severe after the second week. In weeks 4-6 time of day has changed numerous times as has regularity/ predictibility of intensity. Also have developed multiple CH per day varying from 2-3, usually in aprox 2 hour intervals to 6 a day at same intervals. Pain is centered left side temple , behind eye with radiating pain in occipital area and down left side of neck. Minor wet nose. Somewhat less minor droopy eyelid and light sensitivity. Watery eye. Cluster Headache notes for cycle beginning 1-10-2011 1-22-11 CH cycle began 1-10-11 in conjunction with a bad cold. I thought the HA’s were associated with the cold but noticed that some of the symptoms were CH like. (Location left side temple. Onset very quick. Cessation very quick) The first week they were “daily” but very mild and quick (5Min). Almost not noticeable over the misery of the cold symptoms. Week two HA’s were nightly and singular Mon, Tues Weds..(1-17,18,19) Still short, 5-10 min, and low intensity (2-3 KIPS ) Up to this point HA’s were centered in left temple area, extending to forehead over left eye. Up to this point simply rubbing head was enough relief.  (1-20) Thursday night/Friday am ….. Had a series of 4 HA’s every two hours from 130 am – 730 am. Duration 5-10 min. Intensity = #1 (4) #2 (4)  #3 (3) #4 (3) Pain beginning to include lower left side of head coupled with tightness in upper neck muscles in same area. Increasing focus of sharp pain behind  left eye Sat 1-22-11 730 am    KIP (5) 7 min pre symptom. dull, constant increasing ache.10 min full. ( sharper pain with some stabbing) Treatment- ice pack. Motrin ice treatment relief , 5 on 1-10 scale of effectiveness Note. I recall getting to a point 2/3 to ¾ thru last (09) cycle where ice became aggravating rather than helpful Sat 1-22 11am     KIP (5) 7 min pre symptom . dull, constant increasing ache.10 min full. ( sharper pain with some stabbing)  18 min total Treatment- ice pack. ice treatment relief , 5 on 1-10 scale of effectiveness Sat 1-22 130 pm     KIP (5) 5 min pre symptom . dull, constant increasing ache. 8 min full. ( sharper pain with some stabbing)  15 min total Treatment- ice pack. Ice treatment relief, 6 on 1-10 scale of effectiveness Sat 1-22 330 pm        KIP (6) 5 min pre symptom . dull, constant increasing ache. 10 min  full. ( sharper and deeper pain with some stabbing)  15 min total Treatment- ice pack. Ice treatment relief, 4 on 1-10 scale of effectiveness Sun 1-23 4am Water, 1, 14 oz glass (drunk at first sign) aborts HA at approx 7-10 min, max kip ( 4) 10am Water, 1, 14 oz glass aborts HA at approx 7-10 min, max kip ( 4) Mon 1-24 2am    kip 4         415am  kip4 715am kip ( 4)                        Water continuing to work! 945am kip (4) 515 pm kip 4 Drinking 14-16 oz tap water pretty much hourly…………. PF night!! Tuesday 1-25 Starting to think that perhaps a miracle has occurred. HA free….. Woke from nap with shadow onset at 415 pm Water and 5-7 min ice, kip 4 , HA aborted Wed 1-26 3am Oh,,, a corker! Musta slept a little longer into this one. Water but not quick relief this time. Ice,,, Still wound up to a kip 6 but only 12 min till its over 515am Tonights are dif, VERY fast ramp up. Much more pain lower back head area. Ice is starting to aggravate. Water not working. Pain level up and down 5-7, over 2-3 min periods This one got to kip7 fast for 20 min then backed off to a strong shadow Kip (4) 12 min  40 min total time 730 pain back to eye/temple area—water. Ice K4 quickie 10-15 min TG 10am both areas, 75% left eye temple—water, ice k5, 15 min ..................................... I know, this all looks way too familiar if not outright boring........ but I am desperate and of course SCARED. My fear is based on experience..... My GF is trying to obtain a 02 mask, a friend has supplied tanks and regulator (15L max)............. the guy at the med supply house mentioned a concern about embolism (?) at such high rates???? Feedback on this?? Trusting in God and using basic spiritual principles from 12 step recovery helps a lot. How the hell do I get through all the pain of a cycle of CH's? How bout One Day at a Time....... One HA at a time........ One MINUTE at a time. I just keep reminding myself I can get thru then next minute of this, and This WILL pass..... It helps to not get wrapped in the terror of "how long will this go on?" How bad will the next one be? etc. So, we may suffer together BUT we do rejoice together as well. And I choose to hold on to the reality that joy is infinitely more powerful than suffering. I am hoping to make connections with any other head bangers in the Detroit Metro area. God Bless Ya'll jeffrey