lucidity-

tingeling: As far as I know, I'm the only big fruit.

I'd also like to look closer into this boys get cluster, girls get migraine thing. Most doctors are male. A person comes into the office and says I'm getting headaches, it's the worst pain of my life. Describes the symptoms, which are pretty much the same for both, as far as I can tell, except for pattern, and few people keep a diary. Doc thinks "Women are whiners and exaggerate pain. It can't be that bad." Migraine diagnosis. or Doc thinks "Men are tough and understate pain. It must be really awful." Cluster diagnosis. This is totally off the cuff. I'd love to know what others think.

One thing to remember is that the fact we are here posting on this board is a filter. We have the economic means to access the internet, and the technical ability to use a bulletin board. Both require some intelligence. And yes, I too am a smart white guy. But I really don't have an addictive personality, one of the odd things about me. I can pick up cigarettes, smoke 1/2 pack a day for 6 months, and then quit cold turkey without really missing them. *shrug*

(DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME) (FOR HUMOR VALUE) This is a snip from another post. It gave me such giggles I wanted to share. Giving oxygen a try sounds swell. And a person casually does that .... at an ER? I have access to an Oxy-Actyl welding setup, is that safe? I will do some reading, but, as always, people's advice is appreciated. I suppose I could use hydrolysis, that makes pure O, but then how to deliver at the right amount? I suppose I could somehow feed it into my CPAP machine intake. I'd have to translate 11 cm H20 into lpm and hack into it if I wanted to change that, but that would probably be pretty easy. Then again, I could blow myself up or destroy my $3k assistive device. But I do so love such projects. "Well, officer, you see, I felt this headache coming on, so I filled the bathtub and stripped a lamp wire..."

Carole, I feel I owe you an apology, too. It was not my intention to give your coaching the tone of a debate. I will be more careful in the future to avoid that. We all just want to help. I think your plan is sound, and you're going to be fine.

I just want to chime in: I absolutely agree with the consensus that is emerging here: different strokes for different folks. Just in the last 5 days, I've seen verapamil is the savior, no, verapamil is the devil. Ditto pain killers. Ditto steroids. Ad nauseam. Ad infinitum. Respect differences. It is always best to say "this is what works for me" as opposed to "this will not work for you." "Letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend..." lucidity-

jay: Indeed. To clarify, I've only taken LSA once. It had been extracted from Hawaiian Baby Woodrose. I've taken LSD and psilocybin mushrooms over a dozen times. At the doses most people here are taking, they probably won't have a psychedelic experience. But everyone is unique, and every seed is unique. So in my mind, anytime you're taking any amount of LSA, LSD, psilocybin, etc. you should be prepared to trip. That way if you do trip, there's much less chance you'll have an anxious or uncomfortable or even frightening experience. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. What will probably happen? She takes the seeds, passes out, wakes up the next morning and thinks huh, what's the big deal? She might even say hey lucidity-, why did you make such a big deal about this? But I guarantee you, at some point, someone will come along who will say, wow, I had this really strange experience, but I was ready for it thanks to you guys. lucidity-

What you are going through is as old as mankind. Talk to any Christian who has tried to evangelize. People have a certain investment in their beliefs. Admitting you were wrong is hard enough to do with your loved ones over trivial things. As you yourself said, there have been "thousands spent". Also, a great many years in pain. To have to admit that that was all a waste, that you were a patsy for Big Pharma, that kindly Dr. Funklestein might as well have been writing you placebo, is, to many people, like saying "I'm a big gullible idiot." Of course, it's absolutely worth it, because the reward on the other side is the potential for a regular life. Like the devout Christian who knocks on 100 doors and gets rejected 100 times, take a deep breath, remember what makes you do it in the first place, and knock on that 101st door, or, in this case, make that next post. It's a great humanitarian work. I'd put on a daisy duke, grab pom-poms and do a little rah-rah motivational dance, but that would probably blind you, or at least make you throw up. So i'll just say gooooooo agentorange! lucidity-

jayhedges: Also, when I first coined the nickname lucidity- 15 years ago to use on IRC, I would really call out people for calling me lucidity. The minus (and it's a minus, not a dash or a hyphen) is there to indicate that lucidity is is a state that I haven't quite arrived at yet. (The nickname was also a reference to my interest in lucid dreaming.) All these years later, I can still say I'm not quite there. Of course, I'd like to think I've mellowed out a little Alleyoop: You're right, I did confuse who said what. My apologies. lucidity-

*chuckle* jay, let me apologize. Looking back, I kind of jumped down your throat. That was not my intention. Here's what I meant to say, and I'll use dairy products as an example: You should certainly try to eat absolutely no dairy period. If there is even a 1% chance that dairy will make your bust 1% less effective, then why risk it? However, if you're in the middle of a cluster, and all ready to bust, and then you suddenly remember that you put a 1/2 teaspoon of milk in your morning coffee, you certainly shouldn't postpone your bust and spend more time in agonizing pain because of that tiny bit of dairy many hours earlier. In other words, make everything as optimal as you can, but don't be such a perfectionist that you let the quest for perfection preclude what could be acceptable results. I know people who will think things like "Oh no, I soaked my seeds for 6 hours and 10 minutes instead of the 6 hours the instructions said! Now they're ruined! I'll have to order new seeds and wait for then to arrive, and spend another week wrestling with the demon!" It's important to be as positive as possible, while also being realistic, and the place that chronic pain puts you in mentally can make being realistic very difficult. Again, I apologize if earlier I seemed like Whip-Cracking Lucidity- Who Lays Down The Law. lucidity-

Carole: I like to time dosing so that the end of the experience corresponds with dawn. Being able to watch the sunrise as you come fully back to normality makes for a very nice finality, a sense of peace and serenity. For me, I'm usually not tired at all after a trip, and so I simply stay up until I sleep at the end of that day, when I sleep like a baby. Of course, your mileage may vary. Alleyoop mentions that it makes them really tired. Anybody else want to chime in? lucidity-

Won't work is very strong language. Detoxification is definitely strong preferred, and will certainly assist in achieving optimal results. However, there have been reports of people having some sort of success even though they did not wait a full 5 days, or even though they did not detox from a medication because they did not know of its potential to interfere. Most things in life operate along a spectrum, as opposed to a binary yes/no, black/white, succeed/fail. I would hate to see someone take a single dose of a medication in a moment of half-awake confusion or pain-wracked desperation and then convince themselves they had completely ruined any chance for a bust. Positive thinking helps. Do the best you can. lucidity-

Carole, Please don't let this living hell shake your faith. After being born again, I made an appointment to talk with a minister for the first time in about 20 years. Twelve hours before that meeting I found my roommate and best friend hanging in his closet after a long struggle with crystal meth. True compassion and empathy come only from personal pain. We become the people we are because of both the good and the bad times in our lives, and the bad times don't have to make us bitter, they can make us better. Please don't be afraid of the seeds. I am not a doctor, and I can't offer promises, but I am personally 100% confident that whatever you experience will be better than what you're going through now. Please fee free to read my post http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1278656641 in the Share your Busting Stories forum. The people at work mean well. They just don't know what you're going through. It used to drive me nuts too. Me to Boss: I need to go home right now. Boss to Me: How about you put your head on your desk for 5 minutes? Me Thinking: How about I cut off my head at my desk? You are in my thoughts and prayers. May Carole be safe and protected. May Carole be happy, peaceful, and calm. May Carole be strong and healthy. May Carole live with joy and ease. May Carole be filled with loving kindness. lucidity-