spiny

Let me know how that works out for you!

I would try coffee at noon then. Just add an extra cup a day and see if it helps. It is food, not med! I had so many 'sinus' infections treated that weren't sinus at all, that I never suspect them at all now. Like many others, I also had the roto rooter sucky one too. Doctors were determined that it was causing my hits. Nope. Glad to know that you are getting a scan!

Hello Jon!! Come in Dude!!

Some have their cycles peter out, others go out with a bang. Have you tried an Excedrin Migraine? They help many with the nagging hangers on. The 'migraine' part means it has caffeine in it. I take Ibuprofen. You can try a cup of coffee, two aspirin, whatever your normal goto is for minor pain. See if that helps and let us know! You do eat lunch, right? Lack of food can cause a headache too!!

Well, I could have gone with: Amazing, incredible, super-human young Lady!!!! Is that better? I did not mean to imply anything other than a most positive statement. You, my friend, are no damn slouch in the 'strong' arena. Hang on to that.

I have no funnies for this, but dang, you have to be a very proud Papa!!! Your daughter has the strength of her father. Perfect. All the best to you and her!! She is amazing. I know her youngun is excited too!!!

Thanks Shawn. My thoughts are with you!!

Hi ScienceNerd, For me, it is the refresh rate that matters. The slower the rate, the worse for my head. They now come with some fast rates, so finding one should not be hard. Best of luck!

I understand your concern! I am happy that you have the 'positive side' to lean on. I have not experienced this diagnosis, nor have I read of another with 'flattening' of the trigeminal. But, this is also why it is recommended to get a scan when diagnosed with Clusters - something else may be going on in there. Apparently, you have one of those 'something elses'!! A referral to a Neurosurgeon may be scary, but it is great that your doc is looking out for you! The surgeon should be better prepared to deal with irregularities and figure out what is going on inside. The CTA is a step above the CT in diagnosing head issues. Is Dr Beuthin a Neurologist? Apparently he has had this granuloma in your records for a while and now it appears to have grown? Sometimes other stuff can cause Clusters, like one member had an aneurysm found and repaired. That ended his CH. Hang in there and let us know what the diagnosis is when you get it!!! I wonder if it reduces or returns to standard shape outside of your cycle? Or is it this way cycle or no? Fingers crossed and good vibes coming your way!!

I am not familiar with Benadryl Plus and have always used regular. As for the capsules, I think that any would work, just go for the highest amount of ginger per capsule. I think some people still use it for upset tummies like in the 'old' days.

Kate, have you tried a cup of coffee? That works well for me where shadows are concerned. I would vibrate over to Memphis with two Red Bulls!! I am a bit older than you, so perhaps it might help without the side effects? Worth a shot. Also, if I am out and cannot get coffee, I keep caffeine caps in my bag for emergencies. Just take it or if the shadow is bad and fast, I dump out the powder and chase with some water. I did not find HRT to cause any change in my CH years ago. You can buy ginger capsules too. I think they are available on Amazon. I know the caffeine pills are there. That might avoid the gag mess. I use ginger candy personally at different times too. Benadryl is often used with the Vitamin D3 Regimen. Anyway, allergies seem to make our CH worse for a lot of people, so Benadryl, an original allergy med that does penetrate the blood/brain barrier helps. That is why it works. You might want to do a blood test to see where your D is currently. It may be low now and that is the reason for the mess you are currently in. Do you have O2? I use that for shadows too. So, also worth a try. Just be sure to stay on for a few minutes after the shadow is gone.

I am thrilled for your relief Snowflake! It is lovely to read that some migraineurs are benefitting as well. I have a question, based on your pic. It shows a bottle of Magnesium Glycinate and one of Calcium Magnesium Citrate. Are you taking both? That may be the issue with your cramps. Two of the Glycinate would be a full daily dose I think, based on 400mg tabs in there. Just checking!

Hi Lucas and welcome. Colitis is a no joke miserable mess to have! So, a multivitamin causes you to have diarrhea or constipation? I'm a bit lost as my knowledge of colitis is the screaming diarrhea bit, not constipation, during a flare. To my knowledge, constipation is often treated with Miralax or something similar. You will likely get more answers if you start your own thread. Just because everyone will see it then. All the Best!

Toronto, this refers to us oldies on Medicare in the States. It is a battle that has been fought for years, with CB members going to Congress and meeting legislators to get it covered for us. Finally, success!

FunTimes gave you the 'full' list to work from. Caffeine and ginger are at the top for most of us I think. Just hit it at the first twinge. I bet you will be a Happy Guy when that O2 arrives tomorrow! As suggested, some of the tricks will work for you and some will make it worse. You have to sort that out yourself. Hang in there, Wednesday is coming!!!

Ginger!! Tea, candy, chews, etc. Ginger is great for shadows.

Yep, Energy drinks! Or coffee. Have you had any yet?

Are you asking if you will need more and more of the vitamins dose over time? Likely not. You may need to up your D temporarily at times, but then you take it back down. The others have remained the same. I've been taking it for years now and never an issue with needing to add more except D during certain times of year. So, not a worry.

Awesome Shaun!! So nice to see her sitting up and 'doing' stuff!!! I bet that you have a song in your soul too! Congrats all around on her progress and may she go home soon!

I take Benadryl and not the Quercetin. It does fine for me, though some state it should not be taken on a 'regular basis'. But this warning is new and Benadryl has been around for ages and was among the first allergy drugs. So, I look at the 'new' warnings as a bit harsh or over the top. I could be wrong of course. It is what has been given for hives for decades! At least the 60's that I know of. Of course then it was by prescription only.

The D is the main factor in this helping with your CH, so no, do not reduce unless your bloodwork shows that your levels are too high. When was your last bloodwork to see where you stand? Why are you not taking the K? It is what pushes the Calcium into your bones instead of running around in your bloodstream and not helping anything. I take this same basic regimen with no issue, but we are all different in some ways. Fiber is the important bit I think too. Perhaps Metamucil or Mira-Lax would help?

Here's one add to the above posts. When you get COVID, they give you, drum roll - vitamin D in large doses! For good reason too. So, it makes sense to be loaded up on D during this time with that virus still floating around. This is demonstrated by Bosco's shorter downtime/milder case of COVID than what her husband had. I follow the initial D3 Regimen: https://vitamindwiki.com/tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=7708 It is simple and easy to get the vitamins and take them. A blood test is a good idea before you start, but not absolutely needed. You can order one for your D yourself. If it is below 80ng/ml, you will benefit from the D3. Chers appear to require the D to be in the 80 to 100 range to be pain free in many cases. You can add Melatonin (up to 25mg/night) or Benadryl at night to help with any nocturnal hits too. The upshot is that the regimen will lower the pain level and slow the ramp-up for you. For many, it ends a cycle and prevents another. Not all respond to it strongly enough to be pain free, but it appears that most CHers will benefit from taking the supplements by getting lower level hits and slowed down ramp-up. Those can be quite valuable by themselves.

Thanks for the info Bosco! Happy that you found a solution.

Titan, one thing that I found to help with my first attack of the evening was to have a cup of coffee before it arrived. That would hold off the first one. But, like you, once I hit the bed, the hit arrived in 10-15 minutes. Not even a lousy 45! Prone and sleep always kicked off a hit. Additionally, I found that when the cycle was winding down, I would still wake at the appointed' time with no hit! Most disturbing. The pattern took weeks to stop. I would just take a bathroom trip and go back to sleep. As for the Prednisone, it works for me until I go below 30mg/day. Three 10mg pills and I was golden. Two and I was not! That still holds to this day and it has been decades. Since you took the initiative to stop the injections except in desperate need, it seems like the cycle is winding down? Am I correct there? Training your brain to not wake at those CH dictated times might be helped by the use of Melatonin and Benadryl. As in take the Melatonin at bedtime. Not sure what your 'dose' is, but up to 25mg is considered safe. I took 30mg many nights before I learned that, so not sure why the limit, but feel that you should know. Anyway, take that 30 -45 minutes before bed. Then, when you wake later in the night, say after 4 hours, take Benadryl then for the sleepiness factor and the anti-allergy benefit. That helps me ditch the 4 wake up calls every night post cycle. In about a month I am free of those wake-ups. Your doctor gave you an injection of Dexamethasone, not a course of Pred, which is the norm for a Clusterhead. That would not have the same effect of Pred in pill form and taken over several days. So, just drop that med from consideration. A dose pack of Pred - taken for about 5-6 days in decreasing dosage each day may help a lot. Or a course of Pred over 2-3 weeks that has a taper at the end. You taper, not just stop this medication. I am pretty confident that you will be CH free in a day with Pred. But it is a double edged sword and always remember that! You use it judiciously and perhaps a dose pack 2-3 times a year and a long taper say twice a year. You want to avoid the necrosis it can cause and have your hips replaced from it. As for the D3 Regimen, year round is best. That way your body is prepared if your head decides 'Oh, lets have a cycle in January this year!'. Which it can do!! It is healthy and good for you. Additionally, I have seen some members who only take it a month before and during their cycle, forget to start it and the cycle now comes. Not good!! Hope this helps a bit.

Yes, I have a few for you Zaid. Welcome by the way!! Cold - as in inhale from the AC vent on the car. It helps many. Some will take an ice cube and hold it on the soft palate on the CH side while it melts for relief. Some swear by a cold shower. Others by hot, with a cold rinse. Sleep in a recliner with your head above your heart. I piled pillows all around and would just nod off. You wake sooner and the hits are not so bad. At least there I was assured of some sleep. Run a super hot 3-4"s of water in the tub and stick your feet into it or sit in it. As it cools, add more hot. I would apply a cool cloth to my head while doing this one and wind up in hot water to my waist by the time the hit passed. Sort of like opening up the blood vessels away from your head to reduce the flow to your head thingy. Release pressure for some. Caffeine!!! In coffee, energy drinks, whatever, just get some caffeine down. Always caffeine. I carry capsules of it and will take one or open one and toss the contents down if it hits hard and sudden. Chug a glass of water after. I strongly encourage you to look into the D3 Regimen ASAP. It is easy over the counter vitamins and they really can prevent a cycle! I use the 'original' recipe version: https://vitamindwiki.com/tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=7708 I am sure that others will be able to add to this short list! Pills are normally so slow working that CHers use a nasal spray or injection. Pills are really for Migraine. And as you have found. Too much can be its' own problem, be it pill, spray or shot. The stuff is really not good for you. ATB!