BoscoPiko

LOL. I'm not even sure how I did it? Thank you Jeeb.

Wonder why this posted twice? Maybe a mod can delete one?

It's a baffling but stark reality that none of what has helped many of us thus far, has come from a doctor. That in itself speaks unnecessary vocalized volumes... I have always wished that I could get paired up with a doctor that had CH but due to it's rare nature I've had no luck. The best I've gotten has come from none other that the amazing folks on here. If your brain is real mean to you, this place is a library full of real methods and means.

Crazy thing is that most of us cluster heads wouldn't touch half of what the common day doctor is willing to prescribe for pain as it does nothing for our sort of pain.

You know I was really hoping for this rt here.. I am terrible at articulation but you @CHfather not so much. Good questions and response. I'll get better as long as I continue to educate. Thanks for piping in to this new suffering individual..

Well said.

Uff.. That's a tough one if your doc is under the impression that you only have migraine? Has he diagnosed you with CH? I suppose you could go into a very detailed version of your attacks in an effort to get him/her to see the difference but if the doc is not familiar with CH that may be a fruitless effort. You should be able to find and bring a printout of what CH is with you on your next visit (not sure how much that would help either). You may want to look for a local headache specialist as you would most likely have better luck getting the correct diagnosis (if you have not been). I do however, believe that many of the medications that are used for CH are somewhat similar to those for migraine with a few exceptions so that may be why your doc keeps talking migraine?.. Not sure if this was all that helpful but hopefully some of the more experienced will chime in here soon.

Maybe my response to this didn't go through for some reason but no I haven't had that issue but I'm not surprised. You can order a home finger prick test through grass roots health. You will need to sign up to be a part of the study then you can order the kit, prick a finger of your choice and send in the sample. Takes about 2 weeks but a way around the supply chain issues.. cost when I did it was around $70

Back at ya Spiny!

Good to know. I suppose there may be a lot of folks that are just sifting looking for answers prior to asking questions which is a good thing. I sift on here a lot even on really old threads and still find interesting info.

That's so awesome that you went three years on the D regimen without a CH. I never could justify in my mind why physicians with some knowledge of CH wouldn't suggest the D protocol and or why they would think so archaicley that they would back us off something that was improving our quality of life. Seems that your calcium levels should have been checked alongside the D and a few other things that seem to give cause for concern when on higher levels of D3 prior to telling you to back off. I'm not anti doctor or anything like that and see my regular PCP often as well as my neurologist. Overall my neurologist is a good guy but even after all this time an numerous emails back and forth I have yet to receive a response on my D3 questions. Idk it just makes me sad that natural approaches are not widely tought in medical schooling. I hope your levels get back to that of repreave soon!

Odd to see this forum be so quiet. I sure hope that's a sign of happy noggins and that all you fellow cluster heads are getting a well deserved break!!!

I hope you don't feel overwhelmed by all the responses as it can be hard to keep up with when distraught and in pain. At the same time I hope you understand that folks here understand what you are going through and it breaks hearts to see or hear of someone struggling as we all have and are where you are now and again. Chin up, left foot forward, rt hand slightly behind the left and don't forget to pivot the rt knee when throwing a rightie or visa versa if your a lefty! Knock it the heck out! Prayers for you!

Many find that if you quickly down some sort of caffeine prior to getting on the O2 it helps to abort the attack quicker. Not sure why just that it helps..

Hi Moona, Sorry you're down in the dumps rt now. I have never taken a steroid for my ECH but I have been on verapamil for about a year and a half. I do recall the verapamil taking a bit to start helping cut back the frequency of my attacks. It does not stop the attacks but I have far fewer than what I did prior to being on it. I try not to be down on myself for needing to take it or anything else for that matter that will help keep the beast at bay. You gotta do what ya gotta do because living with cluster is not really living at all. I have seen some posts on here about the steroid being used as a bridging of sorts to help you make it through while the other preventative takes hold so the fact that you went without the verapamil for a bit after you dropped the steroid may have got your system messed up and or set back for a few. 240 or 280 (if that's what you meant with the 40-120-120) total for the verapamil sounds low and I only started getting any results with upwards of 480mg a day. You really need to look into the D3 regimen, it has helped me out a ton and many stop the verapamil for good once the D3 gets rooted. Red bull, 5 hour energy shot or cold coffee prior to the O2 really helps give the oxygen a boost and sometimes just the caffeine can help lots. I have had bad shadows most of my CH career but have found that RC seeds and Curcumin with ginger really knocks the shadows out. Hang in there and around here as this is the place to be to find help with your CH! Feel better soon!