Jump to content

Busting Shadows?


riy08
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi Riy

The answer is maybe.   ;-)

Busting is not very complicated but it does require some thought and planning.

The shadow lasts all day?

Can you give us a bit more information about yourself and your headaches.  What you've tried, what works and doesn't work, what you are taking now for abortives and/or preventatives.

FG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Been using the new chapter brand Ginger Force (supercritical CO2 ginger extract) and regular ginger pills lately for shadows with damn good results.   (LOTS of them--usually taking 6 or 7 ginger force pills and 8 or 9 regular ginger pills, all at once)   Only problem is it seems to work for a few days, then I must get tolerance to it, stops working so well.  About 4 days off and it seems to be working again...This and a ridiculous amount of water seem to be my best friends lately... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi FunGuy,

I'm into the 11th week of my cycle. My cycles usually only last for a week then I get a remission of 3 years. The doctor had me taking Sibelium which is also a calcium blocker like Verapamil. I was taking 10 mg daily. I think that worked because the frequency and intensity of the hits greatly diminished. I was taking that for about a month until all I had were the morning hits. My neurologist gave me topamax for the morning hits. I was taking 25g of topamax daily along with 10g of Sibelium. When the morning hits went away, I stopped taking the Sibelium and I just took 50 mg of Topamax. All I have now are shadows and twinges. These shadows sometimes last all-day, sometimes I have them for most of the day. Thinking that maybe Topamax had something to do with it and since I was planning to bust in the next few days, I started detoxing. I haven't noticed any changes in my headache patterns since I started detoxing but the shadows still remain.

I also tried the beer test a couple of days ago and I didn't get any headaches at all. Beer has always been a trigger for me in the past. Is it possible that I'm already out of cycle? Would you suggest busting to get rid of the shadows? Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Hi all,

I've been episodic for the past 27 years. I go into cycle about every 2 or 3 years. While in cycles, but not getting hit, I experienced shadows-pressure, discomfort "soft" painful spots on the side of my head and temple. It certainly feels like the CH mechanisms are active. When this feeling goes away, I have historically known that the cycle is over.

About six weeks ago, I started getting these shadows most of the day ranging from a 1 to a 3 on the KIP scale. A couple have escalated to 4 or 5. At that point, I hit the Oxygen real hard for a few minutes and things subside. This feels very different than previous cycles.

My sense/hope is that I am, in fact, in cycle, but for some reason just not getting the usual hits/attacks.

Maybe I'll have an update at the conference and I am certainly interested in the experience of others.

Larry

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hey Doc Larry,

I've been episodic for 27 years as well with cycles every 18 to 24 months.  Last cycle was from Aug 15th thru Nov 26th of 2009.

I've never experienced shadows......ususally when a cycle begins, I get a rogue hit followed by 2 or 3 PF days and it ramps up from there.......however, I have been experiencing episodes for the past 2 or 3 weeks of very minor pain along the same lines and points as is the past, watery eye and runny nose, buildup of pressure in my head......just like a full blown hit except for the fact that the pain level doesn't even approach the lower end of the Kip scale!!!  I had one just a couple hours ago that was the strongest yet, but I still couldn't class it above a Kip 1.  Another interesting point is that they've all occured during the daytime while I'm awake, while the majority of my hits in the past have been nocturnal.

There's another thread on the board regarding the occurence of vivid dreams by another sufferer as a precurser to an approaching cycle.......I've never been aware of it before, but I have been having quite a few dreams the past few weeks and some of em were real vivid (jumped clean out of the bed last week gettin away from a BIG assed snake and landed knees first on hardwood.....woke my wife up and she was afraid I wasn't gonna be able to get up..lol)

Along with you, I sense that I am in fact at the beginning of a cycle and the beast has just morphed one more time.

Dallas Denny

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I feel what you mean. I have the same for 25 days now after busting.

Shadows begin most of the time half the day and whole evening without giving me attacks at night.

I tested several times with alcohol and even drink a lot of alcohol and nothing really happend.

It looks like the cycle isn't over but did not give attacks anymore.

I had the same thoughts about another bust or not but I want to leave it the way it is to see if it gets over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

very intersting thread to me. I have had shadows since my last and second cycle ever back in dec 09 which lasted till late apr 10. the right side (cluster side) of my head has not felt the same since that cycle. Some days the "shadows" are more intense than others but still not feeling a "normal head for all that time is not fun! I am actually "busting" tomorrow evening for the 1st time to see what happens. I too am a bit leary and dont want to rock the boat but at the same time I feel the need to give it a try.

Will definitely keep u all posted.

wish me luck

Anthony

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Haven't dealt with shadows -- but am I wrong in remembering that some people use the SPUT method (Small Pieces Under the Tongue) for shadows?  2-4 RC seeds or a small amount of psilo, kept under the tongue where it's easily absorbed.  I know SPUT is discussed in TommyD's files, but I looked through a few and couldn't find it.  Sorry if I'm dragging a red herring across the thread here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My God Denny, hope you had some cloths on as you landed on your knees.... ;D

I experienced all over the head shadows, or how you could explain it. Sometimes i have felt like when it was on it`s way to "leave" one side, it started to shadow and to funny things on the other side or like a all over feeling. For me, busting always took care of it.

Good luck!! :)

Tingeling

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Hey guys,

so i tried busting about a month ago. did it for about 3 times. still have the shadows though. I haven't had any real hits in about 3 months but i haven't exactly been pain free either. i've been able to drink beer and other alcoholic drinks so i guess technically i'm already out of cycle? could it be that these "shadows" that we refer to are just tension headaches that somehow developed after our cycle? anyway, whatever it is, i can't seem to get rid of it. any ideas? i'd appreciate any thoughts or advice you guys can offer. thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok, first I've heard of the CH switching sides. I have experienced this... anyone else?

I also have gotten base of the skull and whole head stuff late afternoon and all night. The theories I have on this range from "tension headaches" caused by the extreme tension of our body reacting to the pain, to a "muted" and even "drawn out" effect caused by prescription blockers like verapamil, topamax, and even the triptans.

Bottom line... when I am in remission, nothing happens... when I am not, anything can happen. Oxygen always helps, and busting? Not ready to comment on my results yet (after 36 years I have learned not to jump to conclusions too quickly).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's another thread on the board regarding the occurence of vivid dreams by another sufferer as a precurser to an approaching cycle.......I've never been aware of it before, but I have been having quite a few dreams the past few weeks and some of em were real vivid (jumped clean out of the bed last week gettin away from a BIG assed snake and landed knees first on hardwood.....woke my wife up and she was afraid I wasn't gonna be able to get up..lol)

Along with you, I sense that I am in fact at the beginning of a cycle and the beast has just morphed one more time.

Dallas Denny

I start having vivid dreams when I'm about to start a cycle.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...