Found Cambia to help clusters

[Amy123]

Tldr: tried Cambia, felt almost immediate relief

I've had episodic cluster headaches for over 20 years, lasting from about 8-12 weeks at a time (usually twice a year). The last few really unbearable cycles that ended me up in the ER, the doctors tried prescribing me prednisone. Aug 2022 First time worked immediately and no cycle for a little over a year, Dec 2023 second time took a few days to start working but cycle did stop, then by the third time, August 2024 the pred did not work at all.

I went to urgent care after finishing my last pred taper still having multiple clusters a day, and the doctor I saw prescribed me a combination of meds along with the triptan I'm already prescribed to help prevent any possible rebound headaches I was having - the stand out one being Cambia.

This is the only medication I have ever tried that actually aborted a cluster headache in under 5 minutes or less. It's an anti inflammatory in a powder form that you mix with water (like taking a shot). Not my favourite taste but man, worth every drop that stuff is liquid gold when I have a cluster. Triptans can take up to an hour to work for me and honestly by that point, it's hard to say whether the Triptan actually did anything or if the beast just finally ended on its own. But when I take Cambia, the results are almost immediate and it doesn't make me a zombie the rest of the day like triptans can.

I'm now nearing the time of year I usually get an episodic cluster cycle and making sure my emergency medicine stash is ready to go! Getting prescribed oxygen to help abort a cluster is an uphill battle for me but for now, Cambia is there to help me out!

[Bejeeber]

Interesting about the "prescription non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug that contains diclofenac potassium, used to treat migraine attacks in adults" Cambia.

As is typical, there can be  plenty of potential further discussion points contained within a report like yours - I'll just start by zeroing in on the triptans: By your description of them taking up to an hour, it sounds like you could have been prescribed the relatively slow acting pill form? Sumatriptan injections are of course known to be the most effective and much quicker delivery form, plus many get quick enough relief from triptan nasal sprays, but especially if deal killer GI issues aren't encountered with this particular Cambia NSAID, and if its effectiveness continues, it sounds like a much better abortive option for you - congrats on finding such a breakthrough!

Here's hoping there's also an impending breakthrough with your O2 access, since success such as you are finding with a new abortive that is not widely recognized as effective for CH can sometimes be short lived. 

 

 

[CHfather]

I would also say that the effectiveness of this anti-inflammatory suggests that you ought to be doing the anti-inflammatory "vitamin D3" regimen that has helped so many hundreds, or thousands, of people with CH: D3 regimen - ClusterBuster Files - ClusterBusters.  In contrast to the anti-inflammatory you're using as an abortive, the d3 regimen is preventive.