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Trip to neuro doc


Unclebird
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So I got my script for O2@ 15lpm. Doc also prescribed verapamil er 240mg x2 a day. Also imitrex injunctions and nasal spray, AND a steroid dose pack

My questions are about the steroid pack and verapamil.

1). Are they effective for anyone on here?

2). Do they work well enough to offset the side effects?

3). Do they mess with your personality?(depression, aggression, etc)

He was pretty good in the fact that he did prescribe everything I wanted, but I didn't feel like he was very receptive to my questions. Not sure of his background, but it did seem as though there was a language barrier. There was not exactly any "bonding" with him as if we were a team against the beast. Oh well. Did get the scripts, so can't complain to much. Any thoughts?

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Steroid pack:

It is a temporarily very effective preventative for a lot of us, while we're at the high dose, and for the very rare individual it can even break a cycle (don't even think of counting on that though!).

It commonly messes with the personality in the aggression/hot tempered dept., yes.

The main risk/drawback as I see it is the CH can come back with a vengeance after the necessary taper down. Staying on it longer than your prescribed burst would be extremely dangerous, permanent side effect-wise.

Hopefully the verap will be kicking in by the time the pred steroid is tapered, which is the standard plan, and which is why they are prescribed together in this manner. OK that bit you probably already knew - sometimes I don't know when to shaddup.  :D

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Glad you had a doc who made sound CH prescriptions (from a conventional-meds perspective), including oxygen.  All that Jeebs says is accurate, and of course you never really know what kinds of side effects you're going to experience, but it seems certain there will be some with those three meds (verap, trex, and pred) in your system.  Some people have very severe reactions to steroids (the prednisone), but most people don't (of course, if you do, you'll know it).

If you're going to continue with the D3 regimen (which I hope you will), note the interaction with verap.  This is what Batch wrote about that:  >>If you are presently taking verapamil as a cluster headache preventative or for a heart condition, studies have shown that after repetitive dosing with verapamil, its serum half-life can be in a range from 4.5 to 12 hours.  Other studies indicated calcium supplements interfere with calcium channel blockers like verapamil.  Calcium gluconate is also used to treat reactions to oral verapamil.  Accordingly, in order to minimize a possible interaction with calcium that may limit verapamil effectiveness, separate the verapamil and calcium doses by at least 8 to 12 hours.  Discus this regimen with your PCP, neurologist, or cardiologist in order to work out an optimum dosing schedule.<<

Get that O2 ASAP, and (as we've said) seriously consider the mask made specifically for folks with CH ( '>http://www.clusterheadaches.com/khxc

).  If you're not getting quick aborts with 15 lpm and the mask, step up to a higher flow (you can usually order a higher-flow regulator from eBay, among many other places -- you just have to be sure it fits with your tank(s)).

I really hope that those meds get you some serious relief.  I do have to say that just thinking about them reminds me of a belief that is strongly held here, which is that if busting substances were legal doctors would have to be crazy to prescribe anything else.

Big PF wishes!

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Thanks guys. I remember reading about the d3 verapamil conflict, but had forgot about the spacing.

Imitrex works so well for me that I feel like I wasted them. As in "did I really have a ch for sure?? Or was it just a shadow of one."  I guess trying to catch it ASAP brings that thought on. Not having a stockpile of trex built up yet makes me want to save them for the "worse" ones. Working on getting the cluster mask today, as well as a regulator that does 25lpm.  I do feel pretty good today.

On a side note, I injured my hip at work Thursday, and after er, was prescribed flexeral, hydrocodone, and ibuprofen. Friday went to neurologist and got meds above. Feel like I am taking way to much meds but maybe the crazy cocktail will snap me out of this cluster. I guy can hope, right?!? 

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On a side note, I injured my hip at work Thursday, and after er, was prescribed flexeral, hydrocodone, and ibuprofen. Friday went to neurologist and got meds above. Feel like I am taking way to much meds but maybe the crazy cocktail will snap me out of this cluster. I guy can hope, right?!?  

They're just NSAID and painkillers, you can take them safely with the other prescriptions, and they won't do much for your CH (maybe except for hydrocodone wich may help ease up the pain).

High dosages of cortisone may, on the long run, cause you depression, but it's a minor side-effect, and at the doses usually taken for CH, you won't even notice it probably.

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Steriod Pak 10 day taper set had no effect for me, still had CH's just as bad. However Your O2 will be a life saver in helping to abort the duration of yourCH's and your trex shots. Good luck with your busting and hope your days and nights are PF

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