Topiramate and busting

[Melody]

Thanx for previous advice on busting blockers... Now can anyone tell me if topiramate is a blocker..... ? And just in case, for further up the line (really hoping I don't go here) is lithium a blocker?

Maybe both questions are a bit daft as both are sposed to prescribed as blockers and I guess if you continue to bust as well..... Your not gonna know which is working and which isn't.

I guess my concern is, that I need to have these PHARMA options available in case busting doesn't work! (I seem to have varieing degrees of success with it)

[Dallas Denny]

Hi Melody

For a complete run down on blocking meds check "working well with others" in the cluster buster files....that being said, topiramate is thought to be a blocker while lithium is considered an enhancer.

DD

[CHfather]

Melody, just to have terms clear, what we mean here by a "blocker" is something that prevents busting from being effective (not something that "blocks" cluster headaches from occurring).  So it isn't just that if you take a blocker along with a psychedelic you wouldn't know which was working -- you could be pretty sure that the psychedelic isn't working, because it's being blocked.

To add a little to what Denny said about lithium, here's what is written in the file, "Playing Well Together," that he suggests you should look at.  It could be that more is known now about the interaction between lithium and busting, but from this it sounds like something to be wary of.

>>>Lithium

People taking lithium, whether it is for preventing cluster headaches or for some other reason (it is often prescribed for people with bipolar affective disorder - see below for more on bipolar disorder). Anecdotal reports suggest that lithium can greatly potentiate the effects of LSD or mushrooms, and that it can produce very unpleasant feelings. An examination of a number of reports suggested that lithium can either increase or decrease effects.

The combination of lithium and tryptamines may even produce episodes that seem like, and that perhaps are, epileptic seizures. If people are taking lithium for treating cluster headaches and it is not working, they may want to talk with their doctor about not taking it any more before trying mushrooms or LSD. If people are taking lithium for bipolar affective disorder, they probably should continue taking lithium, and they should avoid taking tryptamines for cluster headaches. <<<

[Melody]

Thank you both very much... Yes, I had meant blocker in the sense of it blocking busting not blocking CHs. (Although I realise I did use the term for preventatives too.... Doh!)

I think I would always hope to be detoxed from meds prior to busting anyway.

As always your advice has been helpful.