Should i use Sumatriptan or not?

[Easykaya]

Hi all,

 

I'm new here. I live in the Caribbean and were I live there is no Specialist for Headaches .
I had to do my  research my self and found out about Sumatriptan.
But on My island I can only find the 50mg tablets .
I started using Sumatriptan and now I read a article saying that Sumatriptan makes the cycle longer and the CH worse.

Is it better for me to stop using Sumatriptan?
all the other medicines/mushrooms/seeds etc mentioned in this forum are not available were I live or they are sold under different names.

 

Bassicly my question. is it better to not take anything then to take Sumatriptan tablets that take 60/90 minutes to work.

 

Does anyone know if Cinnarizine ( an antihistamine)helps.. I read that half of a 25mg Phenergan dissolved in water helps which also contains Promethazine which also acts as an antihistamine..

 

Im asking this here because when I go to my Docter he tells me to take Paracetamol and to exercise more . they have no clue about CH.

 

thanks in advanced
 

 

 

 

[CHfather]

So very sorry about your medical situation!  Sumatriptan tablets don't really work at all for most people.  When you say they take 60/90 minutes to work, is that actually substantially shorter than your typical CH attack?  Some people find that if they have regular attacks that occur on a specific time schedule, taking the sumatriptan pill in advance of the attack might help.  Yes, there is some evidence that triptans can make a cycle longer and make attacks worse.  I would say that is not true for everyone.  So my general answer (before getting on to some other things) is that if the suma shortens your attacks appreciably, or if maybe you can time it so it works more effectively, yes, it might (or might not) extend your cycle.  You just have to weigh the reality of shorter attacks (if that is a reality) against the possibility of a longer cycle.  I know I'm basically just "answering" the question you asked with a restatement of that question, but I do think you have to first establish how much relief you're actually getting and then you have to just decide what to believe is true for you of using the suma.  Like I say, it is far from certain that it will have bad effects, though it could.

 

As other ways to deal with your attacks, you might try drinking an energy shot (such as 5-Hour Energy) or an energy drink (Monster; RedBull) at the first sign of an attack.  That is very helpful for most people.  The energy shots are actually likely to be more effective than the full drinks.  If you can get melatonin, taking 10mg or more at night helps many people.  Some find that if they put their feet in very, very hot water just as an attack starts it will help them.  The vitamin D3 regimen has helped many, many people ( Do you have any way to get tanks of oxygen, the kind that is used for welding (not the kind that is used for SCUBA diving, which is just compressed air)?  If so, you can create the most consistently effective way of stopping a CH attack (you'd have to also buy a mask and a regulator).  I hope some of this might help you.

[Easykaya]

Thanks so Much CHfather. I will try every thing you suggested in your reply. hopefully some thing will work for me .

 

Thanks again

E

[CHfather]

I wish you the best.  I am assuming that you know that sumatriptan injections (probably called Imitrex or Imigran, depending on where you are) are the best pharmaceutical abortive if you don't have oxygen.  If you get your hands on those, let us know.

 

I see that I didn't give you a link to the vitamin D3 regimen. It's important that you do the whole thing.  Living in a consistently sunny place, you might already have pretty high vitamin D in your system, so you should check with a doctor and get a blood test for your D level before you go too far.  https://clusterbusters.org/forums/forum/6-clusterbuster-files/

[Nicolas]

In my current cycle of CR I used much Sumatriptan injection. Individual experiences are not a reliable indicator. But in this cycle, which is approaching the three months, the first month I started with Prednisone and Sumatriptan and get to have crises every 3/4 h. One of the worst in my history of cycles. This summer they are still very hot. The second month I had access to oxygen, same amount of Prednisone and very few doses of Sumatriptan; less crisis, short and smooth. End of the second month reduction in withdrawal of Prednisone and start doses of 160mg Verapamil (the nerurologo not want to climb more), oxygen; fewer crises and smooth.

 

Waiting for the cycle comes to an end ... I have a bad feeling with the mixture of Prednisone and Sumatriptan. But it is clear that it is a dead end, the pain has to stop.

 

Oxygen and sumatriptan for situations without access to oxygen, is ideal. I want to try this strategy without Prednisone and find out if it's bearable.

 

I've heard, individual experiences. I have not seen any studies to analyze that the Prednisone and Sumatriptan can become a episodic CR to chronic CR. It is a dead end, the pain has to stop, is inhumane and medication is necessary.

 

With these considerations and subjective ideas I am seriously considering the possibility of psilocybin. The idea of ​​being able to abort the cycle and not have to get sick from the medication is very encouraging. Studying and analyzing.

[mit12]

For me taking triptans more than 3 days in a row caused rebound headaches. If my insurance would have covered more zomig I would have been good but 36 each over 90 days was not enough. Now that is after 20 plus years of taking them. I used Prednisone to brake the cycle so I could get the triptans out of my system. Diltiazem was my wonder drug and it stopped working after about 10 years. Busting has been the best thing I have ever done followed closly by High flow O2. Good luck.

[RRChocolate]

Sumatriptan tablets work for me in under 30 minutes. Try them and see if they work.

You can also try caffiene - easily available and can help. My favorite is excedrin: aspirin, caffiene, and acetaminophin all together.

[Pebblesthecorgi]

The experiences related here are similar to my own.  Last August 1 I started what turned out to be the most brutal cycle I ever experienced.  Early on it became refractory to oxygen and I was travelling a bit so oxygen wasnt always there anyway.  I had horded a significant amount of imitrex sq and prednisone and used it liberally.  In retrospect I think that combination extended my misery.  As we all Know this is a two edged sword trying to get relief while limiting exposure to treatments which can actually prolong the cycle (at least so it seems).  

 

Its always amazing to me how discombobulated treatment becomes in the throws of a bad cycle.  Even if one has access to oxygen, imitrex, verapamil, mm, steroids, energy drinks, vit D, magnesium, hydration, antihistamines, depakote, lithium, topomax etc when the beast hits and doesnt behave as expected treatment plans change and one can perpetuate the cycle and personal physiology in very negative ways while seeking even just a few hours sleep.  Sorry for the rant, we have all be there one way or another.  My point is it seems very difficult to approach cycles and individual attacks in a reproducible systematic fashion.  When the beast doesn't follow rules it makes it hard to develop a treatment strategy and is one of the reason doctors don't help too much.  Medical training isn't so good at treating moving targets especially for rare non lethal conditions.

 

That said, folks were talking about oral triptans and whether they are effective.  Personally I have found 50-100 mg of imitrex at night will get me some much needed sleep if I have a big day coming up.  Everything I read says it is not a prophylactic but my experience is strongly contrary.  There is a price to pay of course, rebound can be a problem and its easy to get toxic on the meds but at least I get through work the next day.  

 

There is a study looking at naratriptan (Amerge) as a prophylactic to break a cycle.  It is a long acting, long onset of action version of imitrex and the study showed some positive results using once or twice a day.  I tried it with my last cycle before it finally broke and plan to try it again if I break through my mm schedule.  Of course this med is more expensive and formulary restricted by some plans even though a generic is available.

 

The bottom line with this ramble is if all you got is oral triptan and you need some relief they can help just not in an acute attack.  Caffeine, fluids, exercise seem better in the throws of attack.  I wish prayer helped but it never has.

 

As always these are personal observations, opinions and thoughts. Each person is unique in resources and response.