Hoping for help and relief

[Jimmy Martinez]

Hi everyone, my name is jimmy and I live in Los Angeles. I've experienced CH about 3 times over a 4 year period. I've been to a neurologist and he is currently giving me "maxalt" which my insurance company will only 9 tablets a month. I have oxygen at home and am also taking magnesium, melatonin, and capsicum nasal spray. I've upped my water intake as well. It's been over a year since my last attacks. I thought I was out of the woods! About a week ago they started. Luckily not as strong as in the past but painful enough for me to use the F word begging for God to be merciful and stop the pain. Then the headaches stopped for 3 beautiful heavenly days. Today was a warm day and I was out walking. The left eye ball started to throb and within 5 minutes I was begging for mercy. I got into the car and popped an Advil. With 9 minutes I was getting relief. But those 9 minutes were so bad I felt dying would be a good thing. My heart goes out to all of you especially those who suffer for long periods of time or who have been suffering for many years. Please know I will pray for your relief and for the headaches to disappear and never ever return. If anyone has any tips, suggestions, remedies, or potions that prevent, reduce, or stop the headaches please point me in the right direction. My wife is pregnant and we are expecting in November and I am praying with my entire heart not to be in pain when my baby is born. Whatever websites, forum boards, or information anyone can share that can lead to a reduction in pain, I would be eternally grateful. if I were to guess, my attacks are due to a combination of diet, weather, and stress. Perhaps an overactive mind! 

[Dallas Denny]

Welcome to the community Jimmy!

To be honest, you've arrived at the site (and forum) with the best information and solutions for clusters!!  We have many members with in excess of 20 or 30 years doin battle with the Beast.....my first cycle occurred in South Vietnam in the Spring of 1968.....followed by a complete  remission of 15 years.....2nd cycle was in 1983 and I've been episodic ever since.

Great that you have Oxygen in place!!  

So first, push your doc for imitrex injections.....the pills are much too slow acting!  Second, check out the Vitamin D3 anti inflammatory regimen in the CB files section of the board......works well for many folks to either squelch a cycle or at least reduce the frequency and intensity of the attacks.

And read about "busting" a cycle using tryptamines and let us know about any questions you might have in the "Share your busting stories" section of the board...

Dallas Denny 

 

[spiny]

Welcome Jimmy!

Your guess of weather and stress and diet can affect some Cher's. Pollen is also found to be a culprit. Melatonin is good for many with nighttime hits. Start with 9mg and work your way up to about 25mg.

One the main page you will find the board Clusterbuster Files. It contains a thread regarding the D3 Regimen. It is recommended that Benadryl be added to the regimen now, especially when pollen is high. It is all vitamins and easy to get started on. Relief usually occurs in a week or two. Some go pain free (PF) on it and others get a reduction in severity and slower ramp up time. There is also a thread there about using O2. That can give you some really good pointers on how to use it effectively.

Other aids are: Caffeine at the very start of a hit. It can be Energy drinks, Energy shots, or just coffee. If taken early, they can sometimes stop a hit and they help you get through. Most will take the caffeine when going for the O2 to reduce abort time too. People use hot or cold to their benefit as well. It can be a shower, very hot water in a tub to put your feet or body in, sticking your nose up to the AC vent in your car with it on full blast. Some find the high water consumption an aid. Others use deep breathing or exercise. Ginger, in any form helps with shadows.

The Maxalt pills are usually too slow acting to really help CH. They are prescribed mostly for migrainers or by inexperienced doctors for CH. You can have a nasal spray prescribed or injections. Injections are the fastest. However. many clusterheads have noticed that the use of Triptans causes more hits and/or longer cycles. Nine pills a month is pretty standard for insurance. Sucks. I am surprised that you were not given a preventative like Verapamil by your Neuro! It is the 'go to' main med for CH.

Then there is busting. Which a lot of CHers use to prevent and end cycles. Also in the clusterbuster files. It is also discussed on the Theory and Implementation and Share You Busting Stories files, which are closed to the public.

I see that Denny just replied with some of the same info.

ATB

spiny

 

[Bejeeber]

Hi Jimmy - I see Dallas Denny and Spiny just double teamed you, which is fantastic luck, as they are veteran CH'ers with tremendous knowledge of the most effective CH therapies.

Me, I've been episodic for 37-ish years, with some long remissions at some points, and like DD and Spiny, years of poring over reports from our fellow headbangers, along with lots of CH discussion. I'm in agreement with all the input you've received so far. 

[Jimmy Martinez]

Thank you Dallas Denny, Spiny, and Bejeeber for your warm welcomes and all of the great information you shared with me. I wanted to update you on things with me.

I've been on the warpath with this cluster thing, determined to beat it and get relief. I saw my general doctor today and he thinks I am suffering from anxiety and he prescribed "Ativan". I then went to a prominent headache specialist here in Los Angeles who my neurologist actually recommended. My neurologist is the one who prescribed "Rizatriptan" (which is the generic version of Maxalt) and he recently prescribed me "Topomax". So the headache specialist is very familiar with clusters and he says to drop the current medications I have and instead take "frovatriptan" 2 hours before I go to bed. He also said that the oxygen I am taking needs to be administered via an oxygen mask (I am currently using a "Cannula"). He thinks this medication can be very effective. He thought the topomax was too heavy of a drug. I asked him about the Vitamin D regimen and the oxygenated water and he didn't think those were game changers. I tried the topomax last night for the first time and it did cut the pain by 50% but it left me with a serious hangover. Tomorrow I see an acupuncturist and next week I see an allergist. I'm trying everything! I hope you all are having pain-free days and nights and please know I am praying for you like you were my own family members. I feel like there will be a cure or a significant breakthrough in our lifetimes. I want to share my Buddhist chant with you. It's "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" which means "devotion to the mystic law of cause and effect through sound/vibration". I'm not trying to push my religion on anyone but chanting "Nam Myoho Renge Kyo" has worked for me much of my life. It's my "karma" that I have these headaches. That means I made some negative causes at one point in my life and the effects of those causes have manifested in these headaches. But I can create positive causes which can create positive effects which will hopefully somehow put my life in rhythm so that I can become cluster free forever. I will be chanting for you all every day I promise you this. Thank you again for your support and please know you have mine! We can beat this! 

 

[Bejeeber]

Hi Jimmy,

A lot of us around here would agree your specialist made the right call about topomax being too heavy. Many have come to refer to it as Dope-a-max, Dopey-max, etc., and find it messes with the cognitive processes way too much, plus it isn't that effective.

For CH'ers who are typically awakened with an attack an hour or so after falling asleep, I've seen reports of an oral triptan before bed working as a preventative, so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised to see the frovatriptan being prescribed in that manner.

Maybe you've started researching busting at this point? It has the potential to knock out entire CH cycles, which can be nice.  You have to be "de-toxed" from triptans for 5-ish days before trying it though.

I had an acupuncturist do a great job of rapidly ridding me of some tendonitis in a wrist before, so I'm a believer, but I'm sorry to tell ya it has scored low when it comes to directly treating CH.

[spiny]

O2: The specialist is correct. A cannula does not supply pure O2 which is what you want. If you go to the main page, open the Clusterbuster Files, and look for the thread on O2 and open. It will give you some great info on how to use it properly. You want a minimum of 15LPM and a non rebreather mask or brathing tube. No outside air at all. Exhale fully - hard. Inhale deeply, hold for several seconds and exhale with force. Repeat. You want to stay on the O2 for about 5 minutes after the pain is gone, lower the flow rate and breath normally. This prevents the quick return of the hit. The bag on the mask should fill during your hold and exhale so that you have plenty for the next inhale. O2 is a life saver when used properly.

While you are there, read the D3 file too. Just vitamins and very helpful for many of us.While I did not get to PF status on it, it slows my ramp up down and lowers the intensity of my hits. All good for you stuff, no script required. Have you checked it out yet?

You likely will need to take somewhere between 9mg-25mg of Melatonin at night for relief. I often split my dose - 20mg at bedtime and another 10mg later after a hit. 

Dopamax sucks!!

 

[CHfather]

Jimmy', I'm with everything these two brilliant moderators have suggested, and emphasizing that no matter how good your neurologist is, it's unlikely that he has studied the D3 regimen, which is fact has been a side-effect-free "game changer" for at least 85% of those who have done it properly (followed the regimen as prescribed).  If it's a high pollen season in LA, I'd consider trying Benadryl morning and night (at the dosage recommended on the container) and skipping the melatonin for now (since Benadryl already makes you sleepy).  If not, go for the melatonin.

You mention "oxygenated water" and I'm not sure where that comes from.  You weren't referring to energy shots or drinks, were you?

[Archimedes]

On 9.6.2017 at 0:30 PM, spiny said:

O2: The specialist is correct. A cannula does not supply pure O2 which is what you want. If you go to the main page, open the Clusterbuster Files, and look for the thread on O2 and open. 

 

 

I just like to add that there are also people including me where it actualky works better with the cannula. I had a standard non rebreather mask and then also ordered the (original) clustermax mask. Non did work as fast as sticking the cannula in my mouth, make sure it's shut and close my nose with 2 fingers. Not saying the mask isn't better for most, just saying for some reason it's not for me and others report that as well. Cannula aborts in couple of minutes, masks take up to 15 mins and I know how to breath right.

Either way, oxygen done right is great and everyone will find out for themselfes what's best. Just don't give up if technique A doesn't work, try route B

Edit - cannula wastes more o2 of course as it keeps streaming when you exhale vs. Filling a bag but well, on the other hand it aborts faster for me. Give and take

[CHfather]

Thanks, Arch . . . Did the original Clustermax come with a breathing tube that you could use separately from the mask? (I know the latest iteration, the "ClusterO2 Kit," does.  Seems like that might be best of both worlds.  But then again, if you're aborting in a couple of minutes, there's probably no reason to find out!

[Archimedes]

Yes it does ! I was pleasantly surprised that there was a mouthpiece with amextra "hose" included as well  currently

[spiny]

I have always used the mouthpiece. Easier for me and nothing touching my face, which hurts! Go with what works by all means Archimedes.

[Jimmy Martinez]

Hi friends, thank you so much for your replies and help. I am with you all as we fight this nasty beast together. "CHfather" : oxygenated water is something my wife raves about. It's basically alkaline water infused with oxygen. I haven't seen a difference drinking this water in terms of my headaches but I guess there is no harm is drinking tons of water every day.

I have an update on some relief I have been experiencing lately. I decided to go see an ear/nose/throat doctor because it seems that my left nostril always gets clogged just prior to and during my attacks. Then once the headaches subsides (always because I took a maxalt pill) the nostril clears and I can breath normally.

The ENT doctor doesn't believe there is a correlation between my nose getting clogged and the headaches only that the clogging is a RESULT of the headaches.

But he gave me a steroid shot in my nose (long needle) as well as a shot in my butt of some other steroid or decongestant.

I then went and got "flo-nase" and Benadryl which I have been taking for the last 2 nights. And there have been NO headaches.

I am groggy in the morning (I take the Benadryl in the evening before bed, 2 gel caps) but it's a small price to pay to not have a cluster attack.

I don't know if this is the "solution" to stopping the headaches but I will update everyone on how it goes. 

I am still doing the Vitamin-D regimen and taking the Melatonin.

So my guess is that the headaches are allergy/pollen/nasal related. I am also going to see an allergist next week.

For those of you who are experiencing pain right now, I know exactly how you feel and I am praying with all of my heart that you get immediate and permanent relief. 

if there is one upside to these headaches, it has made me profoundly appreciate a day/night without a pain (98% of the attacks are always occur during my sleep) and I also profoundly appreciate a full night's sleep. 

where there is a will, there is a way!

[CHfather]

Thanks to Batch, we have come to realize that there is definitely a connection between pollen/allergies and CH attacks.  Could be that the Benadryl is helping a lot (or the shot . . . or, of course, who knows what).  I think generally people who take Benadryl at night (particularly two of them, as you're doing) skip the melatonin.  But agin, if you can handle the morning grogginess, maybe you don't want to mess with success.

[Twisted-Melon]

Just get on the magic and get relief

it really has to be done

[Jimmy Martinez]

Hi everyone, I hope you are all getting huge amounts of relief or NO headaches al all. I feel lucky because my headaches began about 5 years ago but I've been reading forums where people have been dealing with for 20 years plus. I wanted to give a quick update on my status and ask a few questions.

* I thought Benadryl and the steroid shots I took were the "cure". I had 4 nights without headaches but now it's been 4 days/nights with headaches. This really sucks when I got 3 attacks in one day. So I think the Benadryl cure is out the window.

* The headache specialist I went to recently prescribed "Frovatriptan" which I have not yet been able to receive/try because I am fighting with my insurance company to get it. Has anyone tried "Frovatriptan"? I am down to my last tablet of "Maxalt" right now which is scary.

* My other neurologist gave me some free sample is "Treximet" which I took last night during an attack. It killed the pain but I am a zombie today. I took Benadryl last night as well so maybe the combo of Trexmiet and Benadryl F-ed me up.

* Has anyone had any success seeing a chiropractor to stop the attacks? 

* I have been having a sore, tight, knotted neck during this recent 3 week attack. Anyone else experience this? I thought it was because of the horribly restless sleep I have been having but maybe there is a muscle or tendon that gets messed up as a result of the attacks.

* Triggers for me: direct sunlight, swimming in swimming pools, hot days. Anyone else experience these triggers?

* I've never gone through a full attack without having to pop some sort of medication. Meaning I've never had cluster headache run it's full course on it's own and end on it's own without getting rid of it with a pill or nasal mist. How long does typical headache last if you don't treat it in any way? I can only go about 30 minutes of pain before I give up and take medication. I'm tempted to let a headache run it's course without using medication but I don't know if I can last 60 minutes plus. 

* Oxygen: seems to lessen the pain for a little while but it has never killed or fully stopped an attack. I experienced using the canula AND the oxygen mask together. My tank only delivers 8 liters max. Oxygen feels cold and sometimes makes the pain worse. Maybe I am doing it wrong? 

* Vitamin D regimen: I am still doing this daily for the last 2 and half weeks but not the overloading. Only about 20,000 IU daily. Maybe I need to more? 

* Any tips, tricks, or fixes anyone has had success with? 

Thank you all very much and I send you prayers for decades and lifetimes of pain-free days and nights!

 

[Bejeeber]

Hi Jimmy,

I know a chiropractor who is a long time CH'er, and who has been very involved with this site. He doesn't find chiro to be of help with CH, and the same conclusion has been come to by plenty of other headbangers.

Bleach fumes can be a trigger for me and others, if the swimming pool was chlorinated, I wonder if that could have played a part?

The neck issues are common.

You probably won't be surprised to hear someone like me say it's difficult to define a typical length of an attack. Maybe that's because my personal experience has seen them gradually go from 20-ish minutes to more like 3 hours over the decades.

It sounds to me  like you could still adopt a more effective O2 dispensing strategy than your current approach, and it could make a big difference.

If you're going to continue to go with triptans, imitrex injections may be your best ins. co paid bang for the buck - only 2 syringes of it may be covered a month, which sux bad, but the doses can be split so you can get 3 aborts from one syringe, so at least you get 6 aborts total. And the shots are known to be the quickest, most effective method of delivery.

 

 

 

 

[Jimmy Martinez]

Thank you Bejeeber! Yes the chlorine is probably acting as a trigger.

I appreciate all of your feedback and help. I will try out this "Frovatriptan" starting tonight and maybe it can help or hopefully END this cycle I am in.

Do you have a belief as to why these headaches occur such a stress, weather changing, etc? I'm curious so hear what other sufferers think.

If I had to guess I would say stress is the catalyst but who the heck knows.

To your health and success always, Jimmy 

[Jimmy Martinez]

I saw this on-line and am now thinking a detox or cleansing would help. This is not me "speaking" below but someone from internet. 

 

Hi everyone, at this point it's been months since I've had a cluster headache, with the exception being a mild headache that appears whenever I think about headaches. Based on what I now know about cluster headaches I don't find that surprising at all and I consider myself to be cured. The important part of being cured is that I no longer wake up in the middle of the night with a stabbing pain behind my right eye, and I no longer walk around with a throbbing pain in the middle of the right side of my head. I suspect that the memory of the headache will be there for some time, with the effect that thinking about the headache I used to have will still trigger a mild form of what it used to be. In fact, writing this article right now is triggering a mild form of the old headache. But I feel I have valuable information to share and I hope that someone out there finds what I have to say useful. If so, then any little headache I put up with while I write this is worth it.

Here's the background: More than 3 years ago, immediately following intense physical activity I felt something that first felt like a small pinprick behind my right eye. This pinprick immediately seemed to spread out and I had my first cluster headache. At the time I didn't know what a cluster headache was, but for me it meant a stabbing feeling behind my right eye. When this would happen my right eye would become dry and bloodshot. I would also have a lot of difficulty concentrating. The worst part of it all was the fear that something was seriously wrong, in addition to the obvious inconvenience of living with a constant headache.

From that moment on, until a few months ago, I had a more or less constant headache behind my right eye. It wouldn't move around my head, it would only increase or decrease in intensity. Most of the time it was about a 2 out of 10 on the pain scale, but occasionally it would rise all the way up to an 8 or a 9. Unfortunately the worst pain would often be at night, when I would first become aware of the headache in my dreams and wake up to a terrible pain in my head.

After I had had the headache for about 2 months, I saw a neurologist. One MRI and $4000 later, I still had no idea why I had a headache. All the neurologist could say to me was that it seemed to be some sort of migraine and I could expect normal life expectancy. I saw another doctor about it and the only help he offered was prescription pain killers. I knew there had to be another way so I continued to look around.

I did a lot of research and read a fair number of books including Paul Bacho's "How to Get Permanent Relief from Chronic Tension Headaches" and Jay S. Cohen's "The Magnesium Solution for Migraine Headaches." I also made some accidental discoveries while working with massage therapists. Here is what I discovered:

MAIN POINT: My cluster headaches were caused by chronic tightness in my right SCM muscle and in my right temporalis muscle.

Many of the books and articles I read hinted at this fact, but what really sealed it for me was the realization that by pushing on two spots, one on the base of my skull and the other on my right temple, I could cause the headache to get MUCH worse immediately. If you have a chronic headache I highly recommend fishing around both of these areas and determining if there are any such spots on your own head. In the case of the base of my skull I have to reach up under my skull to find the spot, but it is there.

Okay, so that was a major realization, but there still remained the question of how I could get those muscles to relax. Obviously massage helped but usually only temporarily. More research regarding this topic led me to a second realization:

SECOND POINT: If someone has a chronic condition, it is for lifestyle reasons. Therefore if someone wants real long term relief that person must change their lifestyle.

This realization was gradually made as I worked through other seemingly unrelated problems, such as chronic fatigue, heartburn/acid reflux and what one doctor I visited called "pre-MS" symptoms. I have made huge progress on all of these fronts, but since this article is about headaches I will save those topics for another day. Based on my experience, here are what I consider to be the most important things one can do physically in order to make healing possible. Some of what follows is redundant, as many of the items work together:

1) Establish healthy sleep habits:

I now go to bed by around 9pm and get up between 4:00am and 5:00am. One year ago I would have thought it would be impossible for me to function on such a schedule. I would never have thought I could actually get up that early. And even if I did get into bed by 9pm, I would never have fallen asleep. But I have been able to change that by:

a) Giving up coffee and alcohol altogether.
Not watching TV or using the internet after work.
c) Eating dinner as early as possible.
d) Drinking a tea of valerian, chamomile and catnip after dinner to help me feel sleepy.
e) Going on an hour long walk after dinner every night.
f) Reading in bed until I'm falling asleep.
g) Using meridan therapy (see Gloria Arenson's book "Five Simple Steps to Emotional Healing") in bed if I can't sleep.
h) Using a biobrite alarm clock (see biobrite.com) to take the sting out of waking up.

I have found it very helpful to avoid looking at the time as much as possible in the evenings. And I no longer need the valerian blend tea now that I'm in healthy habits. Pretty much I come home from work, have dinner, go for my walk and go to bed. Making this change took some willpower and required giving up dancing, which was historically very important to me, but I decided that my health was the most important thing to me and that I was willing to do whatever it took to heal.

2) No TV at all:

Watching television is much more stressful than people who are used to it realize. In addition, the number of unhealthy images and ideas that are pumped into the head of someone who watches television for even a short amount of time is amazing. Finally, there is the issue of eye strain, which is a big deal for someone with chronic headaches.

3) No processed food, especially no artificial sweeteners:

Processed food is rarely, if ever, created with any thought as to the digestibility of the end product, meaning that the so-called food is going to strain your body without nourishing it. On top of that most processed food contains some form of MSG, which is generally terrible for someone with headaches. And artificial sweeteners all seem to poison the entire nervous system in some way or another. Finally, I recommend that you switch to an all organic diet, in whatever form you feel will work for you.

4) Walk for an hour every day:

A lot of getting rid of my headache came down to relaxing. My daily walks are very relaxing, and my girlfriend and I often don't even talk on them. We just walk and take them in. In addition, walking helps to circulate the lymph, which aids in detoxing the body. Which leads us to my next point.

5) Systematically clean the various organs of your body:

Two big components of this are Liver Flushing and colon cleansing. I do a liver flush, following Andreas Moritz 's book, "The Live and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse" every 4 weeks or so, depending on my schedule. I also have colonic hydrotherapy at least twice a month and I do an enema of some sort every weekend. Liver cleansing is important because the liver oversees most of the detoxing in the body, while colon cleansing is important because many toxins are eliminated through the stool and many toxins build up in the colon. In addition, I use the Liver Flushes as landmarks in between which I am systematically cleaning myself in different ways. For instance one month I did a  kidney cleanse while another month I did a parasite cleanse. Next month I will be doing a yeast cleanse.

Okay, those are what I consider to be the top 5 things that someone can do for their health generally. I actually think that those 5 things will improve any chronic health problem, not just chronic headaches. As far as eliminating chronic headaches, I also recommend:

1) Regular clinical massage:

If you can find someone in your area who can work on your SCM muscle you will likely notice a large reduction in cluster or tension headaches.

2) Chiropractic care:

In my case my atlas bone was also misaligned. This was probably a result of years of tension from one side of my neck. My personal opinion of chiropractic care is that it can be very helpful but you need to make other lifestyle changes to help yourself hold the adjustments on a more long term basis.

3) The 5 Tibetans daily exercises:

I learned these exercises from the book, "Ancient Secret of the Fountain of Youth" by Peter Kelder. The exercises are all essentially spine lengthening and strengthening exercises and I think that if you have tight muscles in your neck that are contributing to your headache that these exercises will help you.

All right, that's the end of my list. I've done a lot of other things like Iodine supplementation that have also been helpful but one of my goals in creating this list was to keep it short. There is also the huge topic regarding how all physical problems are really just manifestations of psychological and spiritual problems, but I am just learning about that myself at this point so I have omitted that for now. As you progress in your own healing I'm sure you will find your own way of taking care of yourself. Hopefully my experience will be of some value. If anyone has any questions or wants to know what my other experiences have been I'll be happy to share. Thanks and talk soon,

- John

[Bejeeber]

On 6/26/2017 at 1:16 PM, Jimmy Martinez said:

Do you have a belief as to why these headaches occur such a stress, weather changing, etc? I'm curious so hear what other sufferers think.

My impression is that major stress, such as divorce, financial disaster, loss of home, job, etc. can trigger a cycle in an already prone CH'er, basically the worst times imaginable to be hit with a cycle can be the most likely.

Plenty of headbangers have reported the same about weather changes for sure.

As far as individual attacks within a cycle are concerned though, "stay stressed" has actually been a popular refrain, since relaxation in the form of sleep, naps, weekends, etc. is known to be a strong trigger. This would be a much less  traumatic level of stress of course. I tend to think "stay engaged" can be a better, still effective way to try to operate.

 

 

 

[CHfather]

Jimmy Martinez --

It could be that a complete lifestyle change of the sort described in the thing you quote might help with CH.  But I would be very cautious about accepting that person's opinion, for two main reasons. First, and most important, it doesn't really sound like s/he has CH.  Read the symptoms.  Aside from the stabbing pain and red eye, there's no CH there.  Second, if CH is caused by muscle tightness, it's odd (unexplainable, really) that it affects people in the way it does: at particular times of day; particular times of year, etc.  I suppose it's possible that the onset of CH might cause the kind of muscle issues described here, but it's a huge stretch to consider that the "cause."  There are other things, too, but that's enough for me to be very doubtful. 

[ryanegal]

Jimmy,

   I had great success with 60 mg Cymbalta and verapamil 360mg. You should try Cymbalta and see if it helps you. I have suffered  with CHs for 23 years. All the best.

[Jimmy Martinez]

Hi All, just wanted to see if the following daily vitamin cocktail comes close to Batch's recipe:

1 calcium 600mg

1 Omega3  360mg

1 Boron 3mg

1 Zinc 50mg

1 Magnesium 500mg

4 VitaminD3 totaling 20,000 IU

1 Vitamin A 10,000 IU

I Vitamin K 100 mcg

1 Vitamin B (complex) unknown mg count because it's a complex vitamin

I also thrown in a family multi-vitamin, vitamin C, and Vitamin B-12 with this cocktail but if I should just stick with "formula only". Please let me know.

At night I take another 20,000 IU and 5mg of Melatonin

I would be grateful to hear if this is "correct" or if I need to modify this vitamin regimen.

Last night I tried "Frovatriptan" for the 1st time. Got me loopy but worked! I wish I didn't have to take any medications because they all seem like heavy stuff.

Going to an herbalist next week and still want to explore a chiropractor.

This stiffness and tightness in my neck may be causing a face muscle to mess which might be causing the clusters.

I am praying every day as well! I am trying to exercise as well but I'm usually worn out lately because of the lack of sleep, pain-filled nights, and after effects of the medications.

Thank you and here's to everyone's health and restful nights of deep uninterrupted sleep!

 

 

[Jimmy Martinez]

thank you Ryanegal and CHfather for your replies and help.

I take it that CHfather is the father of child who suffers clusters. That is the most painful of all things I could imagine. Having your child go through this. I'm sorry if this is the case. I bet you wish it was you having the clusters instead of your loved one. Hopefully they are doing great and having a healthy, normal life without pain. I send you my prayers every day. Please know this. 

I pray for each and everyone in the world who suffers these headaches. 

[CHfather]

Jimmy', I'm afraid you're pretty far off from Batch's recommendations.  If you go just a little way down the page here -- https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/1308-d3-regimen/  -- you'll see a table that lists the ingredients.  I have been told that it's very important to follow them closely.

Thank you for your empathy.  Yes, it's my daughter who has CH, and it is very hard as a parent to know what she's going through.  Before she was correctly diagnosed -- so she had no oxygen and no effective meds or alternative treatments -- I sat up with her for many nights during her hour-long untreated attacks.  You don't forget that.  Like pretty much everyone with CH, she's amazingly strong and courageous.