Hoodoo Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Hello! I've been lurking here for years and finally decided to join since I'm in a weird spot. I get ECH and usually take verapamil (240mg ER) leading up until these times and it has kept me headache free for about 5 years. For some reason the cycle started 2 months early this year and I'm trying to understand why. So a few questions.. Is it common for a cycle to start earlier than usual? I've been dealing with the loss of a parent so the headaches started about a month after a Buproprion medication increase to 300mg daily. I had headaches as a side effect the first week only so I'm not sure if this is the culprit... Does verapamil take longer if you're trying to stop an active cycle? Normally right at 2 weeks it is knocking these out. I'm around day 15. Would the buproprion prevent he verapamil from working? I'm managing it with welding oxygen and 100mp sumatriptan (which I sort of hate). I also have 150mg psilocybin caps that I'm going to try and follow the bust procedure with once the triptan is out of my system. The headaches are starting to respond to the oxygen and triptans so I feel like I may be coming out of it, whereas oxygen and triptans did nothing last week. Still concerned :D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bejeeber Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Hi @Hoodoo, sorry to hear of the cycle gone rogue, but yep, it appears common for CH to establish what seems like an inviolable pattern of timings for cycles and/or hits, even for ultra consistent decades on end, then suddenly out of nowhere when you least expect it, pull the old switcheroo on you. This can even go for which side you get hit on. Glad to hear it is starting to respond to the O2 and triptans again though - I too would definitely consider that a very hopeful sign. For future reference, I wouldn't be surprised if adopting the full power user O2 approach (if you haven't already) could help you still be able to abort stronger hits. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bejeeber Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Plus fast acting triptan injections in small doses tend to be orders of magnitude more effective than the slow acting pills. When all you have is pills though, if you're pretty confident of what the timing of an impending hit will be, taking the pill one hour before has been effective for some. Typically like "I always get hit an hour after falling asleep, so I'll take the pill right at bedtime". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Racer1_NC Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Quote Is it common for a cycle to start earlier than usual? Yes. It's possible for your cycle to change. Mine has changed greatly over the many years I've had CH. Quote Does verapamil take longer if you're trying to stop an active cycle? Normally right at 2 weeks it is knocking these out. I'm around day 15. How CH responds to medications can and often will change. When I first started out verapamil would work very well. Over the years it's effectiveness decreased .... I second Bejeeber's suggestion on O2 usage. How you use O2 can and often does have a great deal to do with how you respond. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoodoo Posted September 7, 2021 Author Share Posted September 7, 2021 Thank you for the replies! Another question, does anyone have experience with how long it takes verapamil to start working if you start mid-cycle? 240mg ER taken before bed as a preventative has done the trick for years, but right now I’m closing in on 3 weeks without relief. The attacks have still been shorter and easier to abort with oxygen / triprans. And they've shifted from night time to daytime which I think is my usual pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xBoss Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 On 9/4/2021 at 2:12 PM, Bejeeber said: even for ultra consistent decades on end, then suddenly out of nowhere when you least expect it, pull the old switcheroo on you. This can even go for which side you get hit on. Dear lord, switching sides sounds terrible. Part of handling the intense pain is being super used to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHfather Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 As Racer said, CH meds, including verapamil, can become less effective over time. Your 240/day verap is essentially the minimum dose, and IR is strongly recommended instead of ER. Yes, you got results from the 240 ER in the past, but IR at a higher level might be needed this time. In glancing through this thread, I'm not seeing -- or I probably am missing -- mentions of the vitamin D3 regimen, which is a better, and better-for-you, preventive than verap. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bejeeber Posted September 7, 2021 Share Posted September 7, 2021 1 hour ago, xBoss said: Dear lord, switching sides sounds terrible. Part of handling the intense pain is being super used to it! Right? I could hardly believe it the first time I saw a CH'er reporting this phenomenon, but now color me desensitized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoodoo Posted September 7, 2021 Author Share Posted September 7, 2021 Thanks again for the replies. I'm going to go heavy on the preventatives next cycle, D3, psilocybin, etc. I think I have found my culprit, or at least why my usual isn't helping. Since I upped from 150mg to 300mg Buproprion my blood pressure had held a steady 140/85, even now after being on verapamil for 3 weeks. I typically hover around 110/75, so that may have triggered the cycle early. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiny Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Hoodoo, I recommend that you stay on the D3 Regimen all year, not just when you want to prevent a cycle. Year round throws up another layer of protection for you and keeps you healthy too. It is a straight win all around, so take it year round. You will be better able to defeat a rogue cycle. Also, if your BP is holding at 140/85, the verap could be upped my your neuro. That could help too. And do get the Short Acting, not the Extended one. It says take 3 times a day. I tailored it to when my hits were coming and that helped a good bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snafu Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 21 hours ago, xBoss said: Dear lord, switching sides sounds terrible. Part of handling the intense pain is being super used to it! this happened to me during my rogue cycle in april. it was a surprise to say the least... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincent Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 Hoodoo, I'm about to try welding shop O2. Can I take my old medical (aluminum) tanks in to get exchanged. I thought I read where welding tanks are steel. I have my Lincare tanks I was just gonna grind/sand off any markings. I'm with you, mushrooms verap, and O2. Vince Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidaH Posted September 13, 2021 Share Posted September 13, 2021 I'm new here too, but not new to CH. I'm 47, got my first batch around 24yrs young. From what I'm reading, many of you can predict when a cycle is coming. I can either consider myself lucky (I truly feel for chronic sufferers. You must be some of the strongest humans on Earth!) , or unlucky, because my cycles, or clusters, come at varying times. My trigger seems to be--when I have the most going on in life, positive or negative. My last cycle was in June of 2018--likely my worst ever. I was recently divorced, financially broken (but still had and have a decent career), staying with a friend, so kinda homeless, but not really.....but to have my first roommate at 44 was kinda....weird, and I was a bit ashamed of my situation..so big life change, and whammo! My friend who owns a fishing camp, more or less saved my life...I was down...hard. Called me and offered me a cabin cuz "sounds like you need to just go fishing." he said. 3 days, 3 nights, where my only "responsibility" (no kids of my own) was to catch fish, have a couple drinks and sleep to do it all again, was a total decompression---I had my last 2 "Blasters" that put me as close to hell as a man or woman can get, which signals the end of my cycle---the two real 10 out of 10, make your legs numb, make you moan in agony---Blasters. I'm 6 weeks in to my current cycle, started soon after I proposed to the most amazing woman I've ever met. So lots going on, but almost all positive..aside from other stressors like work and covid (in Canada, it...just.....won't....end) Long story short-- 25 or so yrs in-- this is my first ever attempt at treating it--verapamil and rizotriptan (dissolve pills). As I typed that, i can't even believe I've had too much pride to try and treat it......and after rizotriptan calming a lot of them from 8 of 10 and 10 of 10 to like 5 of 10 on the pain scale ...I don't know how in the #### I made it through cycles in the past. Anyhoo, I found for me, the Verapamil did sweet eff a, until 2 weeks in (I started when I was already 4 weeks in...I'm really dumb and stubborn) ...so it worked, I had two (what I thought were) final blasters to sound off the end.... had 4 nights pain free CH free (but weirdly a never-before lingering mini CH 24 hrs a day, on a 1 of 10 pain) so I dropped from 3 verap a day to 1....and boom. Last night, a good 6 of 10 attack--rizo down the hatch, the rest is history....but MAN was I pissed!! I thought I was done! From now on, I'm taking the lingering "punched in the eye" 1 of 10 to mean, it's not done, stay on the verap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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