Hi,

Its not my first time here but it has been a year and i forgot my loggin details like a plank.

Anyway i have been a CH sufferer for the past 9 years.

I am currently on 480mg of verapamil a day, using a combination of redbull, coffee and zomig nasal sprays for acute attacks (i was using the injections but they made me very ill.

I have kind of cut a deal with my doc although it sounds more like bribery to me but i dont care. Deal is stop smoking get oxygen but i wont be able to get it for this cycle so i got to muster through the next 6-7 weeks.

Anyway to the point.....

It is very rare for me to get a day attack this cycle (in the last 2 weeks probably 2) but i am getting hit hard about an hour after falling asleep. So hard in fact that even with the redbull and nasal spray it is still lasting between 30 and 60 minutes (without it is much worse so they do have some effect)

I have done a fair bit of research on CH and REM sleep and sleep disorders and have tried many things including a tennis ball in t-shirt to stop sleeping on my back, nasal strips etc. Unfortunately they didnt help.

I have read good things about melatonin but was wondering if i can use melatonin while using verapamil?

I know none of your are doctors and i appreciate that but believe me you can be no worse than my doctors i have been through 7 in the last 6 years and one of them even told me to take 20 asprins a day (yes i know hard to believe) you can imagine how ill that made me.

Anyway just looking for a bit of information and advice

Appreciate it

Craig

craig2479 wrote on Jan 11^th, 2009 at 9:55am:

... am getting hit hard about an hour after falling asleep. So hard in fact that even with the redbull and nasal spray it is still lasting between 30 and 60 minutes (without it is much worse so they do have some effect) was wondering if i can use melatonin while using verapamil?

Back when n/s Imitrex was all I had, I would always check the bedside clock when I took it because they came on fast and hard upon waking.  Forty minutes was always finally the breaking point when subsiding got under way, knowing to hang on until that time was always the goal.  I used those cooler icepacks to help, handheld in a washcloth with it directly on the temple following the area of worst pain, which moved around a bit, seemingly away from the cold.

Tough going, 480 verap and still coming on like that.  When that happened, I discussed with doc about increasing in steps, trying 600 then to 720 if it's ok, gave more help.  If it doesn't, then verap may not be effective for you.

Oxygen would really help, you'd be looking at cutting down the increasing pain time to ten minutes or so.  His condition for getting oxygen seems not so reasonable, MANY clusterheads smoke and oxygen is a mainstay.  

The addition of melatonin with verapamil has helped me on few occasions, getting a pf night here and there, could be worth it.

Gary's neuro has him walking up on verapamil - he's at 480mg right now, but it's not helping yet, but that's neither here nor there.  To address your question, the neuro also has him on melatonin.  He's taking 5mg regular release and 6mg extended release, but neuro says up to 18mg in total is non-toxic.  Of course, always best to start with small amount and work up to what helps.

Laurie

   I was taking 480 Mg Verap and 10 Mg Melatonin a day at one time. I had to stop the Verap because of my heart condition. Had nothing to do with the Melatonin, which I still take.
[smiley=smokin.gif]

I don't know of any interaction between Verapamil and Melatonin.  I've used both at the same time with no ill effects.

I would be a bit careful mixing energy drinks and Verapamil though.  The Taurine in energy drinks and Verapamil are both calcium channel blockers.  Block too many calcium channels and you get problems with heart rythm.

The closest to any real advice I've seen on how to safely combine them was just to limit the energy drinks to one or two per day.

One time I drank two within four hours on top of my 400mg of Verapamil and ran into some issues that scared the crap out of me.  Felt like my heart was going to leap out of my chest.  The symptoms passed in about an hour.  I was very close to dialing 911.

Be careful...

-Dennis-

I just start started taking both 120mg Verapamil from the doctor and 10mg Melatonin by my own research before bed time, and have no ill side effects.

Just a good nights sleep for the first time in months! I'm just happy to remember I was dreaming but forget the dreams, if you know what I mean!

I'm wondering if Melatonin is for me.

I usually get bouts in July and November, which last for 4-5 weeks.

I'm currently on a bout that came from nowhere, out of season for me.

I'm currently on 320 mg Verapamil, and Sumatriptan for those that get through.

I have suffered for 16 years, and was in agony for the first 12 before being diagnosed - Verapalmil has been a life saver for me.

Usually, the verapamil lets a few attacks through, but, nukes most of them.  This time, it is less effective...it's still effective, I'm getting kip 3-6, but, many more attacks are getting through - and I'm getting many more shadows than usual, partucularly the day after an attack.

The other thing with me is this - whether in season or not, I am VERY nocturnal.  I generally go to sleep around 3.30am, and get up at at around 10am.

I am poor, but, if I was so rich that I didn't need to work, then my body's natural state would be that I'd be most comfortable going to bed around 6am, and waking up around 2am.  Of course, I have to make a living, so that is impossible.

I also wake up 2 or 3 times a night, sometimes needing the loo, sometimes, just waking up.

I have always been an insomniac, but, have absolutely no problems getting to sleep in the day.

I'm wondering if melatonin is for me, and as well as deling with the attacks, would, maybe fix my broken sleep (when I can sleep in the day, eg, holidays, my sleep in MUCH less broken).

Ok...a bit of a rabley post, apologies for that...