I had LEEP surgery on my cervix to remove CIN3/Carcenoma in situ Oct. 3rd.

My dillema- I cannot take any form of steroids for at least a year and Prednisone has been a life saver for me.
Any alternatives to an anti-inflammatory w/o steroids??

Hi Kimmie -
I'm sorry but I'm a little confused. You want another anti inflammatory but do you want it for CH??

Yes for my ch's.

After i had my LEEP procedure, my doc said to avoid any and all steroids as it would severly weaken my immune system, and my recovery from the procedure would be threatened.

Now i'm trying to find an alternative to prednisone that may (key word) produce simular effectiveness as prednisone for my clusters.

This just has not been a good year for me [smiley=nono.gif]

How long do your cycles usually last Kimmie?
It has a bearing on what I suggest.
There are things I can suggest but nothing that I know is safe with your current state of health - that is, I'm not saying they are UNSAFE, merely that I do not know.
Do you use any abortives at all?

LeLimey,

I'm episodic. My cycle generally lasts around 4 weeks. It's like clockwork...either in the fall or right as spring is approaching.

I've noticed my cycles have (over many years) gotten longer, whereas since the beginning of having ch's they were typically around 2 weeks long.

How old were you when you were diagnosed?

I ask this because it still boggles my mind in all the research i have done over the years that females generally do not have ch's until middle age and i have had them since i was in my early 20's.

Note:

Abortives i use are:
imitrex 20mg nasal
I use the water regimen
A pred shot- (i cannot use verapmil with the pred taper)
Java Monster's loaded with taurine
and the good ol' tylenol asprin mix during the day for shadows.

Imitrex injections are faster acting than the nasal sprays but if you want to use nasal sprays ask for ZOMIG - aka zolmitriptan. It's still a nasal spray triptan but compared to Imitrex MUCH superior (as a nasal spray) The imtrex has a half life of two hours, the Zomig has a half life of eight - instantly much better!

You might also want to consider frovatriptan as although it's a tablet which makes it not so good at aborting, it has a half life of 26 hours - you can take two in 24 hours too so it's a pretty good option at blocking hits.

Water is always a good thing to do, it's good for you on lots of levels and the high energy drinks and coffee are worthy things to have to hand as well.

Your cycles aren't really long enough for verap in all honesty since it takes a couple of weeks to even get going. I would recommend you fill your prescription at least once at the "end" of your cycle though so you have a small stockpile for if they come back unexpectedly.

One thing I have learned with CH is to expect the unexpected!

I'm sorry about the cin3. I've had two irregular results and have just had a third test done but the slide was broken so I now have to wait 3 months until they can repeat. It's kind of tough. I'm glad you're through the other side of that and at least recovering now!

I have had CH for almost 15 years. I was 29 with a two day old baby when I had my first attack. Easter Sunday of 1995.
I know several people who have had it since teens and my own son was diagnosed at the age of three. Don't let anyone tell you it's middle aged men who get this, they don't know what they're talking about!


Hope the med info helps!
Helen

Thank you so much for the information on Zomig.

I will DEFINATELY have my pcp write a script for it.

I also take vitamins and melatonin everyday...even when not in cycle.

I just started doing this so maybe hopefully it will have some effect...

If not for this cycle, maybe the next one.

Thanks so much for the help :)

Hi Kimmie,

I've been at these since I was 14 in 1992.  There are a few other girls on here that I know have started at puberty-ish age.  My CH's have seemed to gradually get worse too.  The kip level has increased, duration of the CH and the length of my cycle.  I tend to have spring and fall CH's too.  Most of the time, it is a change in the weather. 
I wasn't diagnosed until 2004, I was going through a terrible bout with them.  My roommates were in awe, they took me to the ER a few times.  I was totally exhausted, I was sooo tired.  I had absolutely thrown in the towel.  That was when I found out I had CH's and I found this community.

Anyway, this is my CH cocktail:
80mg of V, 7am,Noon,5pm,10pm totaling 320mg
Imitrex shot (I use the tip on the side menu)
O2, 15LPM (before Imitrex)
Water 3x's
9mg Melatonin at night (Liquid droppers)

This particular cycle has been quite tame.  My last cycle in the late summer of 08 was hell!  Made 3 ER trips, got super depressed, not fun.  It was just about a 3 month cycle.  It took me a very, very long time to pull out of my CH hangover.

PFDAN,
Angela