Hi, I'm a new member suffering from cluster headaches since 2001.  My name is Rick, and I have tried Prednisone (worked a little) and verapamil, which didn't seem to work too well with me.  I'm going to see a doctor of osteopathy, whom is going to do something called "cranial manipulation", and I was just wondering if I am wasting $250.00 ... If anyone knows anything about this, I would love to hear feedback!  I'm really glad I found a group of people with the same problem as me... for the longest time, people thought I was going insane, and just BS'ing them... EVEN ER doctors!!! 

Good luck with that. Unless he can somehow manipulate your hypothalamus, which is pretty much in the center of your brain.

I tried chiropractic for these darned things once. My chiro made me a promise: give her two weeks, three times a week, with both adjustments and follow-up therapy to attempt to get rid of the headaches. If it works, pay me. If it doesn't, you don't owe me a dime.

I ended up not owing her a dime.

Good Luck and I hope you did lots of research on this...

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Sadly I think it will be a waste of money. If you have CH, your hypothalamus is running a bit weird. No amount of manipulating the cranium will fix that.

Start by reading the oxygen info tab on the left. I abort my attacks in 6-8 minutes just by huffing 02. 32 year episodic sufferer, untreated my attacks used to run anywhere from 90 minutes to 3 hours.

Look into energy drinks, rock star red bull, any containing caffiene and taurine. Chugged at the first hnt of an attack many can abort or reduce the level of their hits.

Most who ttied verapamil unsuccesfully were at way too low a dose..myself included. I was at 120 mg a day and it did nothing for me. Some go as high as 960 mg a day to get relief. If you go to a higher level of verapamil, then go easy on the aforementioned energy drinks, verapamil and taurine don't play well together.

Look at   clusterbusters.com   for  "non traditional" methods of treating CH, some pretty amazing success stories over there, especially from some of our more "med resisant" CH'ers.

I'm glad you found us and reached out to us. Start reading like crazy, an educated CH'er hurts a whole lot less. Welcome home.

joe

Quote:

verapamil and taurine don't play well together.

Not only do they not play well together, they can cause SERIOUS heart rhythm problems when taken together.

It can be done, but you have to limit the amount of taurine you ingest to a small amount, like one serving of an energy drink per day.

Please save your money on the manipulatiions.

We have a sufferer here who is a chiropractor who is also a sufferer.   He has said here many many times...it will not help.  For a Dr. of this method to say this...that means something.

Linda

Wallet manipulation

Osteopathy can be very helpful for a lot of conditions, but CH is NOT one of them. 

What Joe said, with one addition.  If Verap at high doses doesn't do the job for you look into Kudzu, an over the counter Chinese herbal remedy that worked well for me.

Jerry

Thanks for all the advice;  I am cancelling my appointment with the DO, and going to see a General Practitioner today.  About the Verapamil, you are right.  I was only taking a half a pill everyday!  I was reading on here, like you said, and discovered that I need to be taking a larger dose, thank you for clarifying this for me. 
All the best,

Rick

Keep asking away, lots of good info here. Really push for the oxygen, it's been an absolute life saver for so many of us.

Joe

execchefpierce wrote on Jan 6^th, 2011 at 8:40am:

About the Verapamil, you are right.  I was only taking a half a pill everyday!

Be careful about breaking pills in half. If you're using the SR form (Sustained Release) then it is designed to be absorbed over several hours, however breaking it will alter the release rate.

If in doubt, ask your pharmacist first.

Mike NZ wrote on Jan 6^th, 2011 at 1:50pm:

execchefpierce wrote on Jan 6th, 2011 at 8:40am: About the Verapamil, you are right.  I was only taking a half a pill everyday!  Be careful about breaking pills in half. If you're using the SR form (Sustained Release) then it is designed to be absorbed over several hours, however breaking it will alter the release rate. If in doubt, ask your pharmacist first.

Correction: This is not the case with SR or ER verapamil you can break a pill in half without altering the SR/ER capabilities.  I am on a prescribed dose of 1 & 1/2  totaling 360 mg per day.  All the components/ingredients of the pills are mixed in to a powder and then to a paste to make each pill.  Each pill no matter which half has all medicinal components/ingredients in it. 

But with an newly exposed edge - one without a protective coating - the compressed pill may break down in the gut faster than the manufacturer intended.

Verapamil SR / Calan SR  tablet   Slow -Release (h)

(h) Tablet is scored and may be broken in half without affecting release characteristics.

Source:
Institute for Safe Medication Practices
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Good to know, Ginger. Some meds don't work that way.

Brew wrote on Jan 6^th, 2011 at 7:57pm:

Good to know, Ginger. Some meds don't work that way.

This is true, it is always best to check with your doc, pharmacist and to do your own research.   ;)

My verapamil has the following on the pharmacy label - "Swallow whole, do not crush or chew.".

There are multiple manufacturers of verapamil so it is possible that what applies to one may not apply to all.

Always consult with your pharmacist before chopping up tablets.

Mike NZ wrote on Jan 7^th, 2011 at 1:57pm:

My verapamil has the following on the pharmacy label - "Swallow whole, do not crush or chew.". There are multiple manufacturers of verapamil so it is possible that what applies to one may not apply to all. Always consult with your pharmacist before chopping up tablets.

Yes with different variations of medication there are different rules so always check the facts.  However with both SR/ER and Regular Verapamil you can break the pills in half without altering the effects.
But never crush or chew them   [smiley=hurl.gif]

30 years ago my doctor was an Osteopathic Doc. He was very good as a physician. He tried his best to help me. Sent me to the ear-nose-throat guy. Then to the dentist guy. Then to the eye guy. None of those helped.
Then he just handed me his Physician’s Desk Reference book and said “Look through this and when you find your headache let me know”. It worked. Great guy that Osteopath.

ER is extended release. The extended release effect is not created by the coating on the tablet.

A tablet is basically a bunch of stuff clumped together. That stuff can be powder and it can be larger particles structured for extended release.

I work in a nursing home, and many of the residents cannot swallow pills whole. So they are crushed and put in apple sauce, for instance. No extended release tablets are prescribed to them. However, they may have time release capsules, which we open and dump into the apple sauce.

I know this post is running long . . . but my understanding is that most CH sufferers are prescribed the short release version, which enables dosage to be fine tuned more easily.

Don't be afraid to take the amount of verapamil that will do the trick. And go out and buy some Metamucil!

Just my personal experience.