Hi All,
so, 18 months CH free, and started a new cycle two days ago (today is my birthday yippee  :(... )
the first one was a scorcher, 5 hrs solid with nothing in the house to even pretend might help. I live in Macau and have a doctors appointment for Monday which I dont expect will result in anything stronger than asparin being prescribed!
I got in some Red Bull yeterday and had it by my bed, I also had some Valium kicking around, and in the spirit of trying anything at all, I necked the Red Bull and took a Valium when it arrived at 2am as usual. I dont remember anything past 3am! I know this is hardly conclusive, but has anyone else had success with Valium? I am new to the site but been a sufferer for the last 4 years, so forgive me if this has already been discussed at length.
Peace, love and pain freedom to you all

If your assumption is correct--your doc doesn't know anything about headache--see if he is open to learning. Print out these two medical abstracts and give to him; use them as a tool to discuss treatment options.

He may be open to receiving this info. when he sees it comes from medical sources.
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PDF file,below; then print out the full article below.

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Cluster headache.
From: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE (Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases)
[Easy to read; one of the better overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article--link, line above--if you are serious about keeping a good medical library on the subject.]

Leroux E, Ducros A.

ABSTRACT: Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disease characterized by recurrent short-lasting attacks (15 to 180 minutes) of excruciating unilateral periorbital pain accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic signs (lacrimation, nasal congestion, ptosis, miosis, lid edema, redness of the eye). It affects young adults, predominantly males. Prevalence is estimated at 0.5-1.0/1,000. CH has a circannual and circadian periodicity, attacks being clustered (hence the name) in bouts that can occur during specific months of the year. ALCOHOL IS THE ONLY DIETARY TRIGGER OF CH, STRONG ODORS (MAINLY SOLVENTS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE) AND NAPPING MAY ALSO TRIGGER CH ATTACKS. During bouts, attacks may happen at precise hours, especially during the night. During the attacks, patients tend to be restless. CH may be episodic or chronic, depending on the presence of remission periods. CH IS ASSOCIATED WITH TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION AND NEUROENDOCRINE AND VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCES, HOWEVER, THE PRECISE CAUSATIVE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNKNOWN. Involvement of the hypothalamus (a structure regulating endocrine function and sleep-wake rhythms) has been confirmed, explaining, at least in part, the cyclic aspects of CH. The disease is familial in about 10% of cases. Genetic factors play a role in CH susceptibility, and a causative role has been suggested for the hypocretin receptor gene. Diagnosis is clinical. Differential diagnoses include other primary headache diseases such as migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania and SUNCT syndrome. At present, there is no curative treatment. There are efficient treatments to shorten the painful attacks (acute treatments) and to reduce the number of daily attacks (prophylactic treatments). Acute treatment is based on subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. Verapamil, lithium, methysergide, prednisone, greater occipital nerve blocks and topiramate may be used for prophylaxis. In refractory cases, deep-brain stimulation of the hypothalamus and greater occipital nerve stimulators have been tried in experimental settings.THE DISEASE COURSE OVER A LIFETIME IS UNPREDICTABLE. Some patients have only one period of attacks, while in others the disease evolves from episodic to chronic form.

PMID: 18651939 [PubMed]
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The Valium likely relaxed you enough so that you could sleep but this class of meds is not used for Cluster.

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Thanks for the very valuable references! was given a migraine drug yesterday (which isn't available here in Macau) as a freebie, which had little effect. today the doctor started referring to my condition as CH instead of migraine which is a start! I have been prescribed something called Verapamil which is, I think,similar to a Beta Blocker. The effect of this was to bring the start of my attack much earlier in the evening, I immediately took another 80mg + 800mg of Ibuprofen and a can of Red Bull, amazingly it seemed to catch the attack and now I am down to a manageable shadow. I intend to take another dose before bed with the antihistamine I was also given to induce drowsiness. It all seems so hit and miss, I have started a spreadsheet to try and record everything that happens to see if I can see a pattern that works for me.
Thanks for your kind help, in the meantime, please look at this for a laugh! probably the best visual interpretation of the KIP scale ever!!

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Couple of things......the antihistamine is used by some on the board to avoid the nite time hits. Many also use melatonin, an over the counter sleep aid, start with 9 mg about 30 minutes before bed time. Give it a few days to work, many swear by its ability to kill the night time hits.

Don't expect any results from the verapamil right away. It'll take up to 14 days to build up to a therapeudic level. Many have to go way high on the dosing, up to 960 mg a day, to get relief. It is a very common first line try at  a prevent and many people have success with it. Shows your doc has at least a basic knowledge of CH. DO NOT  adjust the dose without working with the doc, it's high horse power stuff.

Then work on getting oxygen. The miracle abortive for so many CH'ers it's an absolute crime not to at least try it. My aborts run 6-8 minutes, beats the old 90 minute rides I used to take.

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That link will make you an expert on 02!

Joe

thanks again for the assistance, the Verapamil was seemingly no use at all, in fact I had my worst ever bout last night, 3 hits in 16 hrs with the middle one lasting 3 hrs peaking at a 9. I am exhausted today and still have a constant shadow at about a 3, I will try and convince the doc to look at the oxygen details you've given me but have low hopes of him prescribing it. I will try the water thing today and see what happens next. Thanks again
Mike

Mike, as Joe said, don't give up on the verapamil too quickly. It's a long term preventative, not an abortive. It takes time to build up in your system, and many of us have found its effectiveness well beyond 400mg/day, up to 960mg/day. And do be careful of mixing too much Red Bull with the verapamil. Those of us who use both are careful to try and limit ourselves to one energy drink a day. Good luck with O2...it really rocks! Blessings. lance

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKE!
Am drinking to you with a Vod & Fresh Orange!
Will get some already suggested Red Bull tomorrow!
Cheers!
Gary

Thanks again all for the support and advice; so if I understand correctly,it's unlikely the Verapaimil is going to be doing very much at the moment. I have been prescribed 3 doses of Ibuprofen at 800mg each dose and Anihistamine to assist with sleep, so the only abortive component is the Ibuprofen? I had an attack last night and took an extra dose of the Ibuprofen but of course the attack still lasted nearly 2 hrs, I was too exhausted to go to the doctor yesterday but could go today, if he still resists the O2, what other quick abortive could I suggest?
Thanks again,
Mike

REALLY REALLY FIGHT  for the 02. Imagine feeling an attack coming on, and 8 minutes later being pain free. Tell your doctor that NOT prescribing 02 for you is malpractice. It's safe, fast, non addictive unlike all the damned narcotics they push, doesn't screw up your guts like ibuprofen, no side effects, what's not to like from a doc's perspective?

Imitrex INJECTABLES  work as fast as oxygen, but they are expensive, and many of us believe that trex extends cycles.

Good luck with the doc!

Joe

Dear all,
I think I may be on the back end of this episode, its been the worst I have ever suffered, but I know that I am one of the lucky ones as mine is not chronic. I have had to to take 10 days off work and thankfully my employer has been sympathetic. I have a minor shadow now as I write this, but I hope I am through the worst. I salute you all for the support and assistance you unselfishly give, I am in awe of you all and wish you all relief from this nightmare. my poor dog has been very confused by the late night wailing walks, but I hope we are free now for a while.
I will do my utmost to make sure we have some 02 around in future, it was just luck that my wife was back in the UK on holiday for this one and didnt have to put up with it...
once again thanks.....x
mike

We're glad to have you, stick around on and off cycle. Always good to keep up with current treatments so the next time the beast come's a visiting you're ready to kick his butt! ;)

Joe

Mike Macau wrote on Jan 15^th, 2011 at 4:10am:

Hi All, so, 18 months CH free, and started a new cycle two days ago (today is my birthday yippee  :(... ) the first one was a scorcher, 5 hrs solid with nothing in the house to even pretend might help. I live in Macau and have a doctors appointment for Monday which I dont expect will result in anything stronger than asparin being prescribed! I got in some Red Bull yeterday and had it by my bed, I also had some Valium kicking around, and in the spirit of trying anything at all, I necked the Red Bull and took a Valium when it arrived at 2am as usual. I dont remember anything past 3am! I know this is hardly conclusive, but has anyone else had success with Valium? I am new to the site but been a sufferer for the last 4 years, so forgive me if this has already been discussed at length. Peace, love and pain freedom to you all

I WOULD like to ask what are the reactions after mixing valium and red bull ? is it serious ? are there some serious reactions, that can have bad influence on you?

Quote:

I necked the Red Bull and took a Valium I immediately took another 80mg + 800mg of Ibuprofen and a can of Red Bull, amazingly it seemed to catch the attack

Valium and Red Bull.
Ibuprofen and Red Bull.
My thoughts are it's the Red Bull that is helping. Have you tried just the Red Bull without the valium or ibuprofen?
Also, Red Bull, 5 Hour Energy drink, Monster have all been mentioned here that will knock down shadows.

BobG wrote on Jan 14^th, 2013 at 9:04am:

Quote: I necked the Red Bull and took a Valium I immediately took another 80mg + 800mg of Ibuprofen and a can of Red Bull, amazingly it seemed to catch the attack  Valium and Red Bull. Ibuprofen and Red Bull. My thoughts are it's the Red Bull that is helping. Have you tried just the Red Bull without the valium or ibuprofen? Also, Red Bull, 5 Hour Energy drink, Monster have all been mentioned here that will knock down shadows.

I second what BobG said. blessings. lance