Anyone tried this heartmedicine against CH?
Just talked to another fellow clusterhead about different types of medicine and he told me he got Verakard during his last cycle. This stopped more than 50% of his nightly attacks.

Im on day 4 of my yearly cycle so i am gonna try to get some of this medicine tomorrow.

So far ive tried Predisolon, Imigran (nasal and needle) and O2. Felt no difference using Predisolon (only made me fat!), and Imigran shorten the attacks from 90 to 30 minutes. O2 i dont know cause ive never tried it alone, only with Imigran.

Verakard, Verapamil  Real popular.

       Potter

Ah... Real annoying when ur from a country where medicine got different names than in the english spoken countries...

The different names aren't a problem.  That is why we have so many who are familiar with them or are able to search out the name changes across languages.  O2 has been very effective for me if I use it right away and at a high enough flow rate.  I strongly suggest you read the Oxygen info button in yellow on the left of the screen.  The only change I would make in its recommendations is to increase the flow rate to at least 25lpm.  It was usually effective for me in 5-8 minutes.

Jerry

Mothx wrote on Nov 25^th, 2012 at 7:22pm:

Imigran shorten the attacks from 90 to 30 minutes.

Imigran is another name for imitrex. Since it is taking you 30 minutes to kill off a CH I am guessing that you are using the tablet form and not injections. If so, try the injectable form and it should work in about 5 minutes.

Do try oxygen as it's an amazingly effective way to kill of CHs. I kill mine off in about 5 minutes.

Ive never tried the tablets form of Imigran, only nasal and injections. Nasal i find useless.

I only get the attacks when asleep.
Starting in my dreams, i get a serious headache. Then wake up, injecting myself (sometimes if the pain is too much my girlfriend does the injection) and heading straight to the shower where the water is so hot i cant believe im not seriously burned. Its like the water is spreading the pain all over my body, so its not that consentrated into my left eye  :'(. Stay there until the pain is gone. Approx 30 min. Never had an attack that lasted less than 15 minutes...

Got really dry skin though, showering 3-4 times a day a 30 minutes seems to do that to ur skin...

Tried to get a hold of my headache-doctor today to get Verapamil, but a mix of me being busy at work and hes not available on the phone all day made it difficult. Gonna give it a go tomorrow, still got enough needles to go through the night.

Have you tried splitting your Imitrex doses? There's a link on the left side of this page called "imitrex tip" that's worth trying. It can spread out your doses, but you might have to experiment with the amount per injection. Daily total limit is 12 mg no matter how you spread it out.

For the other issue, I usually prescribe lotion, OTC at your neighborhood drugstore.   [smiley=bath.gif]

We say these things so often because it is our best advice at the time, but I just want to add that many of us, me included, have found chugging a Red Bull or some other taurine/caffeine energy drink at the start of a hit and then coupling it with high flow O2 can abort the hit in 2-5 minutes. Read the O2 tip and ask any questions, but it is the best abortive around. As for the verapamil, most docs won't go above 240mg/day but for many of us, again myself included, I need at least 360-480/mg per day. It does work but some of the side effects are a bit annoying. God bless. lance

Wow!!! I cant believe i havent tried Redbull before!
After reading wimsey1s response i bought 10 cans of Redbull (the big ones).
Drank 3 of them just b4 going to bed and... nothing! No attack during the night!
Then i went to sleep the next afternoon without drinking Redbull. 30 minutes and the beast was back. >:(

Next night, 3 cans of Redbull (1,5 litres), and nothing! :D
I do get several massive shadows during the day, but no pain. THIS i can easily live with! So thx alot!

Now i just need to stack up my Redbull supply for another 20 days until the cycle is over.

Welcome mothx...sorry you have to be here but it IS the right place! As a follow up to Lance's excellent thoughts....

Re the energy drinks:

Red Bull does work...I think others just as good, maybe better...and a whole lot cheaper....at least here in the US RB among the most expensive (the first and LOTS of advertising)...you don't need to pay for that...you just need the caffeine and taurine...read the labels...buy by price and taste (tho most taste like caca...NOS is one of the better tasting methinks). I haunt the discount groceries for 5 hour knockoffs...or sometimes the actual brand...just bought a dozen for $0.80 per

Red Bull  has only 80 mg caffeine...about the same as a cup of coffee...personally I need 150-200 mg

per conversation on the board... 1000+ mg taurine (caffeine turbocharger, perhaps other beneficial effects) seems to be a key element...not sure how much Red Bull has...can't find on the net tonight...but I thought not so much

slow down a little...3 at a pop is a whole LOT of sugar to get the same effects as 1 to1/2  can "Wired" (what I use, 344 mg caffeine, 3000 mg taurine...I drink 1/2 can at a time) or several of the RockStars...and a whole bunch of others. Better yet, sugar free versions or something like 2 oz 5-Hour Energy

titrate up not down...start with one can or one dose...you want the least amount of any of these that gives you the desired effect

be SURE to tell your doc about energy drink usage....some neuros are leery of taurine  and especially taurine/verapamil mix....taurine enhances the effect of the verapamil

Best,

Jon

Thx for the input on the energy drinks, Jon.
When it comes to prices on the cans, i live in Norway wich is extremely expensive and u cant find a can under 3$ in the stores. But lucky me works for one of the world largest brewery companies, so i get em almost for free.

The energy drinks is a major breakthrough for me. After 9 years fighting the beast with 1 to 2 cycles each year, i finally found something that actually breaks the cycle. Usually the cycle lasts for 1 month, never less than 25 days. This time 7 days!
Last night i even did a test by drinking some beers (my biggest trigger), but nothing!

So i HOPE the cycle is broken, and not only postponed.

Btw, ive tried to find out if u can buy pills with Taurine, but no luck so far. So give me a shout if they even exist.


Chris

Watch out for rebound headaches when dealing with those energy drinks. Some people don't get them, but I was getting day long headaches after using Red Bull. Only in an emergency situation where I was out of all other abortive options would I consider using the energy drink cocktail.