Post by Guiseppi on Dec 21st, 2012 at 11:24pm
Welcome to the board Big Mac. I’ve had CH for 34years, they haven’t killed me yet! You need an organized approach to managing them so they don’t manage your life. I use a 3 pronged approach, many use a similar approach:
1: A good prevent med. That's typically what Topomax is used for, but it's not the typical first round prevent, Verapamil is the most common first line prevent, I use lithium, it blocks 60-70% of my attack. Some have to combine lithium and verapamil together to get relief.
2: A transitional med. Most prevents will take up to 2 weeks to become effective. I go on a prednisone taper, from 80 mg to zero over a two week period to give me a break while my prevent builds up. Prednisone will provide up to 100% relief for many CH’ers but is harsh on the system and should only be used for short periods of time.
3: An abortive therapy, the attack starts, now what? Oxygen should be your first line abortive. Breathing pure 02 will abort an attack for me in less then 10 minutes, that’s completely pain free. Read this link as it must be used correctly or it will not work
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Imitrex nasal spray and injectables are very effective abortives. I use the injectables, they’re expensive, and I rarely use them, mostly just when I get caught away from the oxygen. The pill form generally works too slow to be effective for CH’ers.
Go to the medications section of this board and read the post " Anti-Inflammatory Regimen and Survey” It’s a vitamin/mineral/fish oil supplement, all over the counter stuff, that’s providing a lot of relief for people who have tried it, it’s healthy for you even without CH!
For now, get some energy drinks. Rock Star, Monster, any containing the combo of caffeine and taurine, chug it down as fast as you can when you feel an attack starting. Many can abort or at least really reduce an attack using these.
Finally, visit our sister board for “alternative” treatment methods outside of mainstream medicine. As you’ll see from all the success stories on this board, there is something to it.
clusterbusters.com
Let us know what area you're from maybe we can refer you to a doc that's CH knowledgeable.
Read everything you can on this board, with CH, knowledge is your best ally. We’ll help you all we can.
Joe
1: A good prevent med. That's typically what Topomax is used for, but it's not the typical first round prevent, Verapamil is the most common first line prevent, I use lithium, it blocks 60-70% of my attack. Some have to combine lithium and verapamil together to get relief.
2: A transitional med. Most prevents will take up to 2 weeks to become effective. I go on a prednisone taper, from 80 mg to zero over a two week period to give me a break while my prevent builds up. Prednisone will provide up to 100% relief for many CH’ers but is harsh on the system and should only be used for short periods of time.
3: An abortive therapy, the attack starts, now what? Oxygen should be your first line abortive. Breathing pure 02 will abort an attack for me in less then 10 minutes, that’s completely pain free. Read this link as it must be used correctly or it will not work
START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or END PRINTPAGEImitrex nasal spray and injectables are very effective abortives. I use the injectables, they’re expensive, and I rarely use them, mostly just when I get caught away from the oxygen. The pill form generally works too slow to be effective for CH’ers.
Go to the medications section of this board and read the post " Anti-Inflammatory Regimen and Survey” It’s a vitamin/mineral/fish oil supplement, all over the counter stuff, that’s providing a lot of relief for people who have tried it, it’s healthy for you even without CH!
For now, get some energy drinks. Rock Star, Monster, any containing the combo of caffeine and taurine, chug it down as fast as you can when you feel an attack starting. Many can abort or at least really reduce an attack using these.
Finally, visit our sister board for “alternative” treatment methods outside of mainstream medicine. As you’ll see from all the success stories on this board, there is something to it.
clusterbusters.com
Let us know what area you're from maybe we can refer you to a doc that's CH knowledgeable.
Read everything you can on this board, with CH, knowledge is your best ally. We’ll help you all we can.
Joe
http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?action=downloadfile;file=THERAPIES-_Headache_2011.pdf (96 KB | 16
)