So I have been having success with the d3 regiment and the verapamil dose I'm at - no major hits.  I do get shadows still and use energy drinks to knock that back.  I was a heavy coffee / energy drink user (24 oz of full octane coffee each morning, and atleast one energy drink, maybe two on bad days in the afternoon) before I started getting CH but now I am using them even more to beat back shadows.

I am concerned about my caffeine intake - Anyone have advice for cutting it back or dealing with the withdraw affects (mainly headache! )?  Mainly at work, at home I have O2 to fight off the shadows.  I am trying to only use the coffee / energy drink when I feel a bad shadow at work, but I am wondering if the shadows are made worse by caffeine withdraw?  I guess more experimentation is in order for me to figure out my own head / body.  Just thought I would put this out there.

Hello

I do believe you need to watch your energy drink intake while taking Verapamil. Something to do with the Taurine??While I was on it I tried to limit myself to one sugar free redbull a day.

Although I am no longer on Verapamil (started causing irregular heartbeats) I continue to fight the shadows at work with redbull. Most of the time it works. The times it doesn't thankfully my boss has been understanding thus far. For now. The D3 regiment has been a miracle though!

Our bodies are all different, the cursed beast takes advantage of this. I am starting to believe he is some sort of highly educated phantom striking at our weakest moment. Lurking in the shadows behind our eyes, laughing as he smokes a joint laced with children's tears...

Mike NZ posted this Jan 2012....he's one of our more research oriented posters:

The caffeine acts a vasoconstrictor.

Taurine acts as a calcium channel antagonist, which is the same as verapamil, so the effect of the taurine is cumulative to that of the verapamil.

Verapamil is linked to some people having a change in their ECG (PR interval change), which is why it's important to get regular ECGs whilst taking verapamil or when changing doseage. If you add too much taurine, then it's effectively a dose change.

Where the PR interval changes, stopping the verapamil is effective for the vast majority of people in reversing the PR change.

However I've not seen anything that conclusively shows what number of cans of energy drink is "too many", hence the caution in taking only a "few".

Joe

Ill ask my PCP on Tuesday about a ECG to be sure I'm good.  I feel fine, actually getting more exercise and eating better. Its just the damn shadows hit me around 1030am, 230pm and sometimes around 9pm - almost the same times i have gotten a CH previously. Rest of the day I feel pretty damn good now.