Hi everybody,i have been suffering from CH for the last 25 years.I ve tried everything.Episodic 15 years and chronic for ten years.Verapamil,lithiun.topomax,pregnisone and 2 intranasal zomig a day. etc...
I ve even tried busting a few times ,but no success.Two years ago saw a new neuro and was put on 720 mil of Verapamil and from there got better.Also I m well equip with o2.o2 works 9 out of 10.
For the last 2 years I was only on 720 mg of verapamil and o2 only had shadows once in a while witch o2 took care of them.But now there back kip 8  every hour day and night.I want to try the d3 regimen but still on verapamil???
Not sure what to do???

PainRider,

Welcome to CH.com.  You've come to the right place and we know what you're going through.

Regarding your question on what to do...  See your PCP or neurologist for the 25(OH)D lab test.  This is the metabolite of vitamin D3 that's used to measure its status.  The odds are you are vitamin D3 deficient or your serum 25(OH)D level is less than 45 ng/mL.  This vitamin D3 deficiency is likely contributing to the frequency and severity of your cluster headaches.

If this is the case, start the anti-inflammatory regimen asap.  It's a healthy regimen of vitamins and minerals and it's presently 80% effective in preventing cluster headache.

There have not been any problems associated or reported taking this regimen with verapamil.

Taking calcium supplements with verapamil can lower verapamil effectiveness so it's best to take the verapamil in the morning and the anti-inflammatory regimen with the evening meal.  Talk to your PCP or neurologist to be sure, but be prepared for pushback...

There are a few neurologists that see an over the counter regimen of vitamins and minerals costing ~ 20 cents a day as a risk to support from big pharma... 

A lot of other neurologist rightly claim there's no medical proof of vitamin D3 efficacy as a cluster headache preventative.  We're trying to answer this problem.  In the mean time print out the section titled:

Basic and Complete Anti-inflammatory Regimen
Treatment Protocol and Dosing Guide
in the following link and take it to your neurologist.  You can also email him this link:

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Please feel free to ask questions and do keep us posted.

Take care,

V/R, Batch

I will do the tests later,i just want to know if I can do the  d3 regimen even if i am on verapamil.thanks

Hi Painrider,
It's best to take the verapamil first thing in the morning
and the D3 Regime with your evening meal.

Good Luck, Hoppy.

I m taking 720 mg of verapamil,240 mg at 6 am,240 at 2 pm and the other240 at 10pm.
I have started d3 today but no calcium since verapamil is a calcium channel blocker.
What do guys think??

Hi Painrider,
You've got me now, I know most folk here take there
Verapamil in the morning and there D3 Regime at night
because of the calcium effect.Im sure one of our more
knowledge members can help you with your :question

Hoppy.

Verapamil is normally taken spaced out over the course of a day.

There are two forms, one is the normal release and the other is the sustained release. For the first form the medication is available soon after it is taken, whilst with the second it is released over a period of time. Some people react well to one but not the other.

With sustained release it is fairly common to split the dose between morning / evening, normally with an even split, but if most of the CHs are around one time slot then there might be an uneven split with the higher dose nearer to when the CH peak time is.

For normal release, this is often split over 2 - 3 doses, again with a possible split in the dose to match the peak time for when CHs happen.

Do always work with your doctor when changing anything to do with dose levels and timings.

If taking a calcium supplement, take this at a time away from when you take verapamil. Again work with your doctor on the exact timing.

Hi Painrider,
I,m not sure if this can help answer your? I've just dug
through some info on CHs and Verapamil, and a good
guide is when taking Verapamil is, 2x 120mg tabs /day
for 2 weeks, then 3 x 120mg tabs /day for 2 weeks,
and finally 4 x 120mg tabs /day. this way you can
take the Verapamil dose in the morning and the D3
Regime at night with your evening meal for the best
results.

Hoppy.

Taking all of the verapamil dose at one point during the day is not normally effective.

The half life of verapamil when taken over a period of time is 4.5 to 12.0 (see link below). This means that the effective amount of verapamil in the blood stream will have dropped by half over a time period of around 7 hours, to a quarter after 14 and 1/8 after about 24. Since most people get most of their CHs overnight, it would coincide with when their verapamil levels were significantly lower.

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This is why the dose is normally spread out over the day to try to keep the blood levels a lot more consistent.

Hi painrider,
I would imagine you are getting totally  [smiley=confused.gif]
by now.If you read what Batch has posted on this thread,
it should make things a lot more clear, on Verapamil /D3
Regime.

Hoppy.