I'm a 65 yr old female, clusters diagnosed in 2006, started on verapamil which stopped the cycle in less than 2 weeks.
Normally cycle in late winter, early spring and my last was in spring of 2012. That cycle I started on the D3 regimen with a max of 10,000 D3 along with mag citrate, and fish oil. Cycles normally last about 2 months..at the peak a hit every hour at night. My cycle died about 3 weeks after starting the regimen (thanks BATCH!). Family Dr tested my D25 in May of 2012 and again May 2013...42ng. After the cycle ended I stayed on 5,000 D3 with Dr's blessing.

Started a cycle middle of August but with only daytime hits..gradually moving to nighttime. I upped my D3 to 10,000 immediately and then up again to 15,000 about 2 weeks ago. Within a week, I was down to 1 -2 hits at night that were kip 7-8 and short.

Thankfully they ended a week ago with just a small shadow at the nerve root!!! I do see a Neuro who told me "whatever works" concerning the D3 and gave me a script for O2 and prednisone (just in case).

My question is when should I have my D3 retested? And should I drop back to 10,000 or 5,000?

Thanks in advance and once again thanks to Batch!

Hi Rumeke
some one will come along to tell us if I'm wrong, but you should take calcium too as I believe D3  draws calcium from the bones. When I asked my doc for vitamin D blood test, she jumped straight in that as I am taking high doses of D3  I should have my calcium levels tested too.

I take 10,600 D3 ( the odd 600 is in the calcium tablets)
500mg calcium citrate
500mg magnesium citrate
1100 fish oil

So far it's working.  :D

Batch recommends a maintenance dose of 10,000 once you have reached the required level.
Maz.

I don't take the calcium because I understand it interferes with the verapamil ( I have high bp and stay on it all year long - 240mg ER twice daily) and my calcium levels are already at the upper limit.

I take 2,000 fish oil, 400 mag citrate and the 15,000 D3 right now. When not in cycle I take the same except for 5,000 D3.

Shouldn't a 65-year-old female be taking some sort of calcium?

Rumeke,

As far as vitamin D3 goes, most episodic CH'ers are staying on a maintenance dose of 10,000 IU/day when not in cycle.  If that drives your 25(OH)D above 110, drop back to 8,000 IU/day.

As far as calcium supplements go... I agree with Brew... I'm 69... and at our age, we need calcium.  Talk with your cardiologist about taking calcium supplements with your verapamil.  You might want to ask about a BP cuff too. 

Costco and most drug stores carry them for around $50.  With one of these on hand you can measure your BP for yourself on a daily basis...  If calcium supplements are decreasing the therapeutic effect of verapamil and your BP goes up... then you've got decisions to make on a sound basis...

Again, talk with your cardiologist. Additional Omega-3 Fish Oil 2000 to 3000 mg/day and CholestOff may help lower your BP.  They brought my BP back in the green zone while I was taking an immunosuppressant with a known side effect of elevated cholesterol, triglycerides and BP... 

I was taking it as part of the treatment protocol during a clinical trial for an eye condition...  Not only did the addition Omega-3 Fish Oil and CholestOffuy bring my BP down, it also brought my total cholesterol and triglycerides back into the normal reference range... and I was still taking the immunosuppressant...

When I researched the requirement for calcium in the anti-inflammatory regimen, I came across an interesting article in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition...  Calcium homeostasis, the built-in mechanism our bodies use to regulate serum calcium in a very narrow range, is very powerful...  Taking vitamin D3 at the doses we use to prevent cluster headaches turbocharges calcium homeostasis making this mechanism even more powerful...

Under normal conditions where sufficient dietary calcium is present in the gut,  the overall flow of calcium goes from the gut with the help from vitamin D3 and PTH, through the blood stream to build bone mineral density (BMD)...

However, if there is insufficient calcium in the gut from dietary sources, calcium homeostasis takes it from the bones to maintain optimum serum calcium... 

Bottom line... total calcium serum concentrations will still be within the normal reference range even when calcium is being pulled from the bones...

That's why I added 500 mg/day calcium to this regimen...  I did this more as an insurance policy to prevent BMD loss as the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for adults for calcium is 1000 mg/day.

Eating a well balanced diet meets most if not all of our calcium requirements... but it never hurts to add food types highest in calcium.

The following link provides information on food types high in calcium density:

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I'm a cheese head (I eat a couple ounces of cheese a day) and I keep a jar of mixed nuts with lots of almonds next to the computer for snacks...

Don't forget the vitamin K2 (MK-4 & MK-7).  These two types of vitamin K2 play a significant role in directing serum calcium away from soft tissues and arteries towards building BMD...

Take care, talk with your cardiologist, and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Thanks guys! I'll talk to my Dr when I go in to have my D25 tested and have him ck my calcium level too to see if the increased D3 has taken a toll on my calcium. I do have some calcium citrate tablets around here so will start them again.

I do know that since I've increased my D3 to 15,000 my BP has dropped so that may be another good side effect.

Thanks again for the feedback.