I started the D3 regimen on the 3rd day of this out-of-the-ordinary (for me) cycle. The first 2 days, I went with the maintenance dosing schedule of 10,000 IU D3 along with the other supplements in the regimen. On the 3rd day, I switch to the accelerated D3 regimen of 25,000 IU along with a loading dose 1 day a week of 50,000 IU for the first 2 weeks.

Now, I've been at it for 12 day, and so far I haven't seen any change for the better. My hits have actually ramped up from a hit a day to 2+ hits per day (random times) much like my typical cycles of the past without D3 supplementation. The severity of the hits has ramped up as normally would be expected without the D3 as well. I guess with seeing so many people have such great results with the D3 regimen even on the maintenance dose, I was expecting faster results for myself even if only a reduction in hits and/or severity on the kip scale.

Now, it would have likely helped if I could have taken the test to see where I stood in terms of D3 deficiency to start with, of course. The problem is, it takes every dime I don't actually have (credit card) as it is just to see the necessary doc to get prescriptions for and buy the Imitrex to abort these ridiculous attacks. Couple that with other current financial burdens, and I end up having to avoid anything that isn't absolutely necessary at the moment.

I'm still giving this whole D3 the full run for its money, and we'll see what it does for me. But, this is an update to give others an idea what they might possibly expect for themselves should they try this route. In other words, I know many have posted great results in a matter of days in terms of reduced hits, etc. But, in trying this, you may (like myself) have to exercise a good deal of patience and diligence.

Hi, I understand it's not always easy to pay for doctors appointments and meds. Fortunately here in England with our national health service we don't have to pay, but getting an appointment in the first place is the major issue here.

That said it is important to get the blood test, because you have to reach a certain level to become pain free, and without the test you don't know how far off you are. If you read all the posts by Batch, he has put up charts which show how high you have to go, and you can compare your test results.

I have no idea how much it costs you for appointments and meds etc, but you can get the test on line. You do the test yourself, send it off to the lab and they send back the results. I don't know what it costs but it may be cheaper that way. If you google 25(OH)D you will find it. It's worth a look.

Even if you can't afford it right now, keep on with the D3. Some people have taken 3 months to improve, depending on how deficient they were in the first place, and how well their body responds to the treatment. And if you do get good results it will end up far cheaper for you in the long run.

Hope this helps a little. Good luck with it.
Maz.

Quote:

Some people have taken 3 months to improve

I can attest to this. It took me almost that long to raise my serum level into the therapeutic range - and I started doing 20,000iu per day with a once-a-week loading dose of 50,000iu.

Stick with it - I've been completely pain free for well over a year now. I was chronic.

@Maz  To give you an idea of the financial burden of this thing here in the states with no insurance and such, the Imitrex shots (generic) are $130 for 2 shots. Considering I'm getting hit twice daily on average, using them as prescribed would be astronomical at roughly $130/day. Thus, I use the Imitrex tip to "extend" the available doses, but even then I go through those two shots every 3 to 4 days... still phenomenal cost (roughly $260/week) just for the shots, not counting any extra doctor visits, supplements, other stuff. Just seeing the doctor at the local Med Center is $79, which isn't too bad, but any tests they do are extra, and I have no idea what they charge for the test for D3 levels. I have seen the tests online for around $65, but again, every dime I have right now including that I don't (credit) is going to these Imitrex shots.

But, I'm hanging in there so far.  ;)

@Brew I'm going to keep taking the D3 as long as there are no adverse side effects, which there haven't been any so far even with the loading dose of 50,000 IU a week and 25,000 IU daily. Of course, I'll be reducing the accelerated dosage that I am currently taking as the month progresses as Batch has suggested.

Unfortunately, due to my relatively short cycles being in the 1 to 2 month range, it'd be difficult to even pinpoint whether or not the D3 regimen did anything for me if it takes anywhere near as long as it did for you to have an effect on these things. My cycle will have most likely ended on its own anyway. So, I may not be the best candidate for demonstrating whether or not this works for most clusterheads, in other words. However, I still hope it works for me faster than that even if only to reduce the hits, and therefore the ridiculous amount of money I'm having to spend on abortives. Even if not, I'll continue to take it at the reduced maintenance dose once I reach the end of the month if for no other reason than for better health. Who knows? Maybe 3, 4, 5, then 6 years and so on will pass meaning I'll have a pretty good idea a cycle was avoided by taking the regimen.

I'm going to see if I can swing the cost of one of the online tests so that I can possibly adjust my dosing schedule accordingly to reach a theraputic level more quickly. I just have to make sure it won't leave me without the funds to have my abortive safety net first.

Regardless of whether or not I see real results with D3, I'm glad this has shown such promise for so many people here, especially those of you all who have been dealing with chronic CH. This beast is terrible (understatement of the year), and NONE of us deserve to suffer with this affliction! May we all find pain free days and nights.  :)

It makes me feel so sad that folks have to suffer through this nightmare without help because of money. No one should be financially compromised just because they are ill. Here, we all complain about our national health service but thank god for it.

If I could send you a few shots I would do it in a heartbeat, but US customs would not be so sympathetic.

The only other suggestion I can make is to try and stockpile some meds when you are not in cycle and money is not quite so tight. The test too. I know that doesn't help now but could help future cycles. I really hope you can find a solution.

Wishing you the best
Maz.

Hoping the D3 starts to kick in for you. Hopefully then you won't need to use the shots nearly as often. If the accelerated regimen still proves to be taking a long time to see results, you might consider upping the loading dose. I've read some people up it to a 100K-150K loading dose for optimum results.

It's sad how much money affects situations, even as desperate as getting meds for the most painful medical condition known to science...

The world shouldn't be like that, you know?

Yeah, Maz, the lack of stockpiling I attribute to my long remissions. Sounds stupid when you think about it now, of course. But, during those several years of sweet break, it's still hard to make yourself fork out the money for the doctors and shots simply because there is that glimmer of false hope that MAYBE, just maybe these things are gone for good this time. And, to go to the doctor and buy the shots would be a waste. However, I think I've learned once and for all that this is a lifetime ailment, a curse that is better accepted and better being prepared for than  denied and ignored. Stockpile, I will, even if the D3 shows great promise.  ;)

Jair, I've already been "cheating" a bit by adding some extra loading doses in an effort to speed up any possible results. I've been tracking the doses for the regimen in my HA journal. All, I know right now is, the hits per day are about as high as I've ever received in previous cycles, so with any luck, it's all downhill from here. :D

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE; give it a look see. Maybe even put the trex away for good. Works great with my D3 and Mag intake also.

Game Face!!
Coach Bill

Ahhh... well, it could be that your D3 levels were just like... REALLY low. If I remember correctly, it took some people up to a month or two before the regimen started to kick in. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

The Immitrex can really put a dent in your wallet, even with insurance. Some people have found ways to ration them out by hacking them so you get an extra use for each shot. I typically save them for emergencies like when I'm at work or out with my family.

Sorry to see that D3 isn't kicking in quicker. Only a blood test will let you know where you are.

Hi TheAnthonyCarter, i am sorry to hear that the D3 regimen is not yet working for you. Stick with it, there is a very strong chance that it will work for you. I have started the regimen myself in february/march this year and have had great results. Are you taking the full regimen, D3, Calcium, Magnesium, Fish oils, Vit K2, Zinc and Boron? It seems important to take them all at the doses stated by Batch. This is what i take and it's a winner for me. When i started the regimen, i was 3 weeks into a cycle that ususaly last 4 to 5 months. However, after 3 weeks on the regimen, the attacks stopped. Usually the worst month for me is June, However this june i got attacks of 2 or 3 max. I had managed to get my doctor to prescribe Oxygen and these attacks in june were quickly aborted with the Oxygen. I currently take 10000iu D3 every day along with the rest of the regimen. It has happened a couple of times that I forgot to take the weekly 50000iu loading dose and after 2 weeks i would start feeling a shadow, so it is important (for me) to take that weekly loading dose. Thanks to batch and the regimen that he has come up with, I am now pain free. If it wasn't for this regimen i would right now be in excruciating pain as for years i would start another cycle in september/october that would last 3 to 4 months. Today i am enjoying another pain free day YIPPIE and thank you Batch. By the way, i just got tested for D3 level it is 229 nmol/L. I am lucky that i can visit my doctor for free here in Ireland because (unfortunately) I am un-employed, she also fully supports the D3 regimen. I use to have to take Zoming twice a day during cycles, I am so glad that i do not have to take this any more as it can, as a rare side effect, provoke heart attacks. I was also on a preventative -Epilim Chrono 500mg-, it use give me the shakes, however i was also able to stop taking this drug and the shakes are gone :).
I wish you all the best and sincerely hope that the regimen will work for you and that you will become pain free.
All the best
Thierry

Hey Anthony,

Skip the calcium for a week and bump your magnesium up to 600 mg/day.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Okay, so I had to stop taking the D3 regimen altogether for 3 days due to an uncomfortable feeling in my lower right abdomen. It felt kind of like an odd pressure and not really full-on pain. However, if made it "worrisome" to sit in certain positions, etc. I don't have a clue what it was. Liver? If so, not good. Either way, the feeling subsided shortly after stopping the accelerated D3 regimen.

I'll note that the day I stopped taking the regimen, and this could be a coincidence, I got over 24 hours without an attack. This "break" after daily hits 1 to 4 times a day for a week or more on the accelerated regimen. The next day, I wasn't as lucky, but I got only one attack which was easily aborted with a 2mg Imitrex shot. The same for the 3rd day. Since the lower right abdomen "pressure" subsided, I took a small 5000 IU dose of D3 alone on the 4th day. Then, I took 10,000 IU of D3 along with a lower dosage of the remaining regimen vits the next day, and again for a 3rd day.

Each day during the resumption of the lowered D3 regimen, I experienced a single attack per day 6-8 kip and easily aborted. That is, except for last night which is the 3rd day of the resumed lower-dosage regimen. Again, this could be a coincidence as my attacks are rarely ever predictable, but last night's attack was a kip 9, madman, which wasn't stopped with 2mg or an additional dose of 2mg of Imitrex. The beast was determined, to say the least, but this isn't the only time I've ever had the Imitrex leave me hanging.

This attacked happened around 8pm, and then I was awakened just before my alarm clock would have gone off to wake me for work at 6:40 am with another visit from the beast. This attack peaked at around kip 7 when the shot did its job, thank ya Jesus!

Could this be another increase in the number of attacks per day? Could it be the regimen causing this at all in my case? It's hard to say, and my intention isn't to discourage others from trying this at all. These are MY experiences.

I know MANY people have had great success with this regimen. But, not ALL have. I keep a log of all attacks, times, possible triggers, meds taken, dosage, the time they take to effect, and so on and so on. My attacks seemed to increase in quantity per day on the accelerated regimen, I got the small break mentioned the day I stopped the accelerated regimen followed by a lower per-day attack rate, then a resuming quantity of attacks per day following the resumption of the regimen even in a lower dosage.

Now, is this all meaning the regimen is to blame for my increased attacks? Or, is it just not really doing anything... yet? Good questions as it is difficult to tell due to the relatively unpredictable timing, quantity, and intensity of my attacks from cycle to cycle and during each cycle. I also don't have a blood test to know where my D3 levels stand. However, I'm starting to see it like this... My cycles tend to be no more than 1 to 2 months with no significant diet, lifestyle changes on my part. With that being said, and given the length of time many have had to stay on the regimen even in the accelerated dosages to see any positive effect, I'm starting to wonder if it is in my best interest to continue the regimen if it COULD be increasing the quantity of attacks I have while I'm dealing with this cycle.

coach_bill wrote on Oct 26^th, 2013 at 10:13pm:

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE give it a look see. Maybe even put the trex away for good. Works great with my D3 and Mag intake also. Game Face!! Coach Bill

I've looked at the clusterbusters concept both in the past and over the course of this cycle. I just can't get passed the idea that the Imitrex can't be used which would leave me with no abortive whatsoever. Likewise, the legal issues are a bit of a concern for me as well. Of course, we all gotta do what we gotta do, and I have't completely ruled out the idea myself, believe me.

Anthony,

Sorry you're not responding to this regimen as fast as others...  When things like this happen, I go to a process I learned many years ago...  It's called back to the basics...

For starters, what brand of vitamin D3 are you using and does it have the USP label? 

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The USP label shown above indicates an independent lab has analyzed the product among other things for purity, strength and presence/concentration of any contaminants...  Some brands indicate "USP Verified" in text on the label back. Check the other supplements for this label or USP verification as well.

See the following link or to to the web page for the manufacturer of your supplements and search on USP to see if your supplements are USP verified.

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Second...  It appears you're doing a good job titrating back up on the vitamin D3.  When you add in the rest of the supplements one at a time, add magnesium first and calcium last.  Add the Omega-3 fish oil next to last.

The rationale for this sequence is based on feed back from other CH'ers using this regimen.

There are a number of biological processes that compete for 25(OH)D and the active vitamin D3 metabolite 1,25(OH)2D3 that may be consuming these two metabolites at a high rate leaving too little to prevent your CH. 

These competitors include viral infections like colds and flu, bacterial infections, and the biggest category, allergic reactions from certain food types, like peanuts and gluten, along with airborne antigens including pollen, dust and mold spores like leaf mold. 

The air quality is great here in the Puget Sound area of Washington, but leaf mold spores make up what little there is...  I need to double my daily vitamin D3 intake when I'm out with a leaf blower.

Finally, your initial post indicates you started this regimen on 12 October so it's a bit early to through in the towel...  As long as this regimen isn't causing other problems, hang in there a little longer...

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

The brand of D3 is Nature's Bounty.

The problem here isn't as much the lack of positive response in regards to the cluster attacks as it is the negative feedback I was experiencing in terms of the lower abdomen pressure/uncomfortable feeling I was having that led to my reduction of the D3 regimen. Couple that with what seemed like increased quantity of attacks, and it makes it beyond difficult to continue.

If I had the money, insurance, something to allow me to work closely with a doctor on this regimen's use along with trying countless other preventatives, I'd be all for it. But, I simply don't. What I'm left with is taking a large amount of D3 with no real way of knowing what it's doing good or bad other than to listen to what my body is telling me. And, so far, my body seems to be telling me to ease up.

I stopped taking all supplements again for a couple of days, and again I was given a day off from the visits from the beast. It didn't last more than a day, but the attack on the following day responded to the shot like it should which again feeds my pause.

All I know is this beast is kicking my ass this time around physically, mentally, and financially. I'm just trying to survive this freaking nightmare.

Hiya Anthony Carter,
I started the D3 Regimen mid Sept, I understand your frustrations, not knowing what its doing or if its gonna work, but try to keep strong and continue with it.  Give it a good go!

In my opinion, the uncomfortable abdominal feelings could be there is not enough food to soften the blow of the vitamins hitting your gut. I don't know... but ensure you have a good meal prior to taking them.

I am only a newby at this regimen, but I'm certainly going to give it all! Our CH's are scary, no doubt.

Keep asking questions and keep your focus, you'll be okay.  I'm wishing you success, good luck.
pfw's Sue

Anthony,

Sorry you're having such a rough time...

I use Natures' Bounty vitamin D3...  Good stuff...

Did you try the process of elimination with the anti-inflammatory regimen to determine if one or more of the supplements is responsible for the abdominal discomfort?

Have you tried taking just the vitamin D3 and nothing else?

If there's no abdominal issues taking only vitamin D3, try taking 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3 and 200-400 mg/day magnesium to see what happens...

Unfortunately without a lab test for 25(OH)D we're shooting in the dark...  The 25(OH)D home blood spot test kit is $65 when ordered through the Vitamin D Council at the following link.

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Take care,

V/R, Batch

Like Anthony, I also have this lower abdominal discomfort plus a burning sensation in my joints and muscles.

I am on this regimen since 17 Sept, after a month my level was 63 ng/mL, my CH was much better. I did developed normal headaches, but after I increased the Mg to 500mg it was fine. But the abdominal discomfort made me to drop to only 10 000IU per day. Last week I cut out the Ca and it was going better with the discomfort, but by Saturday most of the hits were back.

Yesterday I took 40 000IU and only 250mg Ca  plus rest of supplement and the night hits was better and today 25 000IU and 250mg Ca and the rest. The CH is better, but now the abdominal discomfort and burning sensation is back.

Batch in the other thread you mentioned K2, in that link she suggested 100mcg of vit K2 (MK7) for each 1000IU vit D. My supplement K2 has 155mcg MK-4 and only 45mcg MK-7. Will go and see if I can find anything with more MK-7 in it and see if the discomfort will go away.

Hell-Jee

You're doing what I call "tuning" the regimen to find the right mix/ratio of supplements that prevent your CH without any uncomfortable side effects. 

Most CH'ers get by on the basic or complete anti-inflammatory regimen with a cessation of their CH without any discomfort...

Some get by without any discomfort but are still experiencing hits... Knowing the 25(OH)D serum concentration and finding the right dose of vitamin D3 is key in this case.

A small number of CH'ers like you are still experiencing hits and some form of discomfort.  You''re ahead of the game because you've got a baseline 25(OH)D lab test so you know you still have a ways to go to reach the target 25(OH)D serum concentration of 85 ng/mL. 

Finding the right mix/ratio of supplement is your present task.  It's not a difficult task.. it just takes a little time and good notes...

Use the process of elimination by stopping one of the supplements at a time for a couple days to find the culprit... When you've gone through all the supplements and can clearly identify the offending supplement, add it back slowly to see if there's a happy level you can tolerate without any discomfort.

Obviously vitamin D3 is the most important supplement followed by magnesium.  In the case of magnesium, if it appears to be the offending supplement, try a different form like magnesium malate, magnesium glycinate or magnesium citrate in that order of preference... 

The next important supplement is vitamin A. We only need a little...  900 mcg (3,000 IU) for men, 700 mcg (2,333 IU) for women is sufficient.

Vitamin K2 is a horse of a different color... It's part of the anti-inflammatory regimen because of it's capacity to direct serum calcium into building bone mineral density and away from soft tissues and arteries.  MK-4 has a short half life but it's the form of vitamin K2 the body uses most.  MK-7 has a longer half-life.  The jury is still out and there are two camps saying one is more effective/important than the other.  I suggest playing a straddle taking some of each...

Take care, hang in there and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

I feel you, Hell-Jee. I'm still hanging in there with the D3 even though I've been, stopping, starting, raising and lowering dosages. Removed all but the D3, then have been adding the other supplements one at at time. Currently, I'm back up to taking 15,000 IU D3 daily, 500mg Mag, Multi-Vit for Vit A and general, 1200mg Fish Oil. I'll be adding the Calcium back today if this abdomen deal stays in check.

The good news is that I finally ordered the 25(OH)D test today. The bad news is, it'll take a few days to get here plus whatever time to mail back and for the results to return. So, in the meantime, I'm continuing to struggle with these doctors over getting the shots when I need them (they gotta pay their BMW payments, I suppose), and trying to take it one day and however many attacks at a time.  :-/

It is not fair that many have to keep on suffering because of financial issues :( I wish I could send you all of my meds, Imitrex...zomig and everything else I finally got and now my cycle is over :( customs would never allow me to send this...it sucks!!!!!!!

Batch thanks for the reply, you are such a great guy!!!

That link to Dr Kate Rheaume-Blue about vit K2 was soooo! interesting!! It took a day to read everything!! Yes I know I'm a bit slow!!

I've stopped the D3 completely for the last 2 days, and only took vitK2 800mcg and Mg yesterday, and today after reading that interview with Dr Mercola, I did add the Vit A.

I will go for all the tests again this week, and see where I stand now. But it seems my discomfort can probably be  because of too little K2 to direct the Calsium to its correct destination, and now it is deposited in all the wrong places?
A month ago my Ca level was still normal and on average  I only took max 15 000IU a day?

Batch on vitamindwiki under headaches-cluster headaches the vit K  MK-4 MK-7 levels are much higher than the levels on the vitD regiment. I know I came in very late and to read through all 63 pages is going to take very long, I don't know if something was mentioned there? On that link it is mentioned perhaps 100mcg K2 for each 1000IU D3.

Anthony, perhaps this is our simple solution????


   

Tiffany.S wrote on Nov 7^th, 2013 at 11:47am:

It is not fair that many have to keep on suffering because of financial issues :( I wish I could send you all of my meds, Imitrex...zomig and everything else I finally got and now my cycle is over :( customs would never allow me to send this...it sucks!!!!!!!

I feel the same way. I have planty of injections laying around not beeing used at the moment, since D3 is working very well for me.....

Update:

I've been enjoying the past 3 days PAIN FREE, aside from a very few, very minor shadows! I didn't want to say anything earlier so as not to jinx myself. Today will be day 4 PF if I make it through the whole day.

Now, I've been taking the D3 regimen still minus the 2 times (a couple of days each) that I stopped the regimen over the course due to the discomfort in my lower abdomen that I've mentioned throughout this thread. Whether or not the PF time is due directly to the D3 or my nearing the end of this cycle since it has been around a month now is difficult to say with any degree of certainty. I'll need to check my HA journal for a better understanding, but I'm not at home at the moment. Another thing that I should note is that I removed the calcium from the regimen as Batch suggested which coincidentally or not happened to coincide with the days just prior to and during these PF days I've experienced. Regardless, after weeks of daily attacks since this cycle got itself into full swing, the break has been a godsend whatever the cause.

Either way, I still say that anyone that hasn't given the D3 regimen a chance yet and is suffering through a cycle (or nearing the start of one) should give it a shot. The majority of people that have tried this have seen awesome results much faster than I have and with none of the discomfort that I and hell-jee seem to have experienced. For myself, the discomfort was relatively slight and could easily be considered "worth-it" if the D3 is behind the break I'm now receiving.

My 25(OH)D test should be here soon, and I'll take that and send it in for the results. If I'm in the green zone, perhaps from that I'll be able to calculate a rough idea of what my D3 levels were prior to starting the regimen. I'll be reducing my D3 intake gradually towards the 10,000 IU maintenance dose in the meantime provided that I don't get a return visit from the beast.

Of course, I'm a bit of a pessimist, and I'm not quite "counting my chickens" just yet. We shall see. Needless to say, I haven't mixed up a drink from the bar to celebrate just yet.  ;)

Sounds like you've been tuning your regimen pretty well. Lets hope these past few days are the results! That'd be awesome!

Hey Hell-Jee,

Good point on the vitamin K2...  If you'll notice, with the exception of vitamin D3 and Omega-3 Fish Oil, the rest of the vitamins, minerals and supplements in the anti-inflammatory regimen are at or below the RDA.

Regarding suggested doses for vitamin K2 (MK-4 & MK-7), I went with a minimum although it was still higher than that suggested by the IOM in the RDA... 

However, at this point, there are enough studies around that suggest higher daily doses of MK-4 and MK-7 for optimum results.  On top of that, the folks at Life Extension Foundation (LEF) have done a lot of legwork reviewing studies on the optimum doses of vitamin K1, K2 (MK-4) and K2 (MK-7).

Rather than reinvent the wheel, I've updated (increased) the Anti-Inflammatory Regimen dose of vitamin K2 (MK-4 and MK-7) in line with LEF's to the following:

MK-4 1000 mcg/day,  MK-7 200 mcg/day

It only takes a small amount of Vitamin K1 to ensure proper blood clotting.  Rather than suggest a dose for vitamin K1 and run into the situation where a CH'er may be on a blood thinner like warfarin (coumadin) for what ever reason... I've left it out of the anti-inflammatory regimen and up to the CH'er and his or her physician.   

For more on LEF's take on vitamin K1 and K2, see the following link:

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Take care,

V/R, Batch

I'd post more of an update, but I'm still waiting on the 25(OH)D test that SHOULD be here today. Then, I still have to wait on the results following my mailing it in.

Other than that, I had a 3-day PF stretch starting last Friday, a relatively mild attack Monday of this week, and then a pretty good beater that woke me up around 2:58 am this morning. Like a dummy, I tried to tough it out at first, thinking it would be relatively mild like the Monday attack, but it ramped up pretty nicely, leaving the shot that I eventually took struggling to knock out the beast. I'm dealing with a little bit of "after-burn" today.

I will say that, I had started to return the Calcium to my regimen for the past few days just prior to this most recent attack. I'm wondering if when I stopped the Calcium part of the regimen last week, that is what led to the PF time, and now the re-addition of the Calcium has allowed the beast to break through. I'm thinking about reducing the Calcium in my regimen to every other day for a bit to see what happens. It's either that, or try adding the D3 weekly loading dose back in.

I can't complain too much though, because those PF stretches were MUCH needed. I just hope I get more of them, or better yet, a permanent PF stretch!

Hope everyone out there is doing well and enjoying PF days/nights as well!

Status update:

Finally received my 25(OH)D test results. As of the 14th of this Nov. when I took the test, I was apparently at 88 ng/ml. I wasn't completely pain-free at the time that I took the test, so I continued to take the D3 at an accelerated rate 23k UI daily. Obviously, I should be higher than that now given it has been another two weeks roughly.

Unfortunately, I'm still not completely pain-free at this point. My hits have been reduced from the daily 1-2 (sometimes 3) attacks to more in the range of 4-5 total a week, give or take, and randomly timed. The intensity seems to be somewhat lower for each attack overall as well. Thanks to that much, I have been able to avoid taking Trex doses for a fair number of attacks which has helped save a fair chunk of change already. Of course, that does mean I'm still choosing to ride out some very uncomfortable sessions.

I'll likely need to go ahead and adjust my daily dosing of D3 down so that I don't continue to climb too high in serum levels. I have yet to calculate an estimate as to what my D3 level is likely at currently as the test was a couple of weeks ago. So, once I do that, I'll figure out what to change the dosing schedule to. I just hope any reduction in dosage doesn't bring back more frequent and intense attacks.

I still have to admit, I was optimistically hoping for a better result in kicking this beast's a** with this D3 regimen, but that isn't quite the case yet. I may be one of those that has to push the 100+ ng/ml to find full remission. We'll see, I guess.

Either way, I'm looking forward to putting the shots, alcohol swabs away, taking a nap, sleeping in, staying up late, and grabbing a frosty beverage out of the fridge once in a long while! End of cycle, D3 or not, come on already.  :D

Always stockpile, just in case. Good Luck with the D3. I'll be watching and hoping for some success.

I4B

Yeah, I'll still be stockpiling some shots, man, especially after this go round. But, first, I'll have to dig out of the financial ruin this cycle has pretty much left me in.  >:(

Looking through my HA journal, I noticed of the last attacks I've had since Nov. 7th in this cycle so far, the highest kip was 7, and only 2 of the 19 in that time actually reached that level. It's a clear difference from the abundantly 7, 8, and 9s I was getting daily for weeks just prior to that reduction. The attack I had earlier this evening, for example, reached about a 4 at best, and lasted only about 47 minutes (unaborted) versus the more typical 7-9 kip for nearly 2-3 hours (unaborted) that I would normally experience.

Given this reduction in intensity began roughly after a month of starting the D3 regimen, it could be attributed to that, especially since my attacks in previous cycles didn't seem to fluctuate in intensity much at all. It's still hard to say, really. But, I'll keep posting as this thing goes on.

Hope you're finding some luck and relief with all you were talking about with the DHE and Imitrex and needing to find another option. It's bad enough dealing with this s**t when you have a somewhat reliable (albeit expensive) abortive to lean on, but to not have that "luxury" is scary.

Hey Anthony,

Thanks for the detailed update. 

Given your 25(OH)D is clearly in the "Green Zone" at 88 ng/mL in mid November and you've experienced a favorable change in CH patterns but you're still not pain free... it's time to drop back to a vitamin D3 maintenance dose of 10,000 IU/day... 

Taking more vitamin D3 isn't the answer... unless you're presently experiencing cold, flu or allergy symptoms...  If that's the case, stay at 20,000 IU/day until the symptoms clear then drop back to 10,000 IU/day. 

You also need to start "Tuning" the anti-inflammatory regimen...

Start by cutting your calcium intake for a week or two. Add it back slowly, i.e., half the regular dose for a week.  Increase your magnesium to 400 IU/day...  If you're already taking that much, bump the magnesium dose to 500 mg/day.

Make sure you're taking a multivitamin/mineral tablet like Centrum Silver to get the vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin K2.

Pick up a bag of almonds and eat a couple handfuls a day...

Finally, a low systemic/arterial pH (too much acid) could be the culprit that's preventing a more pronounced favorable response to the anti-inflammatory regimen.

The GOMBS diet, Greens, Onions, Mushrooms, Beans-Berries, and Seeds (Nuts too)...  A handful of each when you eat can work wonders elevating arterial pH.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Just an update...

Been PF for weeks now, no shadows or anything. Of course, the tricky part for me is determining whether or not the D3 regimen is directly responsible, partly responsible, or if it just was the end of my average 2-month or so cycle. Those with chronic CH would be much better able to verify with any real degree of certainty that D3 was having a real effect than I could with my episodic clusters.

That being said, I still would have to recommend to anyone seeking relief from the beast to get on the D3 regimen. Even if it isn't directly responsible for the end of my cycle, the health value of the supplementation can't hurt.

I'll continue to pop in and out of the forum here from time to time. But, it's hard not to enjoy the PF time with a little "out-of-sight, out-of-mind" right now. Best of luck to current sufferers, and I hope you all find great relief!