I've been a ch sufferer for many years, episodic every 2 yrs, in 2012 I read batches d3 regimen although I only took 10,000 d3 a day my ch lasts about 3 weeks as opposed to 2 months- that's  big! try it, you have nothing to lose- luck & love this holiday season :)

This is very exciting to hear!  I am episodic, too, alternating between 2 and 3 year breaks between 6 week long episodes.  I'm currently on my 2 year cycle, which means I'm in the danger zone starting January 1.  I've already been having shadows and low grade trigeminal pain, so I know it's close to starting.  I read about the AIR treatment with D3 and went out today and got the recommend vitarals (that is vitamins and minerals).  I was so excited that I left my purse in the house and had to go back and get it.  I super hope this works!  Happy holidays!

thank you and I have no doubt :) you will have a ch free 2015

Hey Kurama,

Good move starting the anti-inflammatory regimen.  The following chart from the online survey indicates 83.5% of the 127 CH'ers taking this regimen to prevent their CH had favorable responses.  This chart illustrates the time in days it took to respond after starting this regimen.

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGESTART PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

As you can see, this is a roll-up of both episodic (green) and chronic (red) CH'ers.

Take care and please keep us posted with your results and any questions.

V/R, Batch

So it looks like most people who received relief from this protocol did so within the first two weeks. We're just past that point and things have actually gotten worse. :( Wondering if anyone else found that this treatment exacerbated things rather than helping them? So far my husband (the CH sufferer) has also *not* been helped by 02, imitrex, verapamil (I think that's what it's called - something with a v) or some other treatment I can't remember now that most people are typically helped with. Ugh. :(

Alison,

The anti-inflammatory regimen isn't 100% effective... but there are usually reasons why it doesn't work to prevent CH...

I'm not a doctor, but we've found a number of other (comorbid) medical conditions that interfere with the anti-inflammatory regimen preventing it from working or causing delays in a favorable response.

The most common are viral or bacterial infections and allergic reactions.  Colds and flu are the most prevalent, but allergies are also very common.  Most allergies are subclinical, i.e., not severe enough to present definite or readily observable symptoms. 

Pollen in the Spring time and leaf mold in the Fall can trigger a recurrence of CH symptoms in CH'ers who have been pain free on the anti-inflammatory regimen.  Hidden mold in the house particularly in the heating/AC ducts can be a source of mold spores.

Inflammation from any source including trauma/injury or surgery triggers an immune system response that can compete as a vitamin D3 consumer leaving too little of the vitamin D3 metabolites or the enzymes needed to metabolize vitamin D3 to prevent CH.

Other medical conditions that will prevent or delay a favorable response to this regimen include thyroid, parathyriod, hepatic, renal, pancreatic and GI tract insufficiencies.

The fact that your husband hasn't responded to this regimen within the first two weeks indicates there is something else causing the lack of response.  It also means it's time for him to see his PCP for a complete checkup with lab tests for inflammation biomarkers and the 25(OH)D lab test. 

If his 25(OH)D serum concentration is still below the "green zone" (a serum concentration of 60 to 110 ng/mL), this is the most likely reason he hasn't responded. 

We've had a few CH'ers who needed to elevate their 25(OH)D serum concentration up above 100 ng/mL to prevent their CH... but they did this under a physician's supervision with frequent lab tests for serum 25(OH)D, calcium and parathyroid hormone (PTH).

Increasing the vitamin D3 and magnesium intake and reducing the calcium intake for a couple weeks can make a big difference.

Bottom line... treating cluster headache cannot be done effectively in isolation from other medical conditions... 

Have your husband see his PCP for a checkup.  If he does have another medical condition, get it treated.  Once he's done that, there is every expectation the anti-inflammatory regimen will start working to prevent his CH.

Take care,

V/R, Batch

Hey Alison,

I have trouble with getting the usual things to work, too.  Imitrex makes them WAY worse.  Oxygen helps to abort them once, but they come back furiously about two hours later and it doesn't work anymore.  I'm currently on the D3 anti-inflammatory regimen (about 5 days in) and I've had this low-grade burning on the CH side of my head for about 2 days now (although the shadows have stopped).  I'm waiting a month until I get the 25(OH)D test in February and I talk to my neuro before I pass judgment on the therapy as it relates to me. 

The only thing that I have found that seems to make them better is the sublingual Ergomar, but it is currently out of supply nationwide and has been for about two years (I've begged the manufacturer to fix this, but apparently there is a hard to find ingredient in it).  There are other Ergots, though.  You may want to have him talk to his doctor about trying something in the Ergot alkaloid family of medicines.  He will know within about 10 hours if the Ergots will work for him.  It usually takes between 4 and 10 hours for me, but it completely relieves the pain for about 24 hours.

Make sure he talks to his doctor about it first, though.  Ergots don't mix with a lot of the other medications that they use to treat CH, so caution must be used.

I hope this helps!