First of all, long time no see to all the long timers here. I've been out for a while, as there was plenty going on and no beast to deal with. But as you can see, I'm back, and it's probably pretty obvious why :P

So anyway, just a little back story. My last cycle was a little over 3 years ago. It was actually two distinct cycles. The first I broke with a prednisone taper, same as I have always done. The problem was I contracted a nasty stomach virus, which seemed to re-aggravate my clusters and put me on a rather nasty 8 week cycle that prednisone failed to even put a dent into. It only ended after starting to take D3 after reading Batch's post about his success.

So I've been taking D3 5000 ui every other day or so just to keep my levels decent, and for 3 years no issues.

Well, it just so happens I got another nasty stomach bug last week. I still kept taking the D3, as I had a feeling that the virus would wreck my D3 levels. And wouldn't you know it, the beast came a calling last night at around 2 AM- but only a Kip 2~3. Still, it's about the most unpleasant wakeup you can get. I was already sweating and immediately knew what was up- I got my immitrex shot ready but decided to wait and see what happened.

The pain never got severe, and the whole episode was probably over in about 25 minutes.

So I've made sure to double dose the D3 and see if I can't keep this thing under control this time around. I'll still be ready with my other options, but hopefully this time the D3 will be enough to suppress the episodes or at least keep the pain levels smaller and shorter in duration.

Best wishes to everyone out there, whether you're in cycle or not. Eventually, we all get a turn to dance with the beast I guess. :o

Hey Japan,
              Sorry to here the beast came back !  not nice at any time, but especially after 3 years.
Listen, I'm on the regime as well and the sure best way to know where you are is to get the blood test done !!!  without it, its hard to guage what you need to take to boost things up. I too have had a bad run with a stomach virus, then a bad case of the flu, But luckily it coincided with my regular blood test. I new that I could dose up on Vit D3 with 50,000iu for a few days, then 20,000 for a few days then back to my normal 10,000iu, then I had my blood test done and amazingly, I was at the same level as my previous blood test 3-4 months before, so the stomack virus which lasted a week, consumed a shite load of my Vit D in my system and titrating up just replenished my level. Then, wouldn't you read about it, got a dose of the flu, lasted for 3 weeks, but not as bad as I used to get them before being on the regime, so I titrated up the same as I did for the stomach virus and I bet I'm still sitting at my optimum level. Seems that any inflammation, virus cold or flu, just consumes any of the reserves we build up to help with our clusters.
Hopefully the return of the beast is short and sweet for yo Japan
hope this helps
colin

Getting that kind of lab work where I live would probably be quite a bit of trouble. I'm still holding onto immitrex and prednisone just in case the beast is coming for real. Just holding out hope the D3 at elavated levels for the next 6 weeks will do the trick. 8-)

Okay, so it's been a week and I've had only 1 more cluster, but this one was quite a bit more intense (~7) and lasted probably 45 minutes. Still not at max pain yet, which is hopefully a good sign. Upping the D3 seems like it may be having some positive effects.

Definitely not even close to the last cycle, which by this point had become a full blown cycle with daily headaches. Will monitor for now and hope the sailing stays smooth. :-X

I found this site a few days ago.  Started taking the D-3 day before yesterday.  As of today, so far no headaches.  Hope this really work for good.  Good luck with yours japanzaman. 

Still no headaches but I have had a couple of "auras" in the middle of the night. Still keeping the D3 going, and making sure to get out and get some natural sunlight whenever possible.

Jason83- Good to see you've found this site. Lot's of info here that can hopefully be of use to you. Don't get discouraged if you don't see immediate results from the D3- it sometimes takes a while for the effects to kick in. Also remember that it isn't a cure, just a treatment. I always have at least 3 contigency plans just in case the D3 isn't getting the job done. Best of luck to you. 8-)