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Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1226161869 Message started by Jason on Nov 8th, 2008 at 11:31am |
Title: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Jason on Nov 8th, 2008 at 11:31am
Thanks to 40 mg Prednisone every day, I have enjoyed a pain free week.....pain free that is, until last night when I awoke at 2 am in the middle of a "bad enough" unexpected attack from the beast. I was surprised....today was supposed to be the first day of a 7 day taper on pred....I went to bed tired and was not expecting a headache last night.
What sucked worse than the headache was the fact that shadows persisted for the whole rest of the night and through this morning so far. Having a visit from the beast is bad....having a lingering visit and not knowing when it is going to fire up again is worse, IMO. My O2 stuff came this morning....15 L regulator and NRB mask, so at least I have something to fight with tonight. I'm hoping that O2 will lay the beast quiet for a little while tonight. I am about 4 weeks into cycle....hopefully, this is the peak or close to it. Kind regards to all, Jason |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by DennisM1045 on Nov 8th, 2008 at 11:47am
Sorry the beast broke through your armor Jason.
Are you ramping up on a prevent? -Dennis- |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Jason on Nov 8th, 2008 at 12:44pm
Yes sir, I sure am.....Verapamil at 120 mg right now.....the neuro is not quick to up the dosage...who knows why....but everything I read would suggest that 240 mg is kind of the minimum dosage..
I am very tempted to ramp up the dose myself, since the pills are right here in front of me. Working all day after ONE night of headaches is intolerable.....after several concurrant nights of headache, it is nearly impossible. |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by BMoneeTheMoneeMan on Nov 8th, 2008 at 1:23pm
That does sound like a small dose for CH. Please do not up your dose without your doc's consent. That med regulates your heart, and your heart is important.
There could be a reason why the doc has set it so low. PF wishes to you B$ |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Jonny on Nov 8th, 2008 at 1:41pm Jason wrote on Nov 8th, 2008 at 12:44pm:
Dont be a jerkoff, listen to B$ and call your doc before you up that shit! The higher you go on Verap, the slower your heart beats! CALL YOUR DOC! >:( |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by chris420 on Nov 8th, 2008 at 1:45pm
insted of prednisone have you ever tried decadron? its a little stronger steroid. i have had luck with it in the past. just an idea.
chris |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Jason on Nov 8th, 2008 at 5:33pm
Thanks for the sound advice guys.
I won't do anything about the dosage without consulting the good Dr. Maybe I can alter the timing of my current dosage though....right now I am taking it in the morning....perhaps I should be taking it in the evening ?? Also, we will be stopping by the health food store later tonight to see if I can procure some kudzu root....this almost seems silly given the amount of kudzu growing wild here in middle TN, but at this point I would really like some rest !! I am already taking Mg 250 mg twice a day; adding kudzu would get me close to the remedy proposed by Kilowatt 3 !! We are about to have a week from hell down here on the farm....we have 13 new horses coming to board with us with the first four arriving from FL on Tues/Wed of this week, and the balance arriving from other parts of the country throughout the balance of the week and into next. In spite of the headaches last night and the constant K2-K3 shadow today, I worked my butt off outside getting things ready to go. We also have our last of the season grass fed beef hanging at the butcher and waiting to be delivered to customers this week, and I have four (4!) speaking engagements in various parts of TN between now and Friday. This is excellent stuff....it'll help me pay for all the O2 I am about to start going through, but God do I wish it was happening OUT of cycle !! Living your life in spite of these monsters is very sound advice...anything else would be a cop out, but at this point it would be pretty easy for me to cave in, sit in the house and watch the world go by. Thanks again for the good advice. |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by DennisM1045 on Nov 8th, 2008 at 8:29pm Jason wrote on Nov 8th, 2008 at 5:33pm:
Awesome!!! See Jonny! I knew he was smart ;) Quote:
That's not a bad idea. Be careful of indigestion taking it so late at night. That was a problem I was having. Had to take it with at least a glass of milk. Quote:
See now here is where you have to be careful. Kudzu root and the Taurine in energy drinks are both calcium channel blockers. Guess what your Verapamil is? You guessed it ... a calcium channel blocker. Block too many calcium channels and you get heart rythm problems. Not a good place to be. Be very careful mixing OTC remedies and alway tell your Dr. OTC remedies are still drugs and can interact with your meds. Good luck with the work load. Sounds like a busy time up your way. -Dennis- |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Jason on Nov 8th, 2008 at 10:35pm
Well, sugar on the kudzu root then.....we don't need heart problems to go along with everything else.
I guess I ought to get along and see about some reading re: mode of action of some of these things. My degree is in animal science...always thought Taurine was an essential amino acid (especially for cats !!) and didn't know it had calcium channel blocking properties. I'll have a look see about the kudzu root, too. Thanks again. |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Ungweliante on Nov 9th, 2008 at 5:43am
I also think that you should be careful with the meds you take. I wouldn't take kudzu + Verapamil together myself and also would be careful about the energy drink + Verapamil combination.
On the other hand, I won't take Verapamil ever again anyways, since I got such huge problems with it without any benefits. Reached a dose of 480mg with no help. Has the oxygen helped you yet? Remember to get a closed oxygen mask, which doesn't allow any airflow from outside. And also use it at the speed of at least 15 l / min, preferably even higher. Luckily there are plenty of meds to be tried against CH. I'd guess it is not your first cycle, as you are doing the preventative + Pred taper combination. Also remember not to take 40mg of Pred per day for a week and then stop just like that. It's very important that you slowly reduce the dose, like for example 10mg per three days. I also think that a dose of 120mg of Verapamil is very small. There are some reports of people getting respite from that dose in the medical literature, but I haven't heard of anyone here who requires only such a small dose. A typical dose which helps is 480mg - 720mg, or even higher. After reaching a dose of 360mg or more, I would require the doctors to take regular electrocardiograms. I'm very glad I did back when I took Verapamil, as the ECG revealed bradycardia and the Verapamil was rapidly discontinued. I remember feeling constantly tired, like having a truck sitting on my chest. Climbing the stairs was a major accomplishment. I hope you'll do better with it, though! Some people tolerate Verapamil very well. - Best regards and PFDAN, Rosa |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Jason on Nov 9th, 2008 at 3:40pm
Thank you ma'am and sir.
Yes, I tried the O2 the other night in the middle of my K7-K8 breakthough headache....laid it low in about 15 minutes but I fought shadows the whole rest of the night and most of yesterday. I'm not much of a fan of drugs of any sort either. However, after 16 years of no treatment whatsoever during my episodic headaches, and barely functioning through my day, my job and with my wife, I don't ever want to go down the "no treatment whatsoever" road again. I think the Verap is having an effect, and at 120 mg I am not getting any side effects. Similarly, 30 mg Prednisone (my current taper level) is still having an effect also. I'd like to have more O2 on hand than I currently do....the medical supply place gave me one E tank (which I can refill to be sure), but I've felt the need to be very careful about how much O2 I am using because of this. I am going to politely insist on at least one more E tank as soon as I need a refill this week. PFDAN to everyone. |
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Ungweliante on Nov 9th, 2008 at 5:31pm
Madamoiselle! ;D
|
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by Jason on Nov 9th, 2008 at 6:27pm
Ahhh.....oui, mademoiselle ! 8-)
|
Title: Re: K7-8 broke through Prednisone last night... Post by DennisM1045 on Nov 9th, 2008 at 6:47pm Jason wrote on Nov 9th, 2008 at 3:40pm:
Wait till you see what it does when you catch the attack early 8-) Welcome to the 70% club. I couldnt' be happier that this works for you. Quote:
Most of us keep several tanks on hand. I myself have one m-tank I keep in the bedroom and 7 e-tanks. I carry an e-tank around with me in the car and keep another in my cube at work. I go through a lot of O2 in cycle. It's not unusual for me to burn through all that in less than two weeks. I never let myself get down below two e-tanks before I'm calling for refills. Good luck... -Dennis- |
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