I'm not a medical doctor...

Verapamil is just a preventive, so if you're in cycle (or chronic), it will help prevent some of the CHs from happening. It will not stop a cycle.

Prednisione is a preventive but for some people it can sometimes also break the cycle.

Changing doses is something that seems to happen with CH. Some people find that what used to work doesn't any more as the beast morphs over time. Work with a good neuro headache specialist to find what will work for you now.

Once you're out of cycle, you will probably be able to drop the dose well back to that used to control your blood pressure, but again, work with a doctor on this.

Well thanks to both of ya. Didnt want to stop taking Verap if it was in fact delaying new cycle. Just gotta cut her back now.  Sure wasted a lot of it over last year.  Thanks to my fear of a return of The Beast.

Cluster headache.
From: Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or (Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases)
[Easy to read; one of the better overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article--link, line above--if you are serious about keeping a good medical library on the subject.]

Leroux E, Ducros A.

ABSTRACT: Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disease characterized by recurrent short-lasting attacks (15 to 180 minutes) of excruciating unilateral periorbital pain accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic signs (lacrimation, nasal congestion, ptosis, miosis, lid edema, redness of the eye). It affects young adults, predominantly males. Prevalence is estimated at 0.5-1.0/1,000. CH has a circannual and circadian periodicity, attacks being clustered (hence the name) in bouts that can occur during specific months of the year. ALCOHOL IS THE ONLY DIETARY TRIGGER OF CH, STRONG ODORS (MAINLY SOLVENTS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE) AND NAPPING MAY ALSO TRIGGER CH ATTACKS. During bouts, attacks may happen at precise hours, especially during the night. During the attacks, patients tend to be restless. CH may be episodic or chronic, depending on the presence of remission periods. CH IS ASSOCIATED WITH TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION AND NEUROENDOCRINE AND VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCES, HOWEVER, THE PRECISE CAUSATIVE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNKNOWN. Involvement of the hypothalamus (a structure regulating endocrine function and sleep-wake rhythms) has been confirmed, explaining, at least in part, the cyclic aspects of CH. The disease is familial in about 10% of cases. Genetic factors play a role in CH susceptibility, and a causative role has been suggested for the hypocretin receptor gene. Diagnosis is clinical. Differential diagnoses include other primary headache diseases such as migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania and SUNCT syndrome. At present, there is no curative treatment. There are efficient treatments to shorten the painful attacks (acute treatments) and to reduce the number of daily attacks (prophylactic treatments). Acute treatment is based on subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. Verapamil, lithium, methysergide, prednisone, greater occipital nerve blocks and topiramate may be used for prophylaxis. In refractory cases, deep-brain stimulation of the hypothalamus and greater occipital nerve stimulators have been tried in experimental settings.THE DISEASE COURSE OVER A LIFETIME IS UNPREDICTABLE. Some patients have only one period of attacks, while in others the disease evolves from episodic to chronic form.

PMID: 18651939 [PubMed]
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Take the time and effort to print out this 15-page review of treatments.

This is the single best listing of current therapies, with evaluations of effectiveness, which I've seen.

If you want a single document to drop on your doc in support of a particular therapy and/or to educate him---this may be it. (If you use it for this purpose, include all the reference pages at the end. They provide the evidence which a good doc would appreciate.)

When you hit this link it will require you to register for the site to gain access. The article is 15-pages long.

Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or