Hey Rob,

Thanks for the update and the lab data.  You're correct, your serum calcium concentration is just fine.  Had it been above or below the normal reference range, the lab and your PCP would have gone to General Quarters...

You still on the road?

Take care,

V/R, Batch

Hey Kurama,

Thank you for the update... I need to know if you tried the 3-month course of vitamin B 50 shown in the table of supplements and doses called for in this regimen at the following link or if you were using an older version of this regimen:

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I added Vitamin B 50 to this regimen a year ago at the suggestion of Dr. Stasha Gominak, MD.  I added it for the very reason you started taking the Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)... It appears you had a vitamin B2 deficiency.

The vitamin B 50 called for in the Anti-Inflammatory Regimen is formulated with 50 mg each of the seven B vitamins plus 400 mg Folic Acid... Accordingly, one of these tablets will also contain 50 mg Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)...

If you were taking the vitamin B 50 and needed to take more vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) in order to experience a pain free response from this regimen, I'll need to know that so I can make a note about this for future users of this regimen.

We've also confirmed that allergic reactions to a wide range of allergens from spring pollen to dust mites can and will overpower this regimen and keep it from working properly to prevent your CH.  Allergic reactions result a flood of histamine within the mucus membranes in the nasal passages and blood stream.  When this happens, it keeps this regimen from preventing your CH. 

If you suspect you're having an allergic reaction or you've been taking this regimen for 10 days without any relief, the simple fix is a week-long course of Benadryl 25 mg   taken 4 times a day every 4 hours.  If the CH return within a day or two after the first week, continue the taking the 25 mg Benadryl tablets three times a day.

The rationale for taking benadryl is due to the fact that it is a first-generation antihistamine that passes through the blood brain barrier to block histamine receptors in the brain's nerve cells.  This helps stop the neurogenic inflammation in and around the trigeminal nerve and in the process, helps this regimen work as intended to prevent CH.

The downside of benadryl is it acts as a CNS depressant so you will get drowsy and shouldn't drive if you take it.

Check with your PCP or healthcare provider before starting the benadryl, particularly if you're taking any other prescription medications.

Thanks again for the update.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Hey Jay,

Pick up some vitamin B 50 (90 count) if you haven't already done so... a tablet a day for thee months should take care of an B vitamin deficiencies...  for some reason that happens on vitamin D3 at the doses we take.

You also need to pick up some Benadryl for the allergies... They trigger massive floods of histamines that make all forms of CH intervention limited at best in efficacy to totally ineffective.  Take one of the 25 mg tabs four times a day for a week then back off and see what happens... I'm still tapering off the benadryl at 2 per day... You should be showing the beast the way out the door after 12 to 24 hours of benadryl...

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Hey Kurama,

Thanks for the feedback.  I spent some time discussing the anti-inflammatory regimen with Dr. Stasha Gominak, MD, a neurologist in Tyler TX.  She's been using a similar regimen for her patients with sleep, chronic pain and headache disorders for over six years.

She was seeing similar result to what we've seen with the anti-inflammatory regimen.  However, she also observed an interesting phenomenon that after a year or two on her regimen, a number of her patients started reporting it was no longer working and the symptoms that had been under control and absent for so long were reemerging again.

She ran tests on a number of these patients and couldn't find any reason why they stopped responding.  Then one of her patients called to say she had started taking Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), like you, and that the vitamin D3 began to work again.

Dr. Gominak ran tests for the B vitamins on some of her other patients who had stopped responding to vitamin D3.  What she found was they all had one or more B vitamin deficiencies...  Her solution was to take a shotgun approach using vitamin B 50 to make sure any deficiencies among the seven B vitamins were being addressed.

Why this happens is still a mystery, but a logical reason follows.  Our bodies need nutrients to stay healthy and it's also clear that vitamin D3 is so essential, our bodies make their own when exposed to the UV-B in sunlight. 

It's equally clear vitamin D3 helps our bodies function more efficiently so it's not unreasonable to assume that many of the processes helped by vitamin D3 also consume other nutrients more rapidly.  This is likely the case with respect to the B vitamins.

The 3-month course of vitamin B 50 should help.  However, Dr. Gominak also cautioned not to take the vitamin B 50 for more than 3 months.  This warning came as some of her patients who had taken vitamin B 50 for more than 3 months started reporting the vitamin D3 regimen had again stopped working.  A few days to a week after stopping the vitamin B 50, the vitamin D3 started working once again.

Bottom line, as you've already been supplementing with most of the B vitamins, you may not need a full three month course of vitamin B 50.

The other interesting thing we've discovered over the last few months is allergies play a major role in CH due to the flood of histamine they cause. As allergies can easily cause a significant increase in frequency and severity of CH, it's best to treat them as soon as you detect any symptoms or experience an up-tic in CH activity.  It's common for some allergies to be sub-clinical, i.e., no obvious symptoms other than an up-tic in CH.

I've found a one-week course of 25 mg benedryl taken 4 times a day every four hours is sufficient while taking the anti-inflammatory regimen.  Benedryl is a potent antihistamine and it's also a CNS depressant that will cause drowsiness, so don't drive if possible and if you do drive, be very careful.

If your CH symptoms return after the week of benedryl, start a second course or 2 to 3 benedryl tablets a day and try to taper off it completely in two weeks.  It takes roughly three hours for oral benedryl to reach a maximum serum concentration and the half-life is 8 to 12 hours depending on age.

As always, please keep your PCP or neurologist in the loop with any change in supplements and medications like benedryl.

Thanks again for the update.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Kurama,

Sorry you're having such a rough time.  Regarding the Vitamin B100.  Take one every other day...  That will give you the same net intake as vitamin B50.  This supplement can take a few days to bring up any deficiency among your B vitamins.

I suspect it's going to take a little longer for the Benadryl to kick in...  Cmax is about three hours and the half-life for adults is 10 to 12 hours...  It still takes a while to block the histamine receptors... longer if you had a big gush of histamines.

Take care and please keep us posted...

V/R, Batch

Hey Hans,

Good question...  Go to page one of this thread and scroll down...  The latest list of supplements, doses and the basic "How To" are all there.

Take care and keep us posted when you start this regimen.

V/R, Batch

Hans,

Thanks for the update you've got the supplements on order.

Regarding the availability of these supplements in Germany... it's always a shame when the MPH bean counters and bureaucrats decide what over the counter supplements you can and can't have.

A CH’er in the UK has found a source for all the needed supplements at iherb.com.  See his post at the following link for details on pricing and how to order them over the Internet:

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You might want to check on pricing as iherb.com gets aggressive with its specials and shipping...  You just need to keep orders under 4 pounds weight.

Regarding Melatonin - We have several CH'ers who have continued with their prescribed CH preventatives and Melatonin while taking the anti-inflammatory regimen with no problems noted.

There are also several CH'ers in Germany using the anti-inflammatory regimen...

There should be some posts about this regimen and possibly other sources for the needed supplements at the following link:
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Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Hey Jay,

Claritin (Loratadine) is a second-generation antihistamine and much larger molecule than Benadryl, so can't get through the blood brain barrier like Benadryl to block histamine receptors in the brain...  Switch to Benadryl if possible.

10,000 IU may not be enough vitamin D3...  I'm presently taking 10,000 IU vitamin D3 in the A.M. along with a 25 mg Benadryl tablet and the same thing at night and that's keeping the beast away.

If I skip one of these doses, the beast comes a knocking...

Your 25(OH)D is fine for normal times... If you've got an allergic reaction in progress... that's not normal and may require a higher serum concentration of both vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D to keep the beast away...  particularly so if your pred taper is ending.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch