Hi all,  back on the board after a 1 year remission.  Last year's cycle had me going to the ER and I finally got to see a specialist.  He prescribed Zomig Spray and Imitrex Injections but of course cycle stopped and I did not need any until a few weeks ago when it started again.  Am now getting somewhat addicted to the Imitrex and a bit worried about long term effects of that

Another question I had is: do you always feel completely exhausted after an attack.  All the attacks I have, no matter if I abort with Imitrex or just suffer through smaller attacks, I end up completely tired and exhausted...

thanks
Patrick

Patrick-Ottawa wrote on Dec 19^th, 2013 at 1:04pm:



fellow Ontarian...eh
Imitrex is a love hate relationship for me
I get really sick about 24 hours. Exhaustion is immediate. Sme days worse than others. My family knows if i take it...that the next 24 hours are hell for me with rebounds, feeling bloating,sick,nausea,wiped out and eating is an effort. I empathise.

That's not much of an arsenal to battle CH with, are you working with a headache specialist doc yet?  We have seen the best results from doing so. There are hundreds of headache types, some which mimic CH, and it’s important to eliminate those before arriving at a firm diagnosis. I’ve had CH for over 35years, they haven’t killed me yet! You need an organized approach to managing them so they don’t manage your life. I use a 3 pronged approach, many use a similar approach. But first and MOST IMPORTANTLY

Follow this link to the medications section of this board and read the post

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

It’s a vitamin/mineral/fish oil supplement, all over the counter stuff. It’s up to an 81% success rate of those who try it and respond to the survey so you’re just shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t give it a shot. I’m 3 years pain free on it after a 35 plus year track record with episodic CH. Best of all, it’s healthy for you even without CH!

As of January 20, 2013, the compiled raw data indicates an efficacy of 80%. 240 out of the 300 CH'ers who have started this regimen and stayed on it for a month or more have experienced a significant reduction in the frequency and severity of their CH... 78% of the 300 CH'ers experienced a pain free response and 60% of the 300 have remained essentially pain free. Episodic and chronic CH'ers respond to this regimen at roughly the same rate.

Preliminary survey results indicate most of these CH'ers were pain free before the end of the third week with some responding in a little as 12 to 24 hours. The average time to respond is five days

So all that follows will be worthless I hope……….but still…

1: A good prevent med. A med I take daily, while on cycle, to reduce the number and intensity of my attacks. I use lithium, it blocks 60-70% of my attack. Verapamil is the most common first line prevent, topomax also has a loyal following. Some have to combine lithium and verapamil together to get relief.

2: A transitional med. Most prevents will take up to 2 weeks to become effective. I go on a prednisone taper, from 80 mg to zero over a two week period to give me a break while my prevent builds up. Prednisone will provide up to 100% relief for many CH’ers but is harsh on the system and should only be used for short periods of time.

3: An abortive therapy, the attack starts, now what? Oxygen should be your first line abortive. Breathing pure 02 will abort an attack for me in less then 10 minutes, that’s completely pain free. Read this link as it must be used correctly or it will not work

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

This link will show you how to get set up with welding oxygen:

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

Imitrex nasal spray and injectables are very effective abortives. I use the injectables, they’re expensive, and I rarely use them, mostly just when I get caught away from the oxygen. The pill form generally works too slow to be effective for CH’ers. There still isn't any study that shows the imitrex is bad for you long term, but many here swear it extends their cycles.


For now, get some energy drinks. Rock Star, Monster, any containing the combo of caffeine and taurine, chug it down as fast as you can when you feel an attack starting. Many can abort or at least really reduce an attack using these.

Finally, visit our sister board for “alternative” treatment methods outside of mainstream medicine. As you’ll see from all the success stories on this board, there is something to it.

clusterbusters.com


Read everything you can on this board, if you are a CH’er, knowledge is your best ally. We’ll help you all we can.

Joe

I echo the others when they say that post attack exhaustion is path of the course.... Attacks seem to use all of your energy to try and fight it (hard not to sometimes) but this then leaves you wrecked and you want to have a nap to recover. I'm on board with you ... Dave

grats on the 1 year mission! I wish I could get that.  I did try the zomig at the ER and it worked great!! but cost more than $100 a pill and I needed 2 at a time.  Then months later I had zomig again and it had little effect.  I do get a strange exhausted feeling after a bad headache ends.

When I'm in a cycle, it's attack - break - attack - break -attack -break... lasting over about a 6-8 hour period in total. When it's done, I'm absolutely spent.  I don't know if sleep or "pass out" is what I do for the next part of the day, but yes I can sympathize.

Yes, me too. After the first few days in cycle I'm completely done in. Luckily for me my husband is a star and when I'm ill he knows it's best to just leave me alone, but he does do all the cooking, house work and shopping for me and he sleeps in the spare room to give me as much peace as possible. When a cycle ends it takes me nearly 2 weeks to pull myself together.
Maz