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Back after 4 months PF (Read 6043 times)
Mark Olson
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Back after 4 months PF
Jun 23rd, 2015 at 4:06am
 
I'm back after 4 blessed months pain free. It looks like I have gone back to the solstice schedule after one equinox excursion.  I had a few shadows over the past two days and the headaches came back tonight.

The wife is really nervous about the D3 regimen, so she wants my neurologist to buy into it before I try it.  My neurologist is open minded about it, but wanted to try Verapamil first.  She gave me an 80mg per day prescription in February, and it seemed to end my last cycle.  I have been taking the Verapamil since, but apparently it was just a coincidence that my cycle ended as I started taking it.

So now it is back to the neurologist to see if she would prefer to up the Verapamil dose or is ready to let me try the D3.

Is it possible that a low dose of Verapamil will work for a while, but then the body "gets used to it", and the headaches come back?
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« Last Edit: Jun 23rd, 2015 at 4:07am by Mark Olson »  
 
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tangerinearmy
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #1 - Jun 23rd, 2015 at 5:42am
 
with all due respect to your wife ,the chances of finding a neurologist who will know anything about vitD is practically zero .

my question would be how come im still getting whacked even though im under the guidance of this neurologist .

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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #2 - Jun 23rd, 2015 at 7:03am
 
The normal dosage of verapamil for CH's is 360-480mg/
day, some folk have to go as high as 900-1000mg/day
to get relief. Maybe its time to seek out a Headache
Specialist.

Hoppy
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« Last Edit: Jun 23rd, 2015 at 7:14am by Hoppy »  
 
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Bob Johnson
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #3 - Jun 23rd, 2015 at 9:49am
 
Yes, Verap dose is much too low. Print the PDF file, below, and share with your doc.
==

Headache. 2004 Nov;44(10):1013-8.   


Individualizing treatment with verapamil for cluster headache patients.

Blau JN, Engel HO.


    Background.-Verapamil is currently the best available prophylactic drug for patients experiencing cluster headaches (CHs). Published papers usually state 240 to 480 mg taken in three divided doses give good results, ranging from 50% to 80%; others mention higher doses-720, even 1200 mg per day. In clinical practice we found we needed to adapt dosage to individual's time of attacks, in particular giving higher doses before going to bed to suppress severe nocturnal episodes. A few only required 120 mg daily. We therefore evolved a scheme for steady and progressive drug increase until satisfactory control had been achieved. Objective.-To find the minimum dose of verapamil required to prevent episodic and chronic cluster headaches by supervising each individual and adjusting the dosage accordingly. Methods.-Consecutive patients with episodic or chronic CH (satisfying International Headache Society (IHS) criteria) were started on verapamil 40 mg in the morning, 80 mg early afternoon, and 80 mg before going to bed. Patients kept a diary of all attacks, recording times of onset, duration, and severity. They were advised, verbally and in writing, to add 40 mg verapamil on alternate days, depending on their attack timing: with nocturnal episodes the first increase was the evening dose and next the afternoon one; when attacks occurred on or soon after waking, we advised setting an alarm clock 2 hours before the usual waking time and then taking the medication. Patients were followed-up at weekly intervals until attacks were controlled. They were also reviewed when a cluster period had ended, and advised to continue on the same dose for a further 2 weeks before starting systematic reduction. Chronic cluster patients were reviewed as often as necessary. Results.-Seventy consecutive patients, 52 with episodic CH during cluster periods and 18 with chronic CH, were all treated with verapamil as above. Complete relief from headaches was obtained in 49 (94%) of 52 with episodic, and 10 (55%) of 18 with chronic CH; the majority needed 200 to 480 mg, but 9 in the episodic, and 3 in the chronic group, needed 520 to 960 mg for control. Ten, 2 in the episodic and 8 in the chronic group, with incomplete relief, required additional therapy-lithium, sumatriptan, or sodium valproate. One patient withdrew because verapamil made her too tired, another developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and the drug was withdrawn. Conclusions.-Providing the dosage for each individual is adequate, preventing CH with verapamil is highly effective, taken three (occasionally with higher doses, four) times a day. In the majority (94%) with episodic CH steady dose increase under supervision, totally suppressed attacks. However in the chronic variety only 55% were completely relieved, 69% men, but only 20% women. In both groups, for those with partial attack suppression, additional prophylactic drugs or acute treatment was necessary. (Headache 2004;44:1013-1018).

=======================================
SLOW-RELEASE VERAPAMIL

Dr. Sheftell applauded the protocol for verapamil used by Dr. Goadsby and colleagues, which entailed use of short-acting verapamil in increments of 80 mg. “This method was suggested by Lee Kudrow, MD, 20 years ago as an alternative to slow-release verapamil,” Dr. Sheftell noted.

“I would agree with using short-acting verapamil, rather than the sustained-release formulation, in cluster headache,” he said. “I prefer the short-acting formulation with regard to ability to titrate more accurately and safely. My clinical experience anecdotally demonstrates improved responses when patients are switched from sustained-release verapamil to short-acting verapamil.”

Dr. Goadsby agreed that his clinical experience was similar. “There are no well-controlled, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging studies to direct treatment. This is one of those areas where clinicians who treat cluster headache have to combine what modicum of evidence is available with their own clinical experience,” Dr. Sheftell commented.

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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #4 - Jun 23rd, 2015 at 3:14pm
 
Hey Mark,

Here's a different perspective for you and your wife to ponder as you decide whether to take verapamil, the vitamin D3 regimen... or both to prevent your CH.   

There have been many (I'd estimate well over 100) CH'ers who started the anti-inflammatory regimen while taking verapamil and had no problems in either direction...  Most started the anti-inflammatory regimen because they were still getting hit while taking verapamil.

The latest version of this regimen uses a Mature-Mult with only 220 mg/day of calcium and if you separate the calcium and verapamil doses by 8 to 12 hours... there shouldn't be any problems affecting verapamil's capacity to prevent CH.

Verapamil is a calcium channel blocker and a chemical not found in nature or the normal human body.  The mechanism of action in preventing CH is variable but best explained in the following:

"The effect of verapamil in cluster headache most likely takes place in the hypothalamus. Verapamil is an L-type calcium channel blocker but it is also a blocker of other calcium channels (T-, P-, and possibly N- and Q-type Ca(2+) channels) and the human ether-a-go-go-related gene potassium channel.

With so many different actions of verapamil, it is impossible at the present time to single out a certain mode of action of the drug in cluster headache."

On the other hand, vitamin D3 is so important to so many physiological functions in the human body, our bodies synthesize it in the skin when cutaneous cholesterol is exposed to the UV-B in sunlight.

It's mechanism of action in preventing cluster headache involves the vitamin D3 autocrine/paracrine mode of action where it triggers genetic expression...  In other words, vitamin D3 unlocks the genetic library of instructions in nerve cells in the hypothalamus and trigeminal ganglia so these cells can follow these instructions to do what they're supposed to do... and in the process, prevent CH.

In simple terms, verapamil treats the symptoms of CH by blocking pain signals and vitamin D3 works up stream signalling nerve cells to function properly through genetic expression to stop or slow the production of peptides that participate in the pathogenesis of CH... 

One of the leading candidates in this category is where vitamin D3 down-regulates nerve cell production of calcitonin gene-relatied peptide (CGRP) that has been found elevated during the pain phase of CH and migraine headaches.

Now for the relative risks...  From Q1 2004 to Q3 2013, (10 years), the FDA received adverse reaction reports on the following prescription medications and over the counter supplements used to treat Cluster Headache and Related Symptoms:


Deaths due to VERAPAMIL                 - 229
Deaths due to DEPAKOTE                  - 168
Deaths due to TOPAMAX                   -  66
Deaths due to LITHIUM CARBONATE         -  56
Deaths due to LYRICA                    - 703
Deaths due to GABAPENTIN (Neurontin)    - 202
Deaths due to VALPROIC ACID             - 194
Deaths due to BACLOFEN                  - 102
Deaths due to PREDNISONE                - 513
Deaths due to PREDNISOLONE              - 163
Deaths due to COUMADIN                  - 458
Deaths due to IMITREX                   -  32
Deaths due to INDOMETHACIN              -  18
Deaths due to OCTREOTIDE                -1317
Deaths due to CALAN                     - 208
Deaths due to CLOMIPHENE CITRATE - 8 Intra-uterine Deaths
Deaths due to PROPRANOLOL HCL          -  67
Deaths due to ATENOLO                  -  62
Deaths due to AMITRIPTYLINE            - 184
Deaths due to PAXIL                    - 357
Deaths due to LIPITOR                  - 865
Deaths due to CRESTOR                  - 238
Deaths due to NEXIUM                   - 357
Deaths due to AMBIEN                   - 243
Deaths due to PRILOSEC                 -  0
Deaths due to DIHYDROERGOTAMINE        -  0
Deaths due to OXYGEN                   -  0

Over The Counter NSAIDs                  
Deaths due to NAPROXEN (Aleve)  - 142
Deaths due to ASPIRIN           - 645
Deaths due to TYLENOL           - 964
Deaths due to EXCEDRIN          - 500
Deaths due to IBUPROFEN         - 661

Over The Counter Supplements/Nutrients
Deaths due to MELATONIN  -  0
Deaths due to MAGNESIUM OXIDE  -  0
Deaths due to CALCIUM CITRATE - Not Listed
Deaths due to BORON        -   Not Listed
Deaths due to VITAMIN A (Retinol)  -  6
Deaths due to VITAMIN B (Complex)  -  2
Deaths due to VITAMIN B 12  -  0
Deaths due to VITAMIN C   -  0
Deaths due to Vitamin E   -  2
Deaths due to VITAMIN D3  -  0
VITAMIN D3 TOXICITY       -  2
Deaths due to VITAMIN K   -   2
Deaths due to VITAMIN K2   - Not Listed
Deaths due to ZINC OXIDE   - Not Listed


If your wife is still nervous after reading this far, have her read through the following link at VitaminDWiki and check the column on the left for a very long list of medical problems related to a vitamin D3 deficiency:

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The anti-inflammatory regimen is so important to good health and the prevention of so many medical problems, I have my entire family taking it...  That includes my wife, brother, 3 kids, their spouses and 7 grand kids.

The kids get vitamin D3 at 50 IU per pound of body weight and the rest of the supplements at RDA for their age group.... 

You can find the RDAs for each supplement by age group at the Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center at OSU at the following web site.

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My daughter has been taking the anti-inflammatory regimen for the last four years.  She announce she was pregnant in December 2013, and said she had spoken with her OB and planned to stay on this regimen throughout her pregnancy and after as she was planning to breast feed.

And that brings me to Fred...

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Fred, a.k.a., Winefred, is an 11 month old wunderkind and our 7th grandchild. (photo taken at 6 months) Born on July 7, 2014, she was rolling over and starting to crawl at 5 months and I'm positive she started to speak words in English and German about that same time... but then I'm a doting old grandfather. 

Fred's at the 99th percentile in size, weight and development both physical and mental according to her pediatrician...  She has never had a cold, a rash, rosacea, eczma, jaundice or any of the medical problems typically experienced by many newborns.

We attribute Fred's exceptional good health and development to the fact that her mother has been taking the anti-inflammatory regimen with 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3 and all the cofactors for the last four years and continues to do so while breast feeding Fred...  She's also started solid food... albeit run through an immersion blender first.  She's also walking and talking a blue streak...

My daughter's pregnancy and Fred's delivery were flawless and trouble free.  In short this child has been on a therapeutic dose of vitamin D3 since conception and is still taking vitamin D3 today through breast feeding... 

Both my daughter's OB and Fred's pediatrician are totally on board with this regimen.  They were a little concerned at first, but after a couple rounds of labs came back in the green, the trouble free pregnancy and delivery coupled with Fred's exceptional good health... all that changed.  My daughter's OB now suggests this regimen to all his expectant and breast feeding mothers.

A recent study of breastfeeding neonates found maternal serum vitamin D3 was passed through breast milk to the suckling neonate but not maternal 25(OH)D, the first metabolite of vitamin D3.  Moreover, several studies indicate the rate of vitamin D3 transfer through breast milk is roughly one third the maternal serum concentration.

That means Fred was getting the equivalent of 3000 IU/day vitamin D3 while hooked up to cable prior to birth and she's getting the same amount now from her mother's milk.

As a final note, most physicians are well schooled in the use of pharmaceuticals... but very few are trained in nutrition... other than to say "eat healthy..."

Accodingly, ask your neurologist for the lab test of your 25(OH)D.  This is the serum level vitamin D3 metabolite that's used to determine vitamin D3 status.  The normal reference range for 25(OH)D is 30 to 100 ng/mL...  Nearly all CH'ers tested for 25(OH)D while experiencing CH averaged 27.8 ng/mL.  CH'ers who started the anti-inflammatory regimen with at least 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3 tested at > 30 days averaged a 25(OH)D serum concentration 79.8 ng/mL.

If your 25(OH)D is below 30 ng/mL, your neurologist should suggest taking vitamin D3...  If she doesn't...  I'd be tempted to find another neurologist.

The latest data from the online survey of CH'ers taking this regimen reveals the following response times...

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The latest version of the anti-inflammatory regimen can be found at the following link roughly half way down page 1...

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If you have questions, just ask...

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch
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« Last Edit: Jul 13th, 2015 at 10:45pm by Batch »  

You love lots of things if you live around them. But there isn't any woman and there isn't any horse, that’s as lovely as a great airplane. If it's a beautiful fighter, your heart will be ever there
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Mark Olson
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #5 - Jun 23rd, 2015 at 4:01pm
 
Thanks for the information.  Very helpful.

I have a call into the neurologist.  We'll see how she does.  You may be right.  It may be time to head up to Stanford...
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #6 - Jun 24th, 2015 at 3:11am
 
Mark Hi, sorry you've gone back into cycle
But Can I just say something here,  we all love our supporters whether they be wives partners or just friends !
So, in saying that, your wife doesn't get the ch hits ! so her nervousness shouldn't even come into the equation ! seriously ! Its you that is feeling the pain ! your pain decisions are yours to make, even after a nuerologist offers up their pain preferences !  supporters support ! they shouldn't be making decisions on your course of action in any way ! and I say that with the greatest of respect and acknowledgement of how important supporter are !
Take control, read up here, see your nuerologist !
I hope you take this in the context of how I'm trying to get it across !
My first doctor said the vit D 3 would kill me ! the second doctor refused to give me O2, the first neurologist didn't believe in ANY form of abortive ie imigran !
Take control yourself from the information you get, never ask the opinion and then let someone other than a medical professional or someone with first hand experience of clusters decide or stop you from a course of action that may help !     if you no what I mean !  your wifes nervousness shouldnt come into this.
all the best
colin
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« Last Edit: Jun 24th, 2015 at 3:13am by N/A »  
 
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Mark Olson
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #7 - Jun 25th, 2015 at 3:29am
 
No offense taken.  I appreciate all advice.

I am figuring out how to use O2.  It has been pretty effective at knocking out my headaches last night and tonight.  I use the hyperventilation technique, and it works pretty well without wasting much O2.  Much improved quality of life.

I have decided to fire my neurologist after two non-returned phone calls, and numerous clerical errors over the past year.  I also get the feeling she doesn't have very much actual CH experience.

I am now trying to get in to see the folks at the Stanford Headache Clinic.  Just going through the paperwork hassles now.
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Mark Olson
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #8 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 12:26am
 
I tried to talk to my neurologist about my Verapamil dose but the office never called me back.  This is after the office staff screwed up my Verapamil prescriptions for several months and then never called me back after I left messages.

I decided to fire my neurologist.  I got my PCP to refer me to the Stanford Headache Clinic, and got an appointment for today with Dr. Sheena Aurora.

In the intervening time, my episode ended.  The headaches were very mild, no more than a 5, and O2 aborted them very quickly.  They only lasted 3 days, although I had some shadows, a red eye and stuffy nostril for about a week after that.

I had a long meeting with Dr. Aurora today.  After she checked me out, reviewed my MRI and headache diary, she agreed with the CH diagnosis.  She prescribed a year's worth of Verapamil and added a prescription for Zomig nasal spray.

I showed her the CH.com D3 data.  She found it very interesting, and encouraged me to try it.  That gets the wife bought in too.

Since my last episode was so short and mild, she recommended we continue with the low dose of Verapamil unless it stops working for me.

So next step is to make a Costco run...
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« Last Edit: Jul 9th, 2015 at 12:28am by Mark Olson »  
 
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Batch
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #9 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 1:38am
 
Smooth move Mark,

Good on you for starting the anti-inflammatory regimen...  You won't regret it...

You'll get extra points if you get your wife started on this regimen...  The health benefits are too good to ignore... 

Only one word of caution... Fertility goes up exponentially when both of you are on this regimen...
Smiley


Take care,

V/R, Batch
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You love lots of things if you live around them. But there isn't any woman and there isn't any horse, that’s as lovely as a great airplane. If it's a beautiful fighter, your heart will be ever there
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Peter510
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #10 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 2:49am
 
Batch wrote.... "Fertility goes up exponentially when both of you are on this regimen".

Could that be because neither party gets headaches ???

Peter.
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blacklab
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #11 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 3:16am
 
Peter510 wrote on Jul 9th, 2015 at 2:49am:
Batch wrote.... "Fertility goes up exponentially when both of you are on this regimen".

Could that be because neither party gets headaches ???

Peter.

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AussieBrian
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #12 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 3:50am
 
It does nothing for a bloke's dignity when it's him who says, "Not tonight, dear. I have a headache."

Bring on the cure!!!
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My name is Brian. I'm a ClusterHead and I'm here to help. Email me anytime at briandinkum@yahoo.com
 
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #13 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 6:26am
 
Smiley
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Mark Olson
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #14 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 11:50am
 
HAHAHA!

Not to worry.  I was fixed many years ago.
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #15 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 12:26pm
 
Well, I may get myself tossed off the site for this, but someone's got to say it.

Batch, you've crossed the line here using scare tactics to promote your regimen -- for what reason?  Posting completely unnecessary death statistics (people taking very valuable medicines for a range of maladies completely unrelated to CH) in some misguided effort to steer people onto your beloved D3 cure.  You do know that Verapamil is a blood pressure medicine and that people with high BP have a much greater chance of dying while using the drug, don't you?

You may not like it, but a whole bunch of people get a whole bunch of relief of from these drugs.  And you may like it even less, but a whole bunch of very, very educated doctors, yes, doctors, prescribe these medicines.  And people take them knowing the risks.

Your "anti-inflamatory" regimen may work fine for some people, but it doesn't work for everyone and you have absolutely no business posting these figures in an attempt to scare people away from valuable drugs that can spare people pain and suffering.

You make all sorts of wild claims about the benefits of D3 that have nothing to do with CH and therefore have no business on this site -- the same types of claims that were made about Fish Oil. 

Well, read the front page of the Washington Post today Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register).

I've kept my trap shut in public for a long time on this score because it is fairly clear that your regimen works for some people and I would never, never do anything to deter anyone from seeking any relief from this terrible malady.  But apparently you are so seized with your own "cure" that you now want to scare people away from remedies that have been working for years.

Your regimen is one remedy of many.  Don't do your fellow sufferers a disservice by suggesting that other remedies are either dangerous or ineffective.  I've said my piece, I'm done on this, and I would guess,  all other topics.
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #16 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 3:04pm
 
Stop I think you took it the wrong way.

Mark.
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Mark Olson
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #17 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 3:32pm
 
Both my GP and the new neurologist told me that the regimen couldn't hurt, and it seems like the neurologist was interested in the D3 data.

I can see how there may be some questions about the various ingredients in the regimen and their contribution to the D3 absorption rates, but D3 levels seem to correlate to CH in many people.

I don't view Batch's contributions as anything but trying to help.

Everyone has the right to make their own decisions about the regimen.

I appreciate the link to the fish oil article.  While it indicates that it may not help with D3 absorption, it doesn't seem to hurt.  I say, if you feel that way, don't take that part of the regimen.

I plan on using the regimen, but I also plan on continuing on the Verapamil.

It might have been more constructive to start this direction of this thread with something that sounds more like a challenge to a friendly debate rather than sounding like an attack.
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #18 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 5:06pm
 
Someone tell me then, what possible purpose could be served by posting death rates of commonly prescribed CH drugs other than to attempt to scare people?
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #19 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 5:16pm
 
Traveller wrote,misguided effort to steer people onto your beloved D3 cure.

But apparently you are so seized with your own "cure" that you now want to scare people away from remedies that have been working for years.

Their is no "cure" as yet! The vitamin D-3 regiment is a CH
preventative, and Batch was just pointing out, that if it
works in keeping the beast at bay, it's a much safer option
than all those other drugs with their nasty side effects.

Hoppy

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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #20 - Jul 9th, 2015 at 11:39pm
 
Hoppy you are correct.  I should have used the word "remedy" or "preventative" as you suggest.  In Batch's defense he has never claimed his regimen is a cure.  I stand corrected.
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #21 - Jul 10th, 2015 at 12:12am
 
      Now I have to speak up. Traveler, I think you took it out of context.  Not long ago a member here wasn't allowed to use oxygen to abort a ch because his wife was extremely concerned about safety issues and didn't want it in the house. People here went to lengths to explain that any safety issues could be handled with common sense and knowledge. I don't remember how it worked out for him but what a shame cause oxygen is such an effective tool to kill the pain.

       Same thing here, if one goes back to the first post. My read was that his wife was concerned about the risks of the d3 regimen and  Batch's post was an attempt to show the risks (or lack of) of a bunch of commonly prescribed drugs as a comparison to the relative safety of the vitamin regimen. In other words, the risks of the vitamin regimen are less than the risks we already accept day in and day out. I saw no scare attempt.

        Knowledge is power and an informed person can make his own decisions wisely if he uses that knowledge to his or her own advantage. 

                                        Sean
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #22 - Jul 10th, 2015 at 2:47am
 
Traveller,

Good questions... and nobody is going to throw you off the boards for asking them...  If you take issue with a post, a comment, a position or an opinion... fire away...  That's the beauty of an open forum like CH.com.  Where the moderators will draw the line is personal attacks... and you haven't done that.

Back to your questions...  I'll do my best to answer them.  My only problem is where to start.  This topic is what we call in fighter pilot speak, a target enriched environment.

It's no secret and shouldn't come as a surprise that prescription drugs are now killing far more people than illegal drugs, and while most major causes of preventable deaths are declining, those from prescription drug use are increasing, an analysis of recently released data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by the Los Angeles Times revealed.

The Times analysis of 2009 death statistics, the most recent available, showed:

• For the first time ever in the US, more people were killed by drugs than motor vehicle accidents
   
• 37,485 people died from drugs, a rate fueled by overdoses on prescription pain and anxiety medications, versus 36,284 from traffic accidents
   
• Drug fatalities more than doubled among teens and young adults between 2000 and 2008, and more than tripled among people aged 50 to 69

•  In a June 2010 report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, study authors said that in looking over records that spanned from 1976 to 2006 (the most recent year available at the time) they found that, of 62 million death certificates, almost a quarter-million deaths were coded as having occurred in a hospital setting due to medication errors.

•  An estimated 450,000 preventable medication-related adverse events occur in the U.S. every year.

See the following link for more details... Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register

Natural News has another excellent article that starts with the following:

If you have seen a mainstream medical doctor for a serious medical condition or had routine doctor visits, chances are great that you have been lied to. Not all of the lies may have been deliberate; in many instances doctors may have merely been passing along lies they were taught in medical school and told by pharmaceutical reps. Nevertheless, whether deliberate of not, the fact is that doctors routinely lie.

In the U.S., doctors are taught at medical schools whose top source of funding is the world pharmaceutical empire and whose curricula are set by the American Medical Society. What doctors are taught is that the way to treat illness is to get out prescription pads and use only AMA approved treatments.

Here are four examples of the lies we are commonly told by our doctors

1. Your medical condition is incurable and/or irreversible.

When doctors tell you that there is no cure for your condition or that it cannot be reversed, most often the truth is that mainstream medicine has no answer. Nature, on the other hand, can reverse and cure just about any illness or health condition. Examples of conditions nature can remedy which mainstream medicine cannot include:

• Cancer

• Alzheimer's

• Parkinson's

• COPD

• Failing Eyesight

• Diabetes

2. You can get all the nutrition you need if you simply eat a balanced diet.

Thanks to soils whose minerals have been severely depleted and processed foods which have had most of the natural nutrition processed out, it is virtually impossible to get even the measly RDA amounts of the handful of vitamins and mineral the RDA lists, much less the optimal amounts of the hundreds of nutrients our bodies are designed to utilize.

Two examples of common deficiencies are magnesium and vitamin B12. Anywhere from 75 percent to over 95 percent of us are deficient in the master mineral magnesium - which plays an important role in over 1300 body processes. Forty percent of us are deficient in essential vitamin B12 (including a whopping 91 percent of vegetarians).

3. Unnatural mainstream drugs are safe and natural supplements are either ineffective or dangerous.

Just the opposite is true. A huge British study published in 2012 found that supplements were 62,000 times safer than mainstream medications.

Mainstream medications are not found in nature and over 95 percent of those drugs have side effects. In any given year, well over 100,000 people die in hospitals from the side effects of properly prescribed and administered mainstream drugs. Add to that the number of people who die at home and the number whose deaths were improperly attributed to their original condition and the number soars to well over 250,000 by many estimates.

By contrast, in an average year no one dies from vitamins, minerals or herbal supplements.

4. High cholesterol causes heart attacks and you need statin drugs to lower it.

After the myth of the effectiveness and safety of vaccinations, perhaps the second greatest mainstream lie is the one about high cholesterol and statin drugs. Like vaccinations, statin drugs are huge cash cows for the pharmaceutical industry and there appears to be no end in sight to mainstream medicine perpetuating the myths used to sell them.

The truth is that high cholesterol is merely a marker indicating a higher risk for heart attacks and stroke. Likewise the truth is that damnable statin drugs risks and side effects - such as suppressing production of essential CoEnzyme Q10 - far outweigh their benefits.

To find out more about the high cholesterol myth and statin drugs, see:

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Prominent heart doctor exposes the myths about cholesterol, statins and low fat diets

Sources for this article include:

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Taking the discussion back to my post about the relative risks of prescription medications, over the counter medications and the vitamins and minerals many of us take to prevent CH...  I posted them for the simple reason too many physicians fail to adequately explain to us about the possible side effects of the medications they prescribe or what to look for should we experience an adverse reaction.

A classic example is a prescription for an antibiotic...  How many of you were told by your PCP that the antibiotic would kill off the friendly colonies of bacteria living in your GI tract?  How many of you were told to take a probiotic while taking the antibiotic?  What is our microbiome?

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How many CH'ers are prescribed verapamil, but never given an EKG to establish a baseline before starting verapamil or given a second EKG after a month taking verapamil to check for possible arrhythmia and bradycardia? 

Fortunately there are answers to the above questions based on scientific medical evidence gathered by none other than the good doctor Peter Goadsby and others...

See Electrocardiographic abnormalities in patients with cluster headache on verapamil therapy.
Cohen AS1, Matharu MS, Goadsby PJ.

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Abstract

BACKGROUND:

High dose verapamil is an increasingly common preventive treatment in cluster headache (CH). Side effects include atrioventricular block and bradycardia, although their incidence in this population is not clear.

METHOD:

This audit study assessed the incidence of arrhythmias on high dose verapamil in patients with cluster headache.

RESULTS:

Of three hundred sixty-nine patients with cluster headache, 217 outpatients (175 men) received verapamil, starting at 240 mg daily and increasing by 80 mg every 2 weeks with a check electrocardiogram (EKG), until the CH was suppressed, side effects intervened, or to a maximum daily dose of 960 mg. One patient had 1,200 mg/day. Eighty-nine patients (41%) had no EKGs. One hundred eight had EKGs in the hospital notes, and a further 20 had EKGs done elsewhere. Twenty-one of 108 patients (19%) had arrhythmias. Thirteen (12%) had first-degree heart block (PR > 0.2 s), at 240 to 960 mg/day, with one requiring a permanent pacemaker. Four patients had junctional rhythm, and one had second-degree heart block. Four patients had right bundle branch block. There was bradycardia (HR < 60 bpm) in 39 patients (36%), but verapamil was stopped in only 4 patients. In eight patients the PR interval was lengthened, but not to >0.2 s. The incidence of arrhythmias on verapamil in this patient group is 19%, and bradycardia 36%.

CONCLUSION:

We therefore strongly recommend EKG monitoring in all patients with cluster headache on verapamil, to observe for the potential development of atrioventricular block and symptomatic bradycardia.

I could go on, but I think at this point, I've addressed my rationale for posting the relative risks.  I didn't do this to frighten fellow CH'ers...  On the contrary I make every effort to keep members of this forum as up to date as possible about what works better, safer and more cost effectively in preventing and aborting CH.

I joined this forum in 2006 and began posting about my experiences with oxygen therapy at flow rates that support hyperventilation as being more effective than a flow rate of 7 to 9 liters/minute. 

I was told at the time by several well intended, long time members, that breathing oxygen at flow rates this high was dangerous and possibly fatal... 

Well... I'm a retired Navy fighter pilot with over 3000 hours in jet fighters...  All of that flight time was spent breathing 100% oxygen from takeoff to landing... usually aboard ship on missions lasting an average of 1.8 hours and a few extended missions lasting over 7 hours. 

I've also been through enough Aviation Physiology labs to know my average respiration rates under combat maneuvering G loads were easily consuming oxygen at flow rates up to 50 liters/minute.  Moreover, several hundred thousand Navy and Marine Corps pilots have been breathing 100% oxygen on all fighter and attack missions since 1943 when a Bf-109 landed in the UK by mistake. In a matter of months US experts had cockroached the oxygen regulator design from the Bf-109 and began outfitting US fighter and attack aircraft with it.

Astronauts have been breathing 100% oxygen during suited operations since 1961 when Alan Shepard made the first flight into space.  They're still doing it today traveling to and from the International Space Station and during EVAs.

At this point I'm 70, I'm still here, I'm healthy, and I still use oxygen flow rates that support hyperventilation or my newest method of oxygen therapy.  It involves hyperventilating with air for 30 seconds at forced vital capacity tidal volumes followed by inhaling a lung full of 100% oxygen that's held for 30 seconds.  3 to 4 cycles like this (3 to 4 minutes) is usually sufficient to abort a CH at Kip 5 and below.  I'm also a patent holder on the demand valve method of oxygen therapy for rapid aborts of CH. 

So much for the myth that too high an oxygen flow is dangerous for CH'ers.

If you still think I'm off base with my posts...  Shoot me a PM so we can exchange phone numbers.

Take care,

V/R, Batch
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You love lots of things if you live around them. But there isn't any woman and there isn't any horse, that’s as lovely as a great airplane. If it's a beautiful fighter, your heart will be ever there
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blacklab
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #23 - Jul 10th, 2015 at 6:02am
 
Geeez,
             what possible offense or line could have been crossed, presenting facts ?????????
  To often we are told that there are possible side affects to taking drugs, to bury ones head in the sand and take offense to it being put out there, with actual facts !!!!
   Then, a cheap swipe at batches efforts on the vit regime.
SHAME ON YOU TRAVELLER  !
There have been a few knockers of the regime, some have been quite adamant on the potential health risks associated with the regime, generally its disgruntled, opinionated people with out them even researching the regime.  I'm glad I now know the facts about fatalities of certain drugs and the fact that there has been no documented record of a death taking the quantities of vit D that we do on the regime.
certainly believe also that everyone has the right to an opinion and to disagree with what someone has to say or their beliefs !   but when someone gets upset when someone puts up " documented factual evidence" I draw the line !     was it suppose to be a secret ?
Everyone gets the opportunity in life to make calculated decisions by the information presented to them, not by only reading the drug companies speel.
I'm sure your aware now traveller that batch was responding to someones hesitation and safety taking the vit D and thought that drugs were safe !
considering your reference to fishoil, I'm somehow picking that this is more than the fact that batch presented drug fatality figures.
As far as your statement suggesting batch or the regime has no place on this forum ! and nothing to do with CH,   time to stop smoking whatever the hell your smoking pal.

regards
colin
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« Last Edit: Jul 10th, 2015 at 6:14am by N/A »  
 
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BarbaraD
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Hugs to ya


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Douglasville, TX
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Re: Back after 4 months PF
Reply #24 - Jul 14th, 2015 at 8:27am
 
OK, kids, calm down. Traveler stated an opinion.. Batch didn't take offense so let's all calm down..

that's what the purpose of this forum is.. ask questions - get answers.. remember?

And sometimes we "write" things in a way that would sound a lot different if we were talking one on one.

Now Traveler.. back in 1998 (when I got on this board) we were all looking for something to stop the pain and not getting very far. We exchanged "recipes" and what worked for this one and what worked for that one and some really "strange" things over the years.

The reason we get a little defensive about Batch (and we do tend to do that) is that he's done so much research that's helped so many of us that we kinda respect him and what he says. To be honest I don't understand about half of what he says, but just know most of it works for ME. And I love him for that.

But DO ask questions and get the answers you need. That's what we're all seeking. And the rest of you - calm down - and play nice..  Kiss Kiss
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What don't kill ya, Makes ya stronger!
 
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