blacklab,
Thank you for acknowledging that I've researched what I'm saying, and that I also acknowledge potential issues with the Vimovo for a comparably small percentage of CH sufferers.
I'm getting sick of people bitching that 2 weeks of 2 Vimovos/day, and a maintenance dose of less than 1 per day (I'm still figuring out how little is needed to maintain PF, but it's looking pretty good so far for how little Vimovo might be needed) is going to lead to mass death from stomach bleeds. I believe the Vimovo, in combination with the D3 regimen (and possibly the melatonin) is so effective in completely halting CHs that, once you 've stopped them, you will only need very occasional maintenance doses of Vimovo (or possibly another NSAID like Ibuprofen) to remain pain-free, since there seems to be very potent synergy between D3 and NSAIDs in reducing inflammation that neither of them on their own can match.
For example, this link talks about the 'double whammy' D3+NSAIDs provide against prostate cancer:
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The key quote for me was: "The group saw a 25 percent reduction in prostate cell growth using only calcitriol (D3), and approximately the same reduction using only ibuprofen and naproxen. But when they combined calcitriol (D3) and an NSAID, they saw up to a 70 percent reduction. This result was obtained using from one-half to one-tenth the concentration required for either of the drugs used alone."
This suggests a possible reason for the success of my current D3+Vimovo routine. Together, D3 and Naproxen are significantly more potent in reducing inflammation than either of the by themselves.
Since there have been some extremely negative responses to the treatment regimen that's been
completely effective (I can't stress this enough) for me, I've decided to try stopping the Vimovo (while still continuing the Batch D3 regimen, and the melatonin) as a test, just to see how long it might be before I get a CH. I'm doing this for a few reasons:
1) I want to see whether the Vimovo is in fact responsible for my current, pain-free period. If it is, my CHs should resume at some point without it.
2) If the Vimovo is key to my current pain-free period, how much is the minimum maintenance dose to keep me pain-free?
I understand some people are married to their current treatment routines, and they're understandably tired of hearing of the latest wonder treatment that just turns out not to work, and they're reluctant to try yet another new thing that purports to stop CHs completely. But, with the exception of a few people in the Batch D3 thread, so far, I haven't heard of anybody saying their routine has completely, totally stopped their CHs. There are legions of the damned who are swearing by this much oxygen, or that much verapamil to mitigate their CHs once they're imminent, but I don't want to live my life constantly at the ready to pull out an oxygen tank, or a Zomig nasal spray, or to take continuous doses of verapamil in quantities that slow my heart down to the point where I fear it may stop beating just because it >might< reduce the frequency of CH attacks.
I say to hell with that. I now have my life back with what I'm doing. I can eat anything I want for the first time in years. I can drink alcohol in any quantity I choose. I can even eat MSG-laden Chinese Food with impunity! All without even the slightest hint of a shadow. I'm sharing this, not because, as one curmudgeon on here suggested, that I'm an egoist. Rather, I'm sharing what's working for me because CH is probably the single most painful condition known to medical science, and I've found a way to stop it dead in its tracks that's worked with 100% effectiveness for me, a former chronic CH'er, for over three months now. What kind of jerk would I be for NOT sharing this?
If I'm right, and excess COX-2 is the ultimate culprit behind CH, which I'm now completely convinced it is, the Batch D3 regimen + Vimovo in the dosings I've already mentioned (and possibly the melatonin, all of which work to reduce inflammation through different means) should be the knock-out blow to CH, at least until an even more effective variation on this strategy can be found. And that's something I want to emphasize: I do believe an even more effective approach to CH may well be found than what I'm proposing, in the future.
But for those suffering today, especially chronic CH'ers, who have little hope of a respite due to a cycle-end, I'm just giving details of what's currently working with a perfect record for a chronic CH'er RIGHT NOW for me. I also want to end by saying that if anybody has actually tried Vimovo themselves, and had bad experiences with it in the dosages I'm talking about in particular, or know of anybody who has, by all means, please let us in this thread all know. I'm not some hot-head who doesn't want to listen. On the contrary, I want to vanquish CH, and I'm absolutely determined to do it methodically and scientifically.
NOTE: That means that I want to hear from people who have taken, or know somebody who has taken Vimovo specifically. Horror stories of maximum dose straight naproxen with no protein pump inhibitor, taken over periods of years, will not really cut the mustard, please. That's not what I'm after.Thanks.