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Batch regimen recently stopped working - help (Read 25709 times)
JT08
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Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
May 7th, 2017 at 9:46pm
 
Hello,

I'm new here but have been following and using Batch's regimen for several years now.  It has worked wonders for my cluster headaches, and has allowed me to go several months at a time with absolutely no pain.

In the past 3 weeks, I've felt the onset of an attack... frequent twinges in back of my head, neck, behind my eye, and any sip of alcohol throws me into a terrible headache (some of the worst I've ever had).  Not even my Sumatriptan prescription can knock it out, and that's usually successful for me.  Just did a week long dose of Prednisone and haven't noticed much difference.

I'm pretty desperate as I'm getting married in 3.5 weeks and really hope I can get these under control before then.

I've been taking the following on a daily basis for several years now with success - I noted the recent adjustments in parentheses.

-Daily multivitamin
-20,000 -- 25,000 IU Vitamin D3 (bumped it up to 50,000 the past 9 or so days).
-1000 MG Omega-3 Fish Oil  (recently bumped up to 2500 MG)
-(added Vitamin A 1000 IU just this week)

I've been taking CLA pills as a supplement for weight loss recently -- about the past 6 weeks.  No clue if this has had any effect on my headaches but want to mention it.  I'm going to stop taking it immediately.

I haven't taken Magnesium in the past as even the tiniest bit upsets my stomach badly, but I ordered Magnesium Glycinate (150 MG pills) to add to the routine ASAP.  Hopefully this type is easier on my stomach.

Any comments or insight are welcomed and appreciated.  Hoping I can figure this out very quickly.  Thank you in advance!
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Chuffy
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #1 - May 8th, 2017 at 8:35am
 
I'm sure Batch will be along in a minute but in the meantime that's quite a big ongoing daily dose  Shocked I know everyone's different but I only take 5,000iu a day??

Are you also taking the Multi and and the K2?
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« Last Edit: May 8th, 2017 at 8:36am by Chuffy »  
 
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JT08
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #2 - May 8th, 2017 at 1:39pm
 
Thanks for the reply.  I try to lower that ongoing D3 dose as much as I can without getting a headache... so sometimes I'll drop it to 10,000 IU/day and go as long as possible before bumping it back up.  I notice when I drop below certain thresholds during a cycle of headaches, I will immediately notice the headache pre-cursors coming back.

I'm taking a Daily multivitamin which I believe has K2 in it.
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #3 - May 8th, 2017 at 4:10pm
 
JT08,

I talked to Batch a few days ago he told me that the pollen count is making my head aches worse he told me add childrens allergy liquid to my regament and it really has helped.

Mark.
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #4 - May 9th, 2017 at 10:02am
 
First of all, congrats on your upcoming wedding. The previous posters brought up some good points, including the allergy issues. Even sub-clinical allergies can consume your D3, and Batch has suggested many times that taking Benedryl or it's generic equivalent might help. I can't take it during the day, since it knocks me out, but you might try taking 50 mg at bedtime. Also, you should eventually start taking the vitamin K2 Batch includes in the regimen--MK7 or the K2 combo he likes isn't needed for the CH, but it is protective from the high D3 doses. The calcium freed up can run amok without it. I'm hoping you will find magnesium you can tolerate. You've picked a good one. Try splitting the dose into 2-3 times a day always with food--easier on the digestive system. I actually rotate between types or mix them. When I start to lose tolerance, I switch. When you are doing the large loading dose, be sure to increase the magnesium a little too. Like you, I have been able to get by with sumatriptan tabs since being on this regimen. So, good luck,and best wishes on your marriage!

Patti
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Batch
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #5 - May 9th, 2017 at 12:09pm
 
Hey JT,

The suggestions to start Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL) are spot on...  Try it and you'll be pleasantly surprised...

If you haven't already done so, you need download the latest version of the anti-inflammatory regimen CH preventative treatment protocol at the following link.  Be sure to share a copy with your PCP or neurologist. 

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

You can also scan the following QR code with your smart phone and it will download a pdf copy of the treatment protocol to your phone.  The QR Scanner app is free.  It takes less than 10 seconds to download and install.

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

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch
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JT08
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #6 - May 9th, 2017 at 1:49pm
 
Thank you all for your responses.  I started taking Claritin Children's Liquid Allergy medicine last night and this morning.  Is this the right stuff or do I need Benadryl brand?

Magnesium being delivered today so I'll start that ASAP.

Thanks again
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #7 - May 9th, 2017 at 1:52pm
 
what your taking should be fine

Mark
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #8 - May 9th, 2017 at 11:21pm
 
There seems to be a little confusion on the site with this one.
As "Benadryl" is a trade name and in some countries the product can be a completely different chemical name...
What we are after here is the first generation Anti-histamine called; Diphenhydramine
The trouble is, most pharmacies have moved onto 2nd and 3rd generation antihistamines (there is some talk of 4th generation h1 antagonists too...) and rarely stock the 1st generation ones where you can easily access them. In Australia, Diphenhydramine, to my knowledge, is not sold as an "antihistamine" at all.
It goes by many other names, and is used for other purposes (sleep), depending on what country you're in at the time.

Example; In Australia, "Benadryl" brand will not get you anywhere with regard to CH. Instead we need to ask for a behind-the-counter pharmacy medicine called "SnuzAid".
As Mike NZ has pointed out, going into a pharmacy and asking for a 1st generation antihistamine can raise some eyebrows, but so long as you know what you're looking for (Diphenhydramine) and have some evidence that you're going to take it for CH, either from your GP, specialist or otherwise, most pharmacists I find are quite helpful.

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JT08
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #9 - May 11th, 2017 at 10:24pm
 
I've been taking Benadryl (Diphenhydramine) past two nights and have felt some relief, although it makes me really groggy next day.

I also have the Claritin Children's Liquid Allergy Non-Drowsy, which is also an antihistamine but w/ ingredient Loratadine.

Wouldn't they do the same thing even if different ingredient -- fight off allergies which are depleting D3? 

I prefer to take the Claritin Non Drowsy but want to make sure this stuff has same before eliminating the Benadryl.

Thank you
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #10 - May 12th, 2017 at 4:38am
 
I'm starting the regime today as the CH's returned 2 nights ago after a 9 year break.  I'm watching this post with keen interest, so thanks for all the information beautiful people.
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #11 - May 12th, 2017 at 9:15am
 
Hey JT08,

Drowsiness is the price we pay with Diphenhydramine HCL so do not drive while taking it...  You can take it when you're home for the day and right prior to bed. A week's worth should be sufficient.

We need a first-generation antihistamine like Diphenhydramine as they pass through the blood brain barrier to block histamine H1 receptors on neurons throughout the brain including the hypothalamus and trigeminal ganglia... "Non-Drowsy" type antihistamines cannot do this so will be less effective if you're suffering from an allergic reaction...

Once the histamine H1 receptors are blocked, vitamin D3 can do its thing with genetic expression to prevent your CH.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #12 - May 12th, 2017 at 4:33pm
 
Yep, you were absolutely right.  I skipped the Diphenhydramine last night, and opted for Claritin before getting Batch's latest response this morning.  Got a killer headache mid-day today.  That was after a full 36 hours of relief following 2 nights of Diphenhydramine.

I'm going to take the Diphenhydramine again tonight, and continue for next 5 days.  How will I know when it's OK to come off it?

I'm also doing the frequent Vitamin C as noted in other threads.  I've been seeing an acupuncturist as well - no idea if this helps but I do feel tension relief.  I feel like a headache trigger for me is tension in my neck/head, possibly from working out, sitting at a desk all day, or sleeping on it wrong.

Thanks for everyones help.  I'll report back when there's more news.
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« Last Edit: May 12th, 2017 at 4:33pm by JT08 »  
 
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #13 - May 12th, 2017 at 6:41pm
 
Hey Gypsystormshadow,

Good on you for starting the anti-inflammatory regimen...  You won't be sorry... 

Please keep us posted.... There can be a few bumps in the road to a CH pain free existence on this regimen and nearly all are easy to navigate once we know about them.

Take care,

V/R, Batch
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #14 - May 12th, 2017 at 6:49pm
 
Hey JT,

A week to 10 days is usually sufficient time on the Diphenhydramine... You'll know if you need to stay on it longer...

That said, if the pollen is still heavy, you many need to stay on it longer...  If that's the case, I take the Children's Allergy Medicine, Liquid Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL)... 12.5 mg in the morning (5 mL in the measuring cap) and another 12.5 mg in the evening work just fine for me. 

I try to hold it in my mouth for 3 to 4 minutes swirling it under my tongue and between cheek and gums to get the sublingual administration...  The only problem is that stuff is very sweet...

Even at the lower dose, Diphenhydramine will make you drowsy so don't drive while taking it... If you need to drive, take one dose when you get home for the day and the second prior to bed.

Take care

V/R, Batch
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« Last Edit: May 12th, 2017 at 6:49pm by Batch »  

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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #15 - May 15th, 2017 at 6:54am
 
Thanks Batch.  It's been 3 days on the anti-inflammatory regime and I'm following the 4 week vitamin D3 schedule.  A bit of a background.  Diagnosed with CH's in 2000 with all the usual suspects of having to take all my own research to the GP (I have been having cluster headaches since I was 12 years old, episodic, 6 - 12 week clusters every 3 to 5 years, diarised) he was great and put me on Ergotamine and I found that this worked but I needed really high do\ses and often - ice works well for me to.  In 2003 I tried Verapamil and 02...both worked well and the CH's stopped in about 6 weeks.  Next cluster was in 2008 and I tried Sumatriptan nasal spray, tablets and injections....I have up to 4 CH's per night and wake with a kip of around 7 or 8 so toxicity was a problem with this med - 02 worked well again.  So now I've been 9 years clear of CH's....YEAH 9 YEARS!  This cluster started on May 8 and I'm waking with them every 2 hours.  Since starting the anti-inflammatory regime I've had shadows, nothing full blown.....
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« Last Edit: May 15th, 2017 at 8:37am by Gypsystormshadow »  

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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #16 - May 19th, 2017 at 12:31am
 
Great that D3 is working well for you.

Are you working off the latest D3 info? This can be found at - Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register.
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #17 - May 20th, 2017 at 10:54am
 
JT08, I hope you are getting on top of it.

I must have jinxed myself with my previous reply as shortly after that I got woken up at 1am by shadowing, first time in 5 years!! Took 10,000iu of D3 and went back to sleep. Couple of nights later same thing again so I thought I'd better sort it properly. My 5,000iu a day dose had obviously let my levels drop too low over time.

Anyway, for the last three days I have been taking 20,000iu in the morning and again in the evening and also upped the Magnesium. Got hold of some diphenhydramine hcl which isn't that easy these days in the UK and took 50mg of that a day split into two doses. So far so good, the beast seems to be backing off. Boy that HCL knocks you out  Shocked
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« Last Edit: May 20th, 2017 at 10:56am by Chuffy »  
 
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JT08
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #18 - May 23rd, 2017 at 1:02pm
 
Hey Batch,

I did about 7 days of Diphenhydramine and felt a significant improvement which has lasted about 5-6 days.  I still start to get headaches when certain things trigger, but Sumatriptan knocks them out pretty quickly.  I'll take this over the alternative any day.

I'm still on 50,000 IU of D3 a day.  Is it OK to stay at this dose?  I noticed when I brought it down to 40,000 the past 2 days, I'm getting precursors again.

I've been on the 50K dose for an extended period of time... want to make sure that's OK.

Thanks!
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #19 - May 23rd, 2017 at 10:55pm
 
Batch is currently "out of the office" fishing in Alaska, so it'll be a few days before he can respond.

If you've any doubts about the amount of D3 you are taking, talk to your doctor and ask them to order the following blood tests:
  • 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3]. CPT Code 82306. Quest Diagnostics Test Name: 92888-
    QuestAssureD 25-OH Vitamin D (Total), LC/MS/MS. 95% of CHers with active bouts of
    cluster headache will have a 25(OH)D serum concentration ≤ 47 ng/mL, (117.2 nmol/L). Any
    25(OH)D serum concentration < 50 ng/mL, (125 nmol/L) is grounds for starting this regimen.
  • Parathyroid Hormone (PTH) Intact and Total Calcium. CPT codes 83970, 82310. Establish
    baseline.


This info is in this D3 guide - Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #20 - May 24th, 2017 at 12:50pm
 
In the USA, you can even order your own blood test in most areas. They email the lab request and you take it to a local Lab corp office for the blood draw. Email results in a few days.
They don't take insurance, but the test is only $30 and you don't have to see your doctor twice.
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #21 - Jun 13th, 2017 at 3:01pm
 
Hello,

I wanted to check back in here with an update.  I stayed on the 50K IU dose/day through my wedding last week.  It allowed me to get through the last few weeks with no headaches, as I popped a Sumatriptan anytime I felt one coming on even in the slightest (and it worked, which they hadn't been previously).

Over the past 5 days, I dropped back down to 20 IU/day, and have been feeling some discomfort although no full blown headache yet.

I had a blood test yesterday and I'm over 96 ng/mL - to the point where my doctor said it was too high to even be tested accurately.  My calcium levels are fine.

But with level that high, I was still at risk for getting headaches, and had been getting them regularly about a month ago.  Any insight on why this would be? 

Reminder, I took the Benadryl for about 10 days (with a few day break in between), which did bring relief, but it's just not realistic for me to stay on that - it knocks me out, makes me groggy and unable to function at work the next day.

Any additional insight is appreciated.  Thanks so much

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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #22 - Jun 13th, 2017 at 6:21pm
 
Hey JT,

Interesting question and comments...  For starters, there's nothing wrong or dangerous about a 25(OH)D serum concentration of 96 ng/mL...  or even higher as long as your serum calcium remains within limits. There's also no reason to drop your vitamin D3 intake below 10,000 IU/day... particularly if CH symptoms are present.

I maintain my 25(OH)D between 130 to 160 ng/mL from March through July to account for the heavy pollen season.  My PCP just smiles during my annual physical, usually in April, enters my 25(OH)D lab results in my medical record and says... "As long as your total calcium stays withing its normal reference range and your PTH is in the lower third of its normal reference range... you know what you're doing."

You need to understand we live in an uber litigeous society where physicians need to play a CYA over matters like this to avoid scurrilous medical law suits by ambulance chasing lawyers.

Print out a copy of the anti-inflammatory regimen treatment protocol and give it to your doctor...  That way you'll both be singing from the same sheet music...

It doesn't help when pseudo government organizations like the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), Health and Medicine Division (HMD) formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IOM) sets the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for Vitamin D3 at 600 IU/day from birth to 70 years of age and the Upper Level Intake (UL) level for vitamin D3 at 4000 IU/day.

You don't need to be a member of Mensa, the high IQ society, to connect the dots to see where Big Pharma appears to be waging a long-standing major campaign against the use of vitamin D3 for other than maintenance of bone mineral density.  Their minions on K Street make sure key members of Congress write legislation preventing physicians from publicly stating the health benefits of vitamins and minerals like vitamin D3 in the treatment of many non-skeletal disorders.  Meanwhile these laws allow Big Pharma to flood TV with commercials for very expensive biologics like Humira (Adalimumab) when 12 cents worth of vitamin D3 would be equally or more effective in the treatment of the same disorders with no adverse reactions...

So here's the bottom line... Vitamin D3 is very safe...  in spite of Big Pharma's obfuscation and misinformation about the health benefits of Vitamin D3... Yes, you can take too much vitamin D3, but then drinking too much water can be fatal... 

In the history of the FDA's Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS), not one death has been attributed to vitamin D3... You cannot say that for many of the Rx and OTC medications flooding the market or used to treat CH...  See the following list from a 2015 FAERS report.


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


There's a very recent study published in the   Journal Dermato-Endocrinology Volume 9, 2017 - Issue 1, that should put your doctor's fears of vitamin D3 intoxication/toxicity to rest.

Evaluation of vitamin D3 intakes up to 15,000 international units/day and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations up to 300 nmol/L on calcium metabolism in a community setting

S.M. Kimball, N. Mirhosseini & M.F. Holick
Dermato-Endocrinology
April 13, 2017

Abstract

Supplementation by the general public with vitamin D at doses above the Tolerable Upper Level of Intake (UL) is becoming quite common. The objective of the current analysis was to characterize the effect of vitamin D supplementation at doses up to 15,000 IU/d in a community-based program on vitamin D status, calcium homeostasis as well as on kidney, liver and immune function. We evaluated data collected for 3,882 participants in a community program for whom there were blood measurements at program entry and at follow-up within 6–18 months between 2013 and 2015. Participants were supplemented with a wide range of vitamin D doses (1,000 – 15,000 IU/d) aimed at achieving serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels of at least 100 nmol/L. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations up to 300 nmol/L  (120 ng/mL) were achieved without perturbation of calcium homeostasis or incidence of toxicity. Hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria were not related to an increase in 25(OH)D concentrations nor vitamin D dose. To achieve serum 25(OH)D levels >100 nmol/L on average, required vitamin D intakes of 6,000 IU/d for normal Body Mass Index (BMI), 7,000 IU/d for overweight and 8,000 IU/d for obese. Doses of vitamin D in excess of 6,000 IU/d were required to achieve serum 25(OH)D concentrations above 100 nmol/L, especially in individuals who were overweight or obese without any evidence of toxicity. Serum 25(OH)D concentrations up to 300 nmol/L (120 ng/mL) were found to be safe.

Were you taking the Benadry tablets or Children's Liquid Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL) Allergy Medicine? 

I've found that 12.5 mg of the Children's Liquid Benadryl in the morning and another 12.5 mg in the evening causes a lot less drowsiness while still helping vitamin D3 to do its thing preventing my CH...

Regarding your doctor's comments on the assay method used to measure serum 25(OH)D being unreliable...  The gold standard for the 25(OH)D lab test is Liquid Chromatography Dual Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).  He can order this lab test from Quest Diagnostics using the following CPT Code and Quest Diagnostic Test Name:

25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3]. CPT Code 82306. Quest Diagnostics Test Name: 92888-QuestAssureD 25-OH Vitamin D (Total), LC/MS/MS.

This assay method is accurate up to 512 ng/mL for Vitamin D3 and 512 ng/mL for vitamin D2.

I realize this reply is a bit long, but I hope it helps...

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch
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« Last Edit: Jun 13th, 2017 at 6:40pm 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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pattik
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #23 - Jun 13th, 2017 at 6:35pm
 
Hi JT,
I had a similar experience to yours regarding a blood test being over the lab's limit and too high to measure accurately.  If you had a blood draw at a medical facility, I would suggest getting a home self-test kit. I have used The Vitamin D Council's test a couple of times, as well as another company's home test.
The blood spot test you do at home will have a greater value range than the blood draw you just had done. Plus, I think it's a good idea to do this test a couple times a year. It will help you to learn what numbers are right for your personal situation.  Batch has useful information about viamin D toxicity, and having numbers you can trust will help you to make dosage  decisions. 
After four years mostly pain free, I'm now having CH trying to return. Keeping it at bay is challenging--always a moving target. But knowing what range you need your blood test numbers to be in can be really helpful.

Patti

Edited to add a thanks to Batch for posting that new toxicity study.  Smiley
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« Last Edit: Jun 13th, 2017 at 7:11pm by pattik »  
 
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Re: Batch regimen recently stopped working - help
Reply #24 - Jun 14th, 2017 at 1:09am
 
Hey Patti,

Thanks for the kind words... Your comments on the home blood spot test kit for 25(OH)D are right on target as are your observations that this method of measuring serum 25(OH)D yields higher results that some of the other medical lab test assay methods.

There's a good reason for this.  The home blood spot test kit for 25(OH)D uses the same assay technology as Quest Diagnostics, the gold standard LC-MS/MS. 

When the same blood draw sample is tested with the DiaSorin (LIAISON) Assay method that uses chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) technology for the quantitative determination of 25(OH)D (a total of 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2) and the LC-MS/MS assay method that measures the same total of 25(OH)D3 and 25(OH)D2, they yield different results with the LC-MS/MS higher by as much as 20 ng/mL.

Before you get confused over all this... allow me to muddy the water even further. The LC-MS/MS is slightly more accurate with a concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) of 0.99 and bias of 0.56 μg/L (1.4 nmol/L) where the DiaSorin CLIA assay method has a CCC of 0.97 and a mean bias of 1.1 μg/L (2.7 nmo/L)... Ultimately, they both meet the coefficient of variation (CV) limit of acceptability of < 10%.

Bottom line... Either assay method will work just fine as long as you stick with it for two or more consecutive lab tests.   That said, there is an upper limit on readability for the chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) assay method... It can only measure total 25(OH)D up to 167 ng/mL where the LC-MS/MS can measure 25(OH)D3 serum concentrations up to 512 ng/mL.

That might not appear to be a big thing for most CHers who maintain their 25(OH)D between 80 and 100 ng/mL as suggested...  I'm a little different... well... maybe a lot different... 

Having spent the last 6 years reading every vitamin D3 study listed in ClinicalTrials.gov (over 830 of them since 2000) and meeting with or exchanging email with some of the giants in the field of vitamin D3 therapy like Dr. Robert Heaney, Dr. Cedric Garland, Dr. Reinhold Vieth and Dr. Cicero Coimbra, I'm very comfortable with long term vitamin D3 doses up to 20,000 IU/day. 

I'm also comfortable with vitamin D3 loading doses up to 50,000 IU/day for upwards of two weeks and a 25(OH)D serum concentration up to 200 ng/mL (500 nmol/L) as long as my serum vitamin D3 stays within its normal reference range of 8.5 to 10.5 mg/dL and PTH in the lower third of its normal reference range (17 to 70 pg/mL).   

In short, I'm not a risk taker...  I read and comprehend...  I listen to and read what the real vitamin D3 experts say.  I also listen to what my body is trying to tell me... I know when everything is functioning properly and I know when something isn't right. 

As CHers, we've become very adept at listening to our bodies...  How many times have we sat there in the throws of a major head banger with a red hot poker jammed through the temple, eyelid swollen and tearing, nose running like a faucet... and we knew instantly when the CH pain started to diminish even the slightest as that signaled the beginning of the end of that attack.

We've learned a lot about our disorder in the last six years and we've compiled enough evidence to say with confidence, that a CHer with active CH is vitamin D3 insufficient/deficient and that vitamin D3 with the cofactors should be able to prevent CH.

I've used data from the online survey of over 200 CHers taking this regimen to prevent their CH and comments from many more CHers here at CH.com to fine tune the anti-inflammatory regimen... 

As a result, the survey data for 2016 indicates better than 90% of CHers taking the survey that year experienced a significant reduction in the frequency of their CH from an average of 3/day down to 3/week.  Better than 70% of the CHers reporting in 2016 experienced a complete cessation of CH attacks... That's all in the first 30 days from start of regimen... 

I attribute this increase in efficacy to the improved availability of the anti-inflammatory regimen treatment protocol, the use of the 2-week vitamin D3 loading schedule and the addition of a week to 10 day course of Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL).

Sooo... if you're taking this regimen and still have lingering CH symptoms... Tune the regimen...  As long as the 25(OH)D serum concentration is between 80 and 100 ng/mL your vitamin D3 intake is adequate.  After that it's easy to bump the doses of Omega-3 Fish Oil, double the magnesium dose to 800 mg/day split am/pm and add a week to ten day course of Benadryl (Diphenhydramine HCL) at 50 mg/day split 25 mg in the am and pm.  Just be careful and not drive if at all possible.  If you do need to drive, take 25 mg when you're home for the day and another 25 mg prior to bed...  You'll sleep like a baby...

If there's no joy after all that, go back on the vitamin B 100 complex, start taking vitamin C at 1000 mg every two hours throughout the day and if there's still no joy, start a course of curcumin at 500 mg/day with meals.

If you've had an infection and your doctor put you on an antibiotic, be sure to start a course of probiotic... 

The reason for this is simple...  The human gut is colonized with friendly colonies of bacteria and biota called the microbiome. It contains roughly 70% of our immune system...  The antibiotic is indiscriminate, so has wiped out the friendly colonies of symbiotic bacteria in the microbiome...  This leaves us with a weak immune system and usually a case of the runs... The probiotic helps recolonize the microbiome... In short, a happy gut is a healthy gut...

Take care,

V/R, Batch
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« Last Edit: Jun 14th, 2017 at 1:15am 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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