Graemel wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2019 at 4:51am:

The bestest decision you've made during your CH career.

Graemel wrote on Mar 3^rd, 2019 at 4:51am:


With verapamil, you say you are on one per day, but what is the dose per tablet? The typical dose for someone to get an effective CH preventive response for CH is between 360mg and 480mg a day, however some will see a notable reduction at a lower dose whilst others may go to around 1000mg a day.

I wrote a very detailed post about verapamil - Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or - well worth a read.

Are you having side effects from the verapamil, the cafergot or both?

As Hoppy mentioned, cafergot is a CH abortive, not a CH preventive (Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or ).

Quote:


Note that taking it daily is associated with rebound headaches. From talking to my my headache specialist, you should aim to take abortives no more than 12(ish) days a month.

Now I know that it isn't easy getting out of being hit by CH often when you've been over using an abortive, but it can make a big difference to headache frequency once you get out of the cycle of rebound headaches. I've been through this and many others here will have too.

If waiting to see a neuro on the public system is going to take too long, many will also see patients privately. I can recommend some good ones in Auckland. It might be worth a day trip up to Auckland, especially now that Air NZ is doing some much cheaper flights (either $39 or $49 each way).

Any questions, shout out.

Hi guys and thanks for the support. I have been taking 1 tablet of verapamil 120gm per day. Am now trying to cut it to zero. My gut tells me verapamil and cafergot cannot both be used as preventive at same time due to working in opposite ways. I am feeling my way here and will let you know after a couple of weeks. My main concern is blood pressure increase. I am down to 5 cafergot per week. the maximum dose is 10 per week so I am comfortable with this. I hope to reduce if further. Currently I am controlling CH but still not happy with side effects of medication such as tiredness, temperature and a few others. This is why I continue to reduce medication as much as I can. In this case I think the use of verapamil and cafergot has made things worse. Side effects are from both tablets. Using cafergot as a preventive is a conscious decision I made myself. I am well aware it is not recommended but it seems to be working for me. I think in the scheme of things my medication usage is quite low.

Graemel wrote on Mar 4^th, 2019 at 6:07am:


As with just about any medication, there is always a balance between the beneficial effects and the side effects.

Although it isn't just medication, lots of things like chocolate, ice cream, beer, etc. are wonderful, but too much any of them has some not quite so welcome side effects.

Graemel wrote on Mar 5^th, 2019 at 4:42am:


It is possible. Talk to your pharmacist and ask if there are any known interactions between the two.

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

This lists a lot of interactions for cafergot and I'd look over to see if anything looks applicable to you.

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

That is the verpamil one, again well worth a look.

When most drugs are tested, they are normally used on healthy people who are not taking other medications, i.e. they do not normally test two or more drugs together, never mind at different doses, etc., otherwise the number of combinations would become impractical to test.

As to the "all things in moderation" quote, one neuro I've seen a few times likes to append "including moderation" to the quote, i.e. you don't have to live perfectly, but as long as it isn't too often you deviate then it doesn't normally have too much impact.

I am into day 5 with no verapamil and things seem to be improving. It is early days yet.

Hi guys
So I stayed off verapamil for around 5 weeks but in the end had to go back on it. Over the period I started increasing my cafergot use and when I got to 10 per week or just over I called it quits. I am now on 1 verapamil 120gm per day and 1 cafergot. split in half and taken morning and evening. So far CH is under control but still get whacked on occasion.
I am interested in how people here talk about cycles. For the last 2 years I have been on a continual cycle it seems and there is no end in sight. I am only keeping CH at bay with medications.

Hey guys and thanks for your inputs. I am just about ready for D3 however I am now on day 5 taking only half a cafergot tablet per day. 120mg. Together with 1 verapamil in morning plus half cafergot at night I am CH free for the moment. Time will tell. so it is equivalent to 3.5 cafergot tabs per week. This is a big reduction for me and I am feeling better albeit getting crucified with a mouth ulcer (unrelated) caused by a recent extraction. There is  some small exposed bone ripping my tongue to shreds it seems. I will try and get dentist to smooth rough edges of bone. I missed the dawn parade as a result so am quite pissed off. Dentist should have smoothed it off when I saw him last week for antibiotics. I feel it has since been a week of needless pain. My wife is devastated that I cannot yell and shout or hoot currently. However she perked up when I suggested she do all the talking for both of us.

Thanks guys for the support. Jaw is much better now. So I have had around a week taking 120gm verapamil tab in morning and half a cafergot at night. That means 7 verapamil per week and 3.5 cafergot. If it continues I can certainly live with this. I will think about the vitamins. Maybe take some D3 and magnesium. The full batch seems complex!

Just in the last couple of days I have noticed  a transfer. Warning signs and CH normally occur over my left eye/ temple. It has transferred to my right temple. I do recall this happening very rarely in the past. Can anyone shed light on this?

Thanks for that Mike.