Posted by Bobby G on May 27, 1999 at 00:40:23:
In Reply to: Question about Verapamil posted by Jackie on May 26, 1999 at 21:27:50:
THESE ARE NOT MEDICAL ADVICE FOR ANYONE THEY ARE MY OPINIONS BASED ON MY OWN EXPERIENCE. I will talk with Dr. Couch's office to get the correct figures on the Prednisone the %'s listed below are just vague recollection, don't take it for Gospel.
I am taking verapimil again going to 480 next week.. It has always worked the best. I will tell you how Dr. Couch explained how he treated the headaches. First I was given 100mg of prednisone for three days and then a descending dose every three days until gone. The prednisone is to interrupt the cycle. He said that about 20% of the time it didn't work. Also sometimes in about 30% it lost its effectiveness. (Iwill check the exact figures with his nurse, we have a good working relationship. The verapimil is for preventive. He used the analogy of the Geni in the bottle. Use prednisone to get him back in and verapimil to cork it. It has always worked well for me. One nice aspect of verapimil has been that your body adjusts to the side effects you are feeling. An added benefit of simultanious use of prednisone and verapimil tend to counteract a lot of the side effects of one another. One thing though I hurt in my joints and did some research. It was caused by calcium loss. Slim Fast works well with this combo. I used to gain a lot of wieght on the prednisone I found that I could drink 3 (660 calories) and still have plenty to eat without weight gain (2000 total calorie diet) It just so happens that slim fast has about 30% of all the vitamin and minerals that you need. I didn't meticulaously count calories I just kinda kept a running daily total. Most packaged foods are marked with the number of calories so its not a big deal. Also with verapimil you should exercise. It will help you get rid of the side effects quicker. The greatest physical danger with CH is the damage you do to your body with the medicines you take. Be as health conscious as you can. I have found something that helps me during bad headaches it may not be for everyone and I must confess at times I can't do it at all. I exercise during an attack. I do it for two reasons, 1) I have always noticed that they are somehow easier to cope with if I can focus any of my attention away from it by doing something. I used to pace a lot and really liked to walk in the cold if possible. 2) I figured with a lot of exercise I could the pain of exercise going too. I hoped I could jam the pain by making as many places hurt as possible. I figured it might be like the principle in accumpuncture (hey a guy gets desperate) but it was also a way to fight. I decided I would try to get stronger during this time. I ain't laying down for anybody. I must admit that sometimes I just can't handle it. But that comes in cycles too. Hope this helps.