Posted by Brandon (151.202.171.223) on December 24, 2000 at 02:45:12:
In Reply to: Ahhh - Hmmmm posted by Ken V. on December 22, 2000 at 12:33:16:
First off, I'd like to say hello to everyone. It's been a LONG time since I posted hear last. Too long. Maybe over a year.
Ken,
Not to attack your belief in what Imitrex has done to you, but just to probe a bit deeper and perhaps come to a higher level of understanding here:
If this was the first and only time you'd used Imitrex, how can you be certain it was really the Imitrex causing the Clusters to be more severe and/or frequent? Also, having been suffering from Clusters for just about 14 years now and having never had a year gone by since they first came in which I did not develop a cycle, I know that every cycle is different. My Clusters used to come throughout the year. Then gradually over time, they became highly seasonal, coming mainly in late fall/early winter and lasting through the early spring. In the past three years, they have been coming for brief , RELATIVELY mild stints in the late Summer, before going away and coming back in the mid fall and lasting through the winter and spring. In the early days of my clusters, I would often be experiencing two cyclyes at once (I know this because I would often times have a cluster attack on both sides of the head at once or alternating sides, which is indicative of two seperate cycles as one cycle only occurs on one side), some cycles, I would have attacks every day, some every other day. Currently I'm in a cycle, and, due to the meds I would asume, (Neurontin, Verapamil SR, Dexamethasone) I have only been getting one or two break thorugh headaches at a time, and ONLY when the doctor tries to decrease the steroids to one a day.
My point being, every cycle is different, and one never knows how it will act. So perhaps you should look just a bit harder at why exactly your current cycle is behaving the way it is instead of automatically assuming it is the new med? Again, not to say that you are wrong, but just a thought you know?
I for one find imitrex to be the ONLY med that helps when I have an attack. I used to use the Nasal sprays as they were a bit more flexable than the injections, but they were also more hit and miss. After I got a cluster that lasted peak strength for an hour and twenty minutes, and then lingered on for another three hours after that even after taking a 20mg nasal spray, I called my doctor and switched to the injections. I figured since my atacks at the moment are more controlled and don't come every day or several times a day , it would be great time to switch, and I could always go back if need be. It was the best thing I've done.
Anyhow, I hope you recover quickly and get your Clusters under control.
Cheers and remission,
Brandon