Posted by Victor (24.240.212.38) on December 18, 2001 at 21:47:42:
In Reply to: I'm back..... posted by BobJ on December 18, 2001 at 16:46:59:
also a powerful nerve deadener that can kill a cluster and give a good nights sleep. When I was on it, after about 30 minutes, the CH would be gone, get very sleepy and pass out, the right side of my nose would be ice cold. But there are side effects, my colestrol count skyrocketed and for the first time in my life, I got a pot, gained about 30 pounds in the gut. I swore I didn't change my diet, but that constant burning in the stomach demanded something, I just let the sucker burn.
Also as any drug that can balance a chemically imbalanced, taking this drug can imbalance a rational brain, you may experience personality changes.
My neuro said it would take about 30 days to work, it worked instantly for me, but this med also dries out the mucus membranes that can extend a CH cycle. After using this drug for sometime, my CH's wouldn't go away, call it a rebound effect or whatever and not a tension type headache, a full blown CH.
On a bet with my internal medicine doctor, I quit taking amitriptylene, lost my gut and my cholestrol count dropped back to its normal low.
A woman friend with clusters tried Elavil, mixed up a choclate cake and ate the entire bowl of dough before she even baked it, she quit it then and there.
Not sure why I took it for so long, lost my medical flight certificate, gained weight and had personality and memory problems, getting off of it was a bitch, couldn't sleep at all at nights. This med also looses it's effectiveness over time.
I still have a prescription, and if have to sleep with a CH keeping me up, will only take about 5 mg and no more than two such pills a week and not for two weeks straight, but I haven't touched one of these pills for quite awhile.
If you want to try it, stick with the namebrand, Walgreens and other chains carry a Schien generic brand, I tried one prescription of that brand, got all the side effects and no CH relief, this med is dirt cheap anyway.