Posted by David P (208.209.205.117) on January 23, 2002 at 17:24:06:
This is my first post here. I have been a CH sufferer for about 5 years. My last cycle was 2.5 years ago. That last cycle was the first time I was treated. We used 3 weeks of Prednisone combined with titrated amounts of Verapamil and after about 2 months, the cycle was gone. The meds worked great, and I was headache free during the treatment and after.
Now, 2.5 years later, CH returned. This cycle has been going on for 3 months now. We started with Prednisone for 2 weeks along with Verapamil. Had to significantly up the dosage of Verapamil after the prednisone (now at 480mg a day!). The Verapamil was working nicely for about 8 weeks, then CH returned every few days.
Now, here I am 3 months into this and my Dr and I are debating about upping the Verapamil one more time to 600mg a day (which is really near the high-end of the range) or switching to Depakote.
Any advice? How has Depakote worked for everyone else? Anyone recommend something else instead? I have never tried Lithium or anything else. I am getting depressed and really want to get through this cycle.
I use Imitrex injections to abort headaches which works great within 10 minutes.
Thoughts?
David