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        New Message Board Archives >> 2002 Posts >> Up the Catapres!
        
(Message started by: Jim R on Sep 13^th, 2002, 3:25pm)

Title: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jim R on Sep 13^th, 2002, 3:25pm

After my KIP 9-10 yesterday, my neuro is doubling my dosage of clonodine (Catapres). In conjunction with the verapamil, it has made my CH less frequent (no more invasions during sleep!) and less intense - until yesterday. 6 hours of pure HELL before the beast packed his bags and left. O2 didn't scare him away this time...BASTARD! Well, here's hoping this helps...without bottoming out my blood pressure too much. PFDANS to you all. - Jim R

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by echo on Sep 13^th, 2002, 3:33pm

The bastard sure has been dealing you a rough time lately. Hopefully this need med dose will stabalize in your system and keep the beast at bay.
Hope you have PFDN very soon -- and for a very very long time.

Weather is changing in the Midwest -- getting ready for my annual bout.

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jim R on Sep 13^th, 2002, 3:42pm

Thanks, echo and sorry to hear the demon is about to pay you his annual visit :( Do you ever skip a cycle, or is it every year like clockwork? Best wishes. Jim R

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by echo on Sep 13^th, 2002, 3:48pm

Usually within a + - 3 week window spring and fall. Several years ago the fall ride skipped over me. The weather had a nice gradual decline. When the raise or fall is quick I always get hit. I've got a small stock pile of NS to hopefully get me through.

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by 2late on Sep 13^th, 2002, 7:16pm

a kip 9,10 for 6 hrs. damn jim your goin' thru hell latley!! i hope you get some relief soon, you deserve it!! .............2late

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jim R on Sep 13^th, 2002, 7:47pm

2late,

I know they're only supposed to last up to 3 hours but mine have rather frequently gone over that. And I, before treatment, had up to 13 per day, not the documented 8. And it's not CPH - totally no reaction to indomethicin, in fact, made them worse. And, I do get some relief from narcotic pain meds, which a lot of people here don't. Maybe I'm an aberration... It is a bummer to be sure! :(

I just hope my increased catapres does something... Hope you're doing well.

Jim R

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Weldon on Sep 13^th, 2002, 8:36pm

Jim I've been hit with several 5 and 6 hr. 9's and 10's this last cycle. The worst one was while hauling rock on a job site. They had just loaded me at the crusher when it hit .Like a dummy I had left my meds and cell phone at home. It usually takes 45 min. to make it home from the crusher but the old Freightliner sensed the urgency in me and I made it in 30 min. After 6 hrs. 4 fiornal 4 Percodan 2 fiornal 3 and exactly 12 miles of walking it finally went away. It was in the peak of my cycle and they lasted 2weeks. Sure don't want to go through that again. Weldon

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by catlind on Sep 13^th, 2002, 9:19pm

Jim, sorry to hear you are having such a rough go of it. I know what it's like to go beyond the 3 hours and get more than 8 in a day :-X, I feel for you. Hopefully you'll find the right med combination soon and won't have to deal with the beastly cycle much longer.

Wishing you PFDAN's and peaceful moments.

Cat

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jim R on Sep 13^th, 2002, 11:45pm

Weldon & Cat - Wow! I thought I was alone in my unusual length and # of CH's. You make me feel like a more normal Clusterhead! LOL! When I read articles that invariably say 1/2 hr. to 3 hours and "up to eight in a day", it always pisses me off because, obviously, enough research has not been done and these statements are made as absolute. I WISH I followed their guidelines - be a hell of a lot easier on me (and you guys, eh?)!

Anyway, tomorrow is the first day I start the doubled dose of catapres (do you like that drug name, Cat?! LOL!) and tonight, before increasing it, my BP was 118/65, so I'm a little worried that it may go down too low and I'll pass out... My wife will be here with me though, so if anything untoward happens, I'll be alright.

Thanks again for your well wishes and PFDAN's to you both.

Jim R

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Drk^Angel on Sep 14^th, 2002, 12:11am

Jim... Don't feel too alone... I've had extra long cycles before (I'll just say that I was in the ER before for longer than 8 hours before the bastard decided to go back to sleep)... Also, I'm the rare, unbelievable, totally out of it bi-lateral clusterhead. (Oh boy... Let the criticism start again... LOL) No matter what the purists may say, some ppl are just different.

PFDAN.......................... Drk^Angel

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jim R on Sep 14^th, 2002, 8:08am

Drk,

Both sides at the same time? Wow - I can't imagine pain on both sides simultaneously! Head explosion! Must be the beast and his brother! LOL!

Yup, I guess we're all just a little different... PFDAN's to ya bro.

Jim R

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jabeen on Sep 14^th, 2002, 9:02am

Just wanting to send a little sympathy your way-I have never had that intensity or that length of time-but just from my own experiences I can only imagine how awful it must be. When your headache finally goes, does the eye on the effected side throb and ache for hours (unless you take something?) or is it gobe when it's gone? Good luck-
Jabeen

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jim R on Sep 14^th, 2002, 9:35am

Jabeen,

My eye doesn't usually ache, although it and the rest of that side of my face is kind of sore feeling afterwards. This last one was a classic - eye half shut and red, tears streaming down out of that eye - all the while trying to drive and concentrate on the road and not my pain - honestly don't know how I did it! I think what kept me going was getting home to my meds.! O2 had absolutely no effect whatsoever.

Hope you're doing well. PFDAN's to you. - Jim R

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jabeen on Sep 14^th, 2002, 12:52pm

I have never had a headache in the daytime. I consider myself very lucky! I don't know how you guys can drive, go to work, plain ol' function with that during the day. For months before I knew what I had-I thought it was a brain tumor...but logic told me a brain tumor would not only act up at night. Then the defining moment is when I went to Colorado and the damn thing came at the same times but Mountain time! It knew how to switch time zones-
But when I have ch's at night-especially bad ones, the effected eye aches all day. I use fiorcet which is very effective. Doesn't help at all for the ha's-but great for the eye pain.
Good luck-Jabeen

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by 2late on Sep 14^th, 2002, 6:56pm

alway's on the same side of my head, never more than 2 hrs, i guess i'm really lucky!!! LOL ...............2late

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by catlind on Sep 14^th, 2002, 9:51pm

Since I've found this site and learned how to track the headaches, I'm never sure if it's one continuous headache, or just the shortness between attacks, i.e. 12:30 attack, then 2:30 attack kicks in before the other has a chance to go away. But I know I've had them longer than 3 hours to be sure. Add in a migraine and rebound headaches and I went 9 months without a day going by without a headache. This site has helped to educate me in a way I never could have imagined, and because of it this cycle has been much easier to deal with ... I haven't been popping pain pills everyday to counter the attacks, and haven't had to deal with the rebounds thankfully. O2 is the best weapon in the world as far as I'm concerned.

Cat

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Slydog on Sep 15^th, 2002, 11:35am

Jim, The Beast just refuses to give you any relief lately it seems. My CH has never been over about 4 hours but they have been Kip 9-10 range. You must be a tough SOB to deal with it all the way you have been lately. Hope the new meds bring you some relief.
Slydog

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Marshall_D on Sep 15^th, 2002, 2:05pm

A 6 hour Cluster. My God, man...There should be a monetary award for people that could handle pain that long.

I've had a 10 last 3 hours one time, and I was in the E.R. . Had to give me Imitrex, 10mgs of Morphine and 2 Percocet's, before it left. I can remember that day, like it was an hour ago. But luckily, for some reason, this cycle has been kind. (SO Far ;D) Had it since 9/2/02 & none of the H.A.'s have lasted more then 45 minutes or been above a 5...Hope it lasts.

Good Luck to you, Pain-Free days can't be far...

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Marshall_D on Sep 15^th, 2002, 2:07pm

P.S. Jim,

Please let us know how the Clonidine is going?

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by pjbgravely on Sep 15^th, 2002, 3:35pm

I could only make it 3 hours with a ten before being taken away by ambulance. Good thing the crew gave me lots of o2. Boy were they suprise that it changed me from a lunitic to a responsive person with a 5 in seconds.

Title: Re: Up the Catapres!
Post by Jim R on Sep 15^th, 2002, 5:35pm

Thanks everyone. This one I described the other day was a monster and had I not finally been able to get home and take 3 percocets and 2 phenergans (along with my overdue preventatives - verap. and catpres, which I had forgotten to take with me), I would have been in the ER yet again. My KIP9-10's always seem to last at LEAST 3 or 4 hours and sometimes, like this one, go longer. For the most part the increased verap and the catapres (now doubled dosage because of this last monster CH) have made things better - less intense and less frequent, but occasionally the BEAST goes on a rampage and makes me pay for the little relief I've found so far this cycle. I wish I could say I'm nearing the end of my cycle, but again - I'm a little different - my cycles sometimes go as long as 6 months and are at a minimum, 4 months.

PFDAN's to you all. - Jim R