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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Cluster Headache Specific >> Happy Ever PFter
        
(Message started by: efzd on Feb 24^th, 2008, 11:57pm)

Title: Happy Ever PFter
Post by efzd on Feb 24^th, 2008, 11:57pm

Hi all,

I usually don't post here but during the last few years this site has been actually one of my best weapons in this so called "war"....
I don't really understand why up till now there is no real solution for CH, and we... need to figure out what work for each one of us while using the most drugs on the market.
I am 49 now and have it since I was 12, diagnosed only when was 35.
I get it each 2 or 4 years, same time, same cycle time 6-7 weeks. The worse frequency is 5-8 times a day.

I just finish a cycle and I think I figure out how to fight with this pain.

In general, Imitrex shots are helping me a little, O2 abort a pain only for the next one to come sooner...
The rest of the things I tried did not work at all.
Until I found 40mg Relert (by Pfizer) that is used for Migraine.

But, I use it differently !

In migraine it is taken during the pain but I take it on a regular base, every 18 hours. This is the time it holds my veins from explosion....
The other reason is that since the time I take it, it takes 1.5-2 hours to be affective.

During this last cycle I got only 3 attacks (they were very long, however, 4-5 hours !) and it was because I did not follow the 18 hours period rule.

The main issue with this method is the price of the drug....

Does any of you use this method in preventing CH attacks? Does any one know what are the side effects when taking such amount of this drug ?

Title: Re: Happy Ever PFter
Post by Guiseppi on Feb 25^th, 2008, 9:44am

I haven't heard of that med so I'm no help there. In your post you mentioned the 02 knocked it down but it came right back. I had the same problem as have several other members of the board. Now when a CH starts I take an oral cafergot, an old school CH med which is very inexpensive, then start the 02. The 02 knocks it down, the cafergot buys me up to 12 hours.

Glad to hear you're getting some relief, hopefully some of the research guys will be along with info on the med you're using. Wishing you peace and some pain free time.

Guiseppi

Title: Re: Happy Ever PFter
Post by George_J on Feb 25^th, 2008, 10:21am

Relpax and Relert are apparently brand names for eletriptan. I have not taken this drug. For more information:

https://www.pfizerpro.com/product_info/relpax_pi_clinical_pharmacology.jsp

Best,

George

Edit: for some reason, the link doesn't work, and I can't fix it. Copy and paste the thing to your browser, and in the final part of the link, get rid of the space that shows up in the jsp . That works.

Title: Re: Happy Ever PFter
Post by DennisM1045 on Feb 25^th, 2008, 12:21pm

I'm happy you found something that works.

Here is what I found on PubMed:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15109360

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Eletriptan for the short-term prophylaxis of cluster headache.Zebenholzer K, Wöber C, Vigl M, Wessely P.
Department of Neurology, University of Vienna (Austria) Medical School.

BACKGROUND: A beneficial prophylactic effect from eletriptan 40 mg given to a single patient with cluster headache was observed. OBJECTIVE: To further evaluate the efficacy of eletriptan in the short-term prophylaxis of cluster headache. METHODS: We treated 18 patients; mean age, 40.5 years (standard deviation [SD], 9.9). The number of cluster headache attacks was recorded during a baseline period of 6 days, and during 6 days of treatment with eletriptan 40 mg twice daily. The primary outcome measure was the reduction in the number of attacks during the treatment period. RESULTS: In the 16 patients who completed the study (2 patients were lost to follow-up), the mean total number of attacks decreased from 10.9 (SD, 5.6) during baseline to 6.3 (SD, 3.7) during treatment with eletriptan (P=.01) The reduction in the number of attacks exceeded 50% in 6 patients. CONCLUSION: This small open-label study suggests that eletriptan 40 mg twice daily may be useful for the short-term prophylaxis of cluster headache.

PMID: 15109360 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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Eletriptan is a triptan like any other as far as side effects go. This is the only study I could find - 12 days duration is not half of what you are using.

Eletriptan has a longer half life of 4-5 hours as compared to Sumatriptan's half life of 2.5 hours.

There are two longer lasting triptans out there too:

Frovatriptan - 24 hours
Naratriptan - 6 hours

I've had a lot of interest in this form of treatment. What side effects do you see?

-Dennis-

Title: Re: Happy Ever PFter
Post by efzd on Feb 26^th, 2008, 10:23am

Thanks for the info, I am happy to see that this method is not some thing I invented....

Regarding side effects on me; During the last cycle, I used about 45 pills ( 15 boxes of 3 40mg each ), I think that the only side effects I got were tiredness and a kind of depression. But I can't say it was a direct result of the drug.

I agree that not all of the attacks were handled with the drug however in my case it was reduced by more than 90%... the clinical test mentioned here gave 50% reduction which is also a help for all of us..

Thanks again to all of you "masters of pain...."

Title: Re: Happy Ever PFter
Post by brewcrew on Feb 26^th, 2008, 1:33pm

I've done the same thing on several occasions with Amerge (naratriptan). One every 12 hours, on the orders of my neuro. Did it for about a month at a time. Seems to help quite a bit, but I didn't want to do it any longer than that as triptans are not discriminating in which blood vessels they constrict.