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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
        
(Message started by: JoeS on Jun 23^rd, 2006, 6:17pm)

Title: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by JoeS on Jun 23^rd, 2006, 6:17pm

Hi all,

I've read about the success that several have had with aborting headaches with Red Bull. I want to try it myself but I'm a little cost-conscious since it's somewhat pricy. Has anyone tried Monster Energy Drink? It seems to contain the same amount of Taurine per ounce (1000mg per 8 oz) but Monster comes in a 16 oz can and is less than half the price of Red Bull (a case of 24 Red Bull 8oz cans cost slightly more than 24 Monster Energy 16oz cans).

Also, any opinions on Sugar Free Red Bull vs Normal Red Bull?

Thanks,
Joe

P.S. Sorry if these have been discussed before -- I didn't get any hits when I searched for Monster Energy Drink (for that matter, I've not gotten many hits when using the forum search for anything. Any tips on searching the forum?).

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by spidey426 on Jun 23^rd, 2006, 9:05pm

Hey whatever's cheaper I guess: ) As long as it has the Taurine because I guess that's the ingredient it's been narrowed down too. How much are Taurine pills? I'm guessing it's probably cheaper that way..

Personally, I drink the big Sobe energy drinks.. they're not so bad, and 2000mg of Taurine in the big cans.

pfw from ny
spidey

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by Katherinecm on Jun 23^rd, 2006, 9:51pm

I bought a bottle of Taurine at GNC for less than $5.

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by floridian on Jun 23^rd, 2006, 10:30pm

The supplement can cost as little as 6 or 7 cents per gram (1000 mg dose). I wouldn't totally discount the caffeine and sugar (to abort, not to prevent), but the taurine alone seems to be helping some people.

I need to split my taurine page into 2 pages - the middle is too technical for many.
http://www.med-owl.com/clusterheadaches/tiki-index.php?page=Taurine

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by JoeS on Jun 23^rd, 2006, 11:35pm

Thanks for the comments, folks. I figured that a separate L-Taurine supplement would be much cheaper, but haven't read anecdotes on the efficacy of the supplement by itself (or mixed with caffeine) as opposed to the numerous success stories with the energy drinks (the unknown being the part the other ingredients play).

I've been reading the med-owl site a lot. Floridian, are you the owner of said site? I've always thought that a wiki would be a good vessel for distributing cluster info -- thanks for putting that together if that's indeed your doing.

--Joe

P.S. I figured out what I was doing wrong on the forum search -- I was searching the clusterheads.com site via the Google interface instead of through the yabb search. Duh!

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by sandie99 on Jun 29^th, 2006, 10:55am

Hi Joe!

I'm one of those who has had success with Red Bull.

I have also tried all the other kind of energy drinks, which have the same amount of caffeine and taurine than Red Bull. And each time I've had ice cold energy drink, it has successfully aborted attack quickly.

I can't tell about Monster, though, because it's not available in Finland.

You asked about the difference between the sugar-free RB and the regular one. In my case, there is no difference - both aborted ch quickly. I just hate the taste of the sugar - free one, so when I can choose, I take the regular one... ;)

I hope that it works for you! :)

Best wishes,
Sanna

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by moonhoney2 on Jun 29^th, 2006, 12:24pm

Sean switched from Red Bull to Red Thunder, available at Aldi's for $1.99/4 pack vs $1.99/ea for the RB. He says it works just as well.

HTH

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by Katherinecm on Jun 29^th, 2006, 4:32pm

I agree the red thunder works just as well, although it's not availible in a sugar-free version if you tend to use that.

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by Garys_Girl on Jun 29^th, 2006, 8:34pm

Hubby can't stand the taste of any of the energy drinks. He takes Taurine supplements and uses espresso to abort.

Unfortunately, over time it's become less effective (as everything has, including the 02). He's giving the caffeine a break - he was up to 22 espressos at dinner the other night and it didn't phase him in the least. No shakes, no feeling of any sensation from the caffeine, and didn't affect his ability to fall asleep (with the help of melatonin).

My guess is that the caffeine is what works for the immediate abort and it's the Taurine that can have a beneficial effect on the cycle over time. Taurine, Magnesium and Calcium (and Melatonin and 5-HTP) all have some effect on the body's clock which is thought to be the seat of the CH sufferer's problem.

Laurie

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by vermonster on Jul 2^nd, 2006, 2:57pm

Thanks for all the info on taurine ! I used red bull three times, and every time, it worked !! i did a little research and learned that red bull has 1000mg of taurine per can - that's 1 gram. Common dosage of taurine is anywhere from 1-4 grams per day. ASAP I will be going to GNC to see what they have for taurine, and will let everyone know if I get any good results ! Thanks again for all the info !

Title: Re: Red Bull vs Monster Energy Drink
Post by marlinsfan on Jul 2^nd, 2006, 3:47pm

Our friend Barry Coles has been documenting his Taurine trial here:

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=meds;action=display;num=1146013283

Check out the ingredients in the Sugar Free red bull. If it has aspartame, I couldn't touch it as that stuff will trigger an attack while I'm in cycle.