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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> My bag o' meds
        
(Message started by: cajunnavyguy on Aug 17^th, 2006, 6:56pm)

Title: My bag o' meds
Post by cajunnavyguy on Aug 17^th, 2006, 6:56pm

So, today I finally went to see the neuro and got the following. Any input will be appreciated.

Percocet 5/325 I know it won't help the pain. I actually have been using liquid Demerol which doesn't help, but maybe it can help me pass out when the beast comes. I do know not to mix the 2 ;;D

Amitriptyline 25mg : anti depressant? how does that help?

Methylprednisolone 4 mg, 1 dose pack: steroids for inflammation I guess

Relpax : has given some minor relief in the past, and any relief is better than none.

I didn't ask about the O2, sounds like I should have. So does this seem like par for the course for a round of meds? I don't know since I have been misdiagnosed all of these years.

Title: Re: My bag o' meds
Post by rickyshot on Aug 17^th, 2006, 7:41pm

Amyltriptaline (sp) seems to work for a lot of clusterheads but I can't explain the mechanism. Something to do with serotonin levels which affects clusterheads. Steroids are often given to help break a cycle. The other stuff you have IMO is garbage. Replax is a migraine med and the pill form is too slow acting to abort a hit. You need the imetrex shots (although no guarentee there, in fact no guarantee with anything). Print out the oxygen info and fax it to him with a letter of request. It is one of the most effective abortives with hits. Also do you get nite visitors?(nightime hits). Melatonin helps a lot of people with those. So many clusterheads are afraid to sleep. A night can be hell. Look I am not a doctor just some poor schlommzel who has suffered this for 22 years episodic. Judging from my experience and the experience of the others around here I ain't too impressed with your arsenal. But I hope to God it works for you. you gotta start somewhere. You can always call the neuro if you get no relief and give him input. I went through the gamut myself.

Title: Re: My bag o' meds
Post by E-Double on Aug 17^th, 2006, 8:35pm

Hiya

This is a great resource to know like the back of your hand...print it out and give it to the doc

http://www.brightok.net/~mnjday/chtherapy.pdf

It will present the appropriate treatments that you should seek and your doctor should know!!!

If you want an abortive with the least amount of side-effects O2 should not only be requested but demanded from your doctor!!!

http://www.maplefallswebdesign.com/misc/oxygen/oxygen.htm

I have used Zyprexa as an abortive and have found it to work (for me) as fast as Imitrex and without the "hangover"

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=medsarchive2005;action=display;num=1120904753

If you do have the "typical" wake you up in the middle of the night horrors then.... Melatonin might be very helpful
Many of us (myself included) have found that taking 6-9mg (some take more) about a 1/2 hour to 45minutes prior to bed have Knocked out the night visits and can finally get sleep.

With the exception of 10-12 times.....I have slept through the night since August '04 (went chronic in March 05).....Still get hit during the day but my overall quality of life is better because I am not as exhausted all the time.

Some people report that it seems to make them worse....The fact is that we are all different and respond differently to everything therefore it may or may not...

The one thing I will tell you as far as my experience was that I had to stick with it...The first night I took melatonin, I was awoken with a doozy only I was too groggy to find my O2 .....It got a lot better for me....I then slept through the night but would get slammed about 1/2 hour after waking up....kinda like knocking the beast off schedule.....then again I was peaking and this cycle has been all over the place with no real pattern.
I stayed with melatonin and have had decent sleep overall. (Maybe I should start folowing my own advice again hahahaha!)

It may help and it is natural with not too many sideeffects....also ask your doctor b/c if there are any side effects or contraindications...I think they have to do with mild depression.....

Like I said we are all different.

Best wishes, good luck & stay as positive as you can!!!!

Eric

Title: Re: My bag o' meds
Post by cajunnavyguy on Aug 18^th, 2006, 12:06am

Yes, unfortunatly 90% of my hits are at night. Usually 1 hour or so after I get to sleep. I will definitly give the melatonin based on everythinhg I have read here. I am at the point that I don't know if it's the HA hangover or the lack of sleep, but it's affecting my job. Thanks for the advice. If my nuero was any good, why didn't he recommend the O2? Is it recognized as an abortive by the medical profession? I guess CH is not something docs are used to seeing.

Title: Re: My bag o' meds
Post by georgej on Aug 18^th, 2006, 2:40am

on 08/18/06 at 00:06:47, cajunnavyguy wrote:

Definitely do give the melatonin a try. Could be it will help. It seems to reduce the number of hits I get, and--like you--I get hit almost exclusively at night, in the first cycle of REM sleep. Melatonin is not a magic bullet, but I wouldn't be without it. Try magnesium supplements with a calcium supplement. It won't hurt, and the bodies of CH'rs are often deficient in magnesium. Calcium seems to amplify the effect.

As for the O2, I can't speak to it--I've tried it without success, but I've been told that it wasn't properly administered. Too low a flow, and the wrong mask. Next go-around I'll give it a shot with a non-rebreather mask at a flow between 10-15 lpm. It is the abortive of choice for many of us, and recommended by many neurologists.

Regards,

George

Title: Re: My bag o' meds
Post by E-Double on Aug 18^th, 2006, 5:36am

on 08/18/06 at 00:06:47, cajunnavyguy wrote:

yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!