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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> melatonin
        
(Message started by: tigerman on Dec 15^th, 2007, 2:05am)

Title: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 15^th, 2007, 2:05am

Unbelievable,took 10mg ,fell asleep,up 50 min later,heated hand towel in microwave,grabbed ice pack,soaked in hot bath and deeply rubbed back of neck and all over head until the pain subsided.From the time I got up to pain basically gone 25-30min.Pain probably never got over a 7.For the past 2 wks I have been coming down stairs pacing ,complaining,and not being able to relax.Result pain gets worse.This time I stayed calm ,there simply was no other option.Now if I was @level8-9pain dont know if I could have done it.I am sick of taking the nose spray,even though it works.Something tells me it cant be good for you if it relieves it that quick.That being said ,if I am on the high end of the scale and dont get relief within say 30 -40 min,yes,I am gonna hit it.You may not believe I have a cluster if I can do this,but ask yourself is getting upset helping?In years past I have never acted so crazy,and was always able to deal with it for the 3-4 wks,with only a few samples from the doc.I am sure I will be up later with one,I pray not.

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 15^th, 2007, 8:27am

Was up again with one @245 nota bad onemaybe a3-4 repeated same steps,back asleep @330.its now 730 and I have a shadow hmmmmmm.25 hours without my supposed savior Zomig spray I m Happy.Lets see how the day goes.Good luck everybody.Not surprised I havent gotten any replies

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 15^th, 2007, 5:13pm

Had some pain behind the eye and I think my sinuses are bothering me .had been taking the behind the counter claritan for a 6 weeks then was off them about a week when the clusters began........No cluster since 300 am and been trying to relax since i got off work @ 1200 Dont feel like a million bucks but havent had to soak in hot bath with cold compress.lets see what tonight brings..I hope this mind over head thing works Next couple of days will tell

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by E-Double on Dec 15^th, 2007, 9:01pm

stay with the melatonin.
Many have had very good experiences once it builds up.
It prevented nearly all nocturnal attacks for about a year. I still had during the day but I was rested.

Hang in there.

BTW do you use oxygen?
It is something that you should consider especially being averse to meds.

Good luck

Eric

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 15^th, 2007, 10:27pm

I am going to keep taking the melatonin.I dont know if my GP doc would scribe me any oxygen and it will be early or mid Jan till I can see a neuro doc Hoping they are starting to subside,guess i will find out later tonight .
If the pain isnt a7 or higher I can control it with my methods and without the Zomig.If the CH are like past episodes I should be through within 2 wks or so .I will still go see the Neuro doc so I will be better prepared and try to develop a patient doc relationship.

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by E-Double on Dec 15^th, 2007, 10:48pm

I wish ya luck.

Present your doc with any info you can gather from Todd ROzen regarding High flow oxygen for cluster headache. He is oneof the leading authorities in HA.

I too was very accustomed to definitive cycles that were brief however what I expected to be a typical 4-5 week cycle never ended. It began MArch 2004.

Just be prepared with any weapons you can gather.

Oxygen can be a lifesaver for many and really does not seem to have any adverse affects

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 16^th, 2007, 12:38am

Been sitting here with the better half rubbing on my neck and head,hot towel on that little spot that hurts,for the last hour.It hurts but almost just seems irritating,make any sense?The heat makes it bearable.feels really tight and throbbing ,not piercing like normal.Fixin to go to sleep if it will go away.Maybe thats the one I was going to get 1hour into sleep?Now wouldnt that rock!!!Do you use the nasal spray?How much is too much?If and when you may not need the oxygen,will you have to be weened off?This may be a stupid question.Just trying to figure out whats best for me by the things I read on here.My wife always says I try to read into things too much,and i am not just talking clusters.ha ha ha ha ha Hope everyone can get a solid 6 to 8 our sleep Do I hear people laughing????????

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by ttnolan on Dec 16^th, 2007, 1:18am

I have to dito on the oxygen thing... can't stress that enough! I've been getting CH for 32 years and it has literally saved my life. It is harmless and realitively cheap, get it anyway you can... if it works for you like it has for me it will be worth ANYTHING you have to do for it. Check out the oxygen doc on ouch-us.org for details on the how to use it... the how is important. ;;D
I am trying melatonin for the first time... nothing to say yet about that, but when the beast wakes me every hour, I put him back in the jar with only 5-15 mins on the O2. Good luck.

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 16^th, 2007, 10:17am

Well I got 4.5 hours interrupted sleep from 330 to 800.Up with the beating 2x between 100am to 330.nothing I couldnt make go away within 30 40 min.No Zomig in 51 hours .I am stoked.I WONDER if I shoukd take the melatonin @ say 700 pm or800 instead of 1000pm.Doesnt make me sleepy,but can tell I took something when the beating wakes me up @ 1200 or100 am.Will keep trying.I know I give to much info but I think its kind of theraputic for me.Oxygen sounds divine but it will be a while before i can get some.Will try though.By the way my CHs have not been as severe .

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by E-Double on Dec 16^th, 2007, 11:53am

Rozen is suggesting upwards of 18 mg.
Some take a combination of standard and extended release so that it maintains in your system and provides a more "natural" sleep.

I would take it 30 to 40 minutes prior to getting ready to go to bed.

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 16^th, 2007, 12:56pm

I'll try 15mg tonight

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 17^th, 2007, 7:39am

Does the melatonin help you sleep all nite or have less severe clusters and not waking up with CHs as many times?

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by E-Double on Dec 17^th, 2007, 8:44am

helps sleep and prevents attacks if it's going work

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by thomas on Dec 17^th, 2007, 11:02am

Just a side note to melatonin.

If it doesn't work, try it again next cycle.

I had four years of success with melatonin, it really cut down on the night-time hits. But it's doing nothing this time around. So if it doesn't work for you, it's quite possible that it will work next cycle.

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by DennisM1045 on Dec 17^th, 2007, 1:03pm

Hey Tiger. I'm glad to see your hits are becoming less severe 8)

On the Oxygen front, I'm not sure you got an answer to your weening question. There is no down side to stopping O2. You are only on it long enough to abort a hit anyway. There are not long term effects. Works great for me.

I had good luck with Melatonin too. 9-12mg 45min before bed time.

Good luck...

-Dennis-

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 17^th, 2007, 5:56pm

Thanks to everyone for helping me along,I hope I can repay yall(alabama slang)1 day.I guess that would be with a cure...ha ha ha The past 2 days no hits till i go to bed then 2 or 3 once i fall asleep,nothing past a kip 5 or 6(i'm guessing)but last nite I was back in bed within 30 mins.With just extremely hot towel and hot bath.I swear I'm just not freaking out and they never develop into me asking why me!Still no Zomig!Its funny yall bang they head or punch it (I have too)but I just tell my wife to hit my big toe with a hammer,heck I want the pain elsewhere,thankfully she wont take me up on it.I am so tired need a full6-8 hours sleep.If the CHs are like past bouts I should only have a week or two left.

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by tigerman on Dec 17^th, 2007, 6:02pm

Oh yea,I am gonna stay on the doctors about the oxygen and be better prepared next time the 1st 2 weeks was almost 2 much 2 handle.to much senseless suffering.

Title: Re: melatonin
Post by txbeck on Dec 19^th, 2007, 4:09pm

Tiger, My internist did not want to prescribe O2 when I first brought it up last year. Not that he objected, but he was completely unfamiliar with CH therapies. I am his first CH patient in 25 years of practice. He referred me to a neuro who did know CH, and meanwhile he did his own homework.

He asks me lots of questions about what works, what doesn't, and while he is still somewhat bemused by the amazing ability of the benign oxygen to stop pain that narcotics wouldn't touch, he is more than willing to learn!

Recently I was even able to suggest that anyone with chronic sinus infections might actually be a CH sufferer and he agreed it was worth considering. Maybe someone else out there will benefit. Doctors don't learn in a vacuum.

I get the impression he may be quizzing the drug reps too and not getting answers. <g>