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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> in week 2 of ECH cycle - try mushrooms?
        
(Message started by: michaelc on Mar 19^th, 2003, 3:51pm)

Title: in week 2 of ECH cycle - try mushrooms?
Post by michaelc on Mar 19^th, 2003, 3:51pm

I am so amazed .... i have been reading the posts on psilocin therapy. ... here is my headache background info:
---I am a white male, 31 yrs old. Blonde hair green eyes, thin build.
Cluster type: episodic, normally once every year or 2 years, in the Spring. Lasting for about 2-3 months of 1-3 daily headaches Always occuring at about 11am, 2pm and 4 pm. Most happen around 1pm. The individual headaches normally last from 1 to 3 hrs.
onset at about age 19.
My headaches are on the Right side. it is accompanied by nasal swelling and pain in my teeth, jaw and face.
I have a knot in the back side of my neck that becomes hard when the cluster is happening. I read this mentioned as a common trait somewhere on here. What is that thing?
i read mention of studies on sleep patterns of CH sufferers. I have always been nocturnal, stay up till 3am. My headaches have generally been at 1pm, but have had a stray one at 1am too.

Peak cycle ranges up to 9 or 10 on the kip scale, i cant see light, cant sit still, have to be alone, get an aura, burning behind eye, and intense lightning like jabs of temporal pain - usually I rock, contort and rub my scalp in a vain attempt to give me something to focus on other than pain and pretend that i have some control over something.

I have just recently started a new cycle, i'm 2 weeks into it and have been taking "migraactin" which has feverfew, magnesium, bioprene, ginko, and TMG. Seems to help a tiny bit ... like 10%, but it's hard to tell so early in the cycle. Also been reducing my sugar intake and drinking a big cup of black coffe right before cluster time.

Wanted to say some of the stories on here brought tears to my eyes. Cluster pain is something that only clusterheads can truly understand. I wish you all luck in finding the appropriate treatment.

Funny thing, before this cycle started i obtained some mushrooms I was going to eat - it's something i do about once a year. (grew up in mississippi - where they grew wild, great fun when i was a teen)
BUT i had put them away when this cycle started ... i have always had a dreadful fear of getting caught with a CH while tripping. So i always kept the mushrooms seperate from my CH cycles.
I would never in a MILLION years have guessed that it would have some positive effect on ECH.
Though after reading about the specifics of ECH and the abnormality found in the hypothalimus (biological clock) it makes total sense that mushrooms/psilocin would work, i have known for a long time about the chemical similarity between serotonin, meaotonin and psilocin, AND that psilocin can help balance serotonin levels in the brain. Hmmmmmmm......
I will try anything but i would have never tried THAT, it's counterintuitive. NOW i am going to have to reconstruct a timeline of my ECH cycles and look at when my mushroom trips have been over the past years - see if i can notice an effect.
I do remember that I tripped 6 months before my cycle in 2001 - but that was the last time. it's been almost 3 years since i have taken mushrooms .... i cant think of a better reason than possibly breaking this cycle!
~michael

Title: Re: in week 2 of ECH cycle - try mushrooms?
Post by tommyD on Mar 19^th, 2003, 5:31pm

michael -

Mushrooms work very well on episodic CH. They work best when you take them at the very start of a cycle, but will knock out a cycle in progress as well. You might have to take a few more doses is all (three or four as opposed to one or two).

I assume you have visited these web sites, but just in case:

http://www.geocities.com/ClusterBusters2002/

http://home.attbi.com/~rwold350/

Quote:

i cant think of a better reason than possibly breaking this cycle!

Me either...

If you do try shrooms, please check back in and let us know how it goes. We will demand details...
:)

-tommyD

Title: Re: in week 2 of ECH cycle - try mushrooms?
Post by michaelc on Mar 20^th, 2003, 1:01am

well because i dont have the money right now to see a neurologist (im an artist and jazz musician-no insurance) or buy expensive meds, BUT do have about 5 grams of mushrooms on hand - I'LL TRY IT. Probably tomorrow night.

Some of you may already know that there is a clinical trial underway at PRESENT - Approved by the FDA ;D to treat patints with OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) with psilocybin. Unlike ECH, OCD patients require a full-dose psychedelic trip to relieve their symptoms. If anyone is wondering, in spite of taking a hefty dose, no one at the trial has had any problems with the psychedelic effects so far.

Since there is a growing body of antecdotal evidence on this BBS for psilocin and ECH, it might be possible to get this one on the next trial, especially if the OCD trials yeild positive results. The prblem is money - MAPS barely scraped together the funding for the OCD research.

Part of the point of mentioning that is to let concerned group members know that the FDA feels psilocybin has enough potential for testing, and is 'generally' considered safe by medical specialists familiar with pschedelic research.

~michael