Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> My Doxepin Diary (Long)
        
(Message started by: jadedgazer on Jan 10^th, 2004, 11:23am)

Title: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by jadedgazer on Jan 10^th, 2004, 11:23am

Let me start out by saying that I have not been able to locate any documentation linking doxepin to the specific treatment of CH. However, it is a tricylic and it could work. I have decided that I will document my journey with treatment on this drug here. Since from what I can tell there aren't many here using this drug as a treatment form. I am also aware that what may work for me, may not work for you; and vice versa...so take this information with a grain of salt and make your own decisions.

I do not care for this to turn into semantic arguments about the efficacy of doxepin, etc.... It has been my personal choice to try this drug in combination with others that I will document below to try to find relief in my own personal situation. It is my hope that in some way this may help someone else.

I will attempt to post regularly about my progression, side effects, etc.

These are the drugs I am on and my current dosing schedule:
AM: 50mg Topomax
100mg Lamictal
Multi-Vitamin
500mg Calcium + D
Promensil Supplement (my non-bitchy pill :) )

PM: 50mg Topomax
100mg Lamictal
50mg Trazadone
250-500mg Magnesium (how do I say this delicately, my system cannot tolerate 500mg regularly..I am in the restroom constantly at that dose :-[ )

Abortive: Oxygen

My hit schedule is as follows: I am chronic and have been since Sept. 21, 2001. At this time I am taking 5-10 hits per day ranging from a K3-K9. Generally I have one K9 every other day at 9p.m. I have one K4 30 minutes after waking, during the day they are random. I find that my stress level determines how many hits I get during the day. At 6:30p.m I take a hit at K7, short in duration, approx 40 min. Another at 7:30p.m K7, short in duration also, 40 min. At 9pm, generally a K8 or 9, longer in duration 1½ hours. At 11:30-Midnight another, K4-5, short one-45 min or so. Generally one at around 3 am, K3-4...short one I can sometimes go back to sleep. I shadow quite often during the day also.

I took my first dose of Doxepin last night, 25mg. It made me very sleepy. Fell asleep very easily, which is unusual for me. I had dreams for the first time in a very long time. I did not wake 4 or 5 times in the night like I normally do. Skipped the 3 am hit. (Woohoo!) Woke this morning feeling rested for the first time in a very, very long time. I don't think I have been reaching the REM stages of sleep for a very long time. Skipped the hit that comes 30 min. after waking, no shadowing so far.

From the research I have done and after talking to a very knowledgable friend that is a pharmacist and my neuro, it seems that doxepin can act very much like neurontin in some cases, but without some of the side effects. It can also act very quickly, sometimes within the first one or two doses.

The plan is to increase the dosage of doxepin by 25mg a week over 4 weeks reaching the desired dose of 100mg a day. I am only to take it at night due to the drowsiness effect.

I will post here again in a couple of days and watch closely to answer any questions you might have.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to share.

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by forgetfulnot on Jan 10^th, 2004, 3:07pm

Hi Jackie, I tried Doxepin about two months ago, had to give it up quickly do to sexual side effects. I will look forward to your future updates as I started @ 100mg rather than ramping it up from 25mg. Keep us posted.

Lee

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by jadedgazer on Jan 12^th, 2004, 3:04pm

After 3 nights of taking the doxepin, I am noticing a substantial difference in my condition. I am down to two hits per day, K5 or so. One at around 7:30pm and another at 10:15 pm or so. During the day I am getting very little shadowing. One thing I am noticing during the day is the fact that I am getting the normal watery eye and runny nose, but no pain is breaking thru. Strange, but I am not complaining at all.

I am feeling better than I have in months, maybe over a year or more. I am sleeping well, although last night I did have a nightmare. I am noticing excessive thirst and have increased my intake of water, which won't hurt me by any means.

The munchies are another issue! I am really going to have to watch my diet or I will be packing on the pounds!

More to follow in a few days. :)

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by jadedgazer on Jan 13^th, 2004, 12:48pm

Last night was a little rough. I thought I would push the envelope a little and it bit me in the rear. Exercise is a major trigger for me, as is the cold. It was about 38 degrees outside last night and I went for a mildly agressive walk, about 15 minutes into it I got smacked with a K7. Of course I high-tailed it back home and hit the O2. Thankfully I was able to abort it in about 15 minutes after starting the O2. Total time of the CH was approx 50min. That was about 7pm.

Then at 9:30pm it started to rain, weather changes have also been a trigger for me. I feel like a human barometer sometimes. I didn't notice the weather changes per se like normal, but when the downpour started, WHAM! I got slammed with a K9...just like that out of the blue. Damn near knocked me out of my bed. (I was watching Average Joe :) ) I hit the O2 again for 15 min and it didn't abort but knocked it down to a K5 and total time was about 2 hours.

I did sleep most of the night, no hits in the night. Woke up shadowing and had a K4 during breakfast. I am shadowing some now. Maybe things will settle down today again.

I am hoping that I am not regressing but that it is the change in the weather. We are expecting some more showers today and then again on Friday. I won't push it by trying exercise again, but rather sit still and see if things settle back down. If they do and I get hit again when the next front rolls thru and the rain starts again, we might be able to establish more of a pattern or something. [smiley=huh.gif]

Not sure if that makes any sense. Just trying to keep a log more or less of what is going on.

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by Prense on Jan 13^th, 2004, 7:24pm

on 01/12/04 at 15:04:09, jadedgazer wrote:

I am getting the normal watery eye and runny nose,

Not trying to hijack yer log, but I get this all the time. Normally, 7-8 times a day...doesn't last long. I also get the same with attacks. Oh well, back to yer log.

Chris

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by jadedgazer on Jan 18^th, 2004, 12:43pm

Ok, sorry it has been a few days since I posted. Classes started again and it has been stressful and hectic here.

First...
Chris, I never get the runny eye and nose other than when I am getting hit. So, that is why I posted that oddity. Thanks for the input though.

Now, to what has been going on...

The weather here has been horrid. Rain and storms! I always have trouble when the weather is like this, but this time it hasn't been as severe. The hardest hit I have taken is a K7, usually I will take a K9 when the weather changes like this. So I mark this as improvement.

I have been taking 1-2 hits a day and shadowing a lot during this weather phenomenon. But it is tolerable for me. Nothing to complain about compared to 10 days ago.

I began taking 50mg of the Doxepin at night on Friday night. Slepping like the dead, dreaming a lot...nothing scary. I am waking rather groggy, so I think I will start taking it earlier in the evening to see if that helps with that draggy feeling. I would love to sleep 12 or 13 hours, but that isn't possible. LOL We will see what dosing earlier does.

One thing I have noticed is a tremendous decrease in cravings for nicotine. I decided to check on this and this is one of the side effects of Doxepin. Cool! I am smoking about a ½ a pack a day, down from a pack to a pack and a half a day. Saving $ to boot.

The munchies are not quite so bad, getting control there. Just making a point to grab fruit and fresh veggies. So far no weight gained, in fact I have lost 3 pounds! What a relief! I tend to gain very fast. Very scary thought! So I am very relieved.

I had a full day of classes Thursday, from 10am until 9pm...LONG day! Very stressful. I did have some problems that day. Had to come home at one point between classes and hit the O2. I may have to carry my tank with me on Thursdays. It is just the stress of using my brain so much all day I think. Very painful overall, LOL. But, I did notice that I am not "out of it" like I was last semester. Should make this semester easier, and considering my class load that is a blessing. I am taking Managerial Acct., Philosophy, Amer. Lit., and Statistics...Arrrgh! No wonder I had trouble!

Anyway, I am doing considerably better. Sleeping well and as you can see having decreasing amounts of pain. Also, not nearly as depressed as I was.

I will post again soon.

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by jadedgazer on Jan 22^nd, 2004, 7:42am

I am doing pretty well since starting the Doxepin. I will add an additional 25mg tomorrow night bringing my dose up to 75mg daily.

Right now I can tell that the Doxepin has decreased the frequency of hits and the severety of hits down by 50-60% thus far. This is quite a major improvement and a huge success in my little world so far. I am still sleeping well.

I had three hits yesterday, ranging from K4-K7, but I attribute this little burst to banging the crap out of my head. Dang near knocked myself out.

Two days ago I had a K10. O2 was no help at all. The trigger was a deoderant spray that my son had sprayed late in the evening. Apparently the odor and my senses didn't agree and I took it hard. That hit lasted close to two hours. We threw the spray in the garbage.

Other than that, I am having heavy shadows most days. It seems that when I have a full day of classes (today I will be in class from 10am-9pm) I tend to get hit more, also the day after. Straining my brain too much?

I am feeling really positive about things. Much more so than I have in a very long time. The morning grogginess is still an issue, but I think I am not taking the doxepin early enough in the evening to help alleviate that problem. I will work on that and report back.

Until the next time.....

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by jadedgazer on Jan 28^th, 2004, 1:28pm

Ok, things have been very hectic around here. Super high stress. I have been taking more hits in the last 4 or 5 days than I was a week ago, but that is probably due to the intense stress and erratic weather pattern. Both are triggers for me.

Things seem much calmer so far today. No hits so far and no shadowing.

Yesterday was particularly bad. I had about 9 hits in the K8 range. Extremely exhausting and frustrating. The O2 aborted about half of them. Unfortunately, I was in class during 2 of them and it was to the point where I had to leave the room. Not good, I didn't have my tank with me at school. I also took two hits during the night. I rarely have hits in the night anymore, but last night was an exception.

This morning I am feeling pretty good though. My head is sore and the left side of my face a little swollen, but no pain (knock on wood).

I really believe that when I get this personal situation with my ex dealt with and the weather pattern settles down I will be in good shape. I have probably taken on too much with the schedule I have in school, but this is my last semester on my associates so it had to be done this way. I just need to manage my stress better. No problem right?

I feel like the doxepin is helping in the overall picture. I am by no means 'cured' but I feel more in control than I have in a very long time. I have more clarity of thought than when I was on the Topomax and I do have less hits than I was having 3 weeks ago. I still have bad days and good days. But don't we all? I don't feel like CH is running my life any longer, I don't feel as if I have to try and schedule life around CH. There are days when I still do, but more often than not nowadays I feel free to do things I need and want to do without the fear of being hit so hard that I will be incapacitated. Yesterday, I had a bad day and I was in a situation where it was stressful for me to take hits like that, I was out of my 'safe' environment. But, I dealt with it and made it through what I needed to do and made it home. A few months ago, I would have been terrified to try and make it thru a day without some kind of abortive with me at all times. I count this as progress.

I will post again in a few days.

Title: Re: My Doxepin Diary (Long)
Post by jadedgazer on Feb 9^th, 2004, 10:49am

I apologize for the long lapse since my last post here, I have had the croupe/crap.

My ha's have decreased quite dramatically. I am down to one or two a day, K6-8. I even have a PF day now and then. This is major improvement! Woohoo!

The worst of my ha's come on days when I am overly stressed and overly tired. Usually Tuesdays-Fridays, these are the days when I am in classes. Go figure???

Anyway, I am doing better on the doxepin and when I get over the croupe I will post more.