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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> Verapamil
        
(Message started by: Liz04 on Mar 25^th, 2004, 1:54am)

Title: Verapamil
Post by Liz04 on Mar 25^th, 2004, 1:54am

Gosh...must be ancient...sounds like the name of a dinosaur

Anyhoo, once you are started on this...do you most likely stay on it forever for a preventive? or for short term use? or hmmm?
Liz

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by pubgirl on Mar 25^th, 2004, 2:10am

Depends if you are episodic or chronic.

W

Episodics (the ones who actually bother with a preventive at all) often stop when they believe the risk of the cycle is over.
Chronics stay on it for years (a Verap 'holiday' is recommended every few years though)

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by Liz04 on Mar 25^th, 2004, 2:17am

W,

Chronic meaning every day? Please forgive me..I'm still not familiar will the meanings yet. I do not believe that I'm chronic. Actually, I would have to say no to that at this point, hopefully.I have been going through this for months but intermittently. Happens on average two to three times per week..with gnawing dull skull pain on a daily basis...but I can't say that I was on the appropriate medication.

L

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by t_h_b on Mar 25^th, 2004, 4:05am

on 03/25/04 at 02:17:01, Liz04 wrote:

On melatonin and verapamil plus magnesium here. Chronic but now with very rare CH attacks almost always caused by a known trigger. Still can tell I'm chronic. For instance, I woke up at 3:30 this morning which was one of my most frequent attack times. Am I having even a shadow? No. But here I am wide awake nonetheless. This happened much more often when I first started taking melatonin and got these things under control.

So I'm Mr. Zombie at work tomorrow. I just have to warn everybody that if they screw around with me I'm going to bite off big chunks of their flesh.

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by BillyJ. on Mar 25^th, 2004, 4:16am

"This year, 2003, the IHS updated their criteria and classifications on cluster headaches, and the criteria for chronic cluster changed. Previously it was cluster attacks that lasted more than one year with less than 14 consecutive days in remission. Chronic is now considered cluster attacks lasting more than one year with less than 30 consecutive days of remission IRREGARDLESS of medication." from the 2003 convention report(Thanks Cat) this info came from
Dr.Bigal of the NECH

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by pubgirl on Mar 25^th, 2004, 6:09am

Liz

Preventives in your case would be a matter of choice I would have thought. The intermittent attacks you could see off with a good abortive, the knawing constant stuff would drive me demented, so I would probably go with Goadsby's recomendation r.e. treatment for cluster-tic which I understand is your diagnosis

Wendy

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by Superpain on Mar 25^th, 2004, 1:36pm

on 03/25/04 at 04:16:25, BillyJ. wrote:

Well fuck me with a headache...
I guess I'm chronic. :'(

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by Racer1_NC on Mar 26^th, 2004, 11:11am

on 03/25/04 at 13:36:55, Superpain wrote:

Well fuck me with a headache...
I guess I'm chronic. :'(

I remember the day I said that.........

Bill

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by Scooter on Mar 26^th, 2004, 3:58pm

I have been on Verapamil for at least ten years 240 Mg. it worked great for a while then we had to add inderal, serveral times Dr. tried to taper me off of Verapamil but then I could feel the shadows starting. One time he took me off Verapamil and I took Lithium it held the beast down but it was always there. Next step if what Im trying now does not work is going to be that Lithium Verapamil coctail.

Title: Re: Verapamil
Post by Thorns on Mar 27^th, 2004, 9:13pm

on 03/25/04 at 01:54:03, Liz04 wrote:

Anyhoo, once you are started on this...do you most likely stay on it forever for a preventive? or for short term use? or hmmm?

Liz,
I'm episodic and originally I was on 120mg/day for a year and then the next year/cycle I had to go up to 240mg/day to keep the beast at bay. Rather than keep up the 240 for a year this time I am going to step down to 120 between cycles. I have seen that alot of episodics here do this betwn. their cycles. It may help to keep you from developing a higher tolerance to it each year.
Thorns