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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> Prednisone & Indomethacin
        
(Message started by: kcorrigan on Oct 21^st, 2004, 7:02pm)

Title: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by kcorrigan on Oct 21^st, 2004, 7:02pm

Hey ClusterHeads,

Just need a little bit of help here. DR has started me on a Pred taper since yesterday.

60mg x 2 days
50mg x 2 days
40mg x 2 days
30mg x 2 days
20mg x 2 days
10mg x 2 days

12 days total / 42 - 10 mg pills

Anyway I now have taken 120 mgs (yesterday and today) and haven't noticed anything different.

I'm also taking Indo 25mg 3x daily as needed - which means 3 x a day, lol - for 10 days.

I know that the Indo won't abort them - so far nothing will, but we're hoping that the two together will act as a preventative. DR's plan is to break this cycle within the next 10-12 days.

I read on the med info (left) that if the Pred doesn't work in 2 days to stop taking. What are your reactions to it? Any side effects? DR says that I shouldn't have to worry too much about them because it's so short term.

I've just come to respect you all so much and value your experience with different treatments over the past couple of days that I could really use your advice.

I know that O2 is an option. I'll bring it up when I speak with him next. Remember that I am also on Verapamil 180 mg SR once daily as well and that seems to help them from popping up spuradically but I still get them seaonally - last cycle was spring 2003.

Thanks so much for all of your help. I still sit here and cry reading through all of this informaton. My family is beside themselves now that we know more about this. I can't believe that I was silly enough to think (and tell people) that I was getting "these crazy migraines that come in clusters". No wonder people looked at me like I was nuts. Not that this helps them get it either. Now they really don't understand.

Jeez, I am a total chatterbox. Sorry, I'll shut up now and patiently await your responses.

With much love and admiration for all the sufferers and supporters out there,

K

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by unsolved1 on Oct 21^st, 2004, 8:04pm

Prednisone (and other steriods) usually work for me. The taper schedule you have is a descent one. I'd stick to it if I were you. Abruptly quitting a steriod such as Prednisone can cause serious problems.
Side effects will probably be weight gain and 'puffyness', maybe constipation.
I'm also taking Verapamil SR 180 but twice daily.
If indomethacin doesn't help within a week, it's not going to.

Unsolved

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by Lizzie2 on Oct 21^st, 2004, 9:31pm

I think your taper looks well planned out. Sometimes the taper doesn't work...and sometimes it does even after tapers in the past haven't worked. It can be a tricky game with the prednisone...

Some of the most frequent side effects that I noticed are insomnia, weight gain, red face (at times), moon face from swelling, moodiness, thrush infections in the mouth, high blood sugar, and some other things.

I've experienced some long term mega side effects from prednisone as have a couple others of us here, so do be careful with it! My neuro would not prescribe a taper any more frequently than every 6 weeks, and I still ran into trouble!

For cluster prevention, I also take 120mg of Verapamil, recently increased to 6 times a day. I take 250mg of Magnesium twice a day. I use Oxygen to abort clusters, and I sometimes use Amerge or a combo of Amerge/Ultracet on days when both my migraine and clusters are beating me up! I take a variety of other meds, but not for clusters.

Hang in there and best of luck! Indomethacin isn't usually that effective for cluster headache, but you will know pretty quickly if it is or is not!

Carrie/Lizzie2 :)

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by Gator on Oct 22^nd, 2004, 1:12am

The taper sounds alot like what I've heard of around here. Be patient, sometimes it takes a few days to kick in if it's gonna work at all. Like Unsolved said, once you start a pred taper, you can't just stop. Prednisone suppresses your immune system and has other effects that requires you to taper off to give your body time to readjust itself.

My neuro had me do a taper back in May. It worked to kill the constant shadows and brought me down from 8 to 5 attacks per day. After the taper, the constant shadows didn't return and frequency didn't go back up. I still get upwards of 5 attacks per day. It may not sound like much, but it was a welcomed "break."

Since we still haven't found a preventative and since I can't afford to go into the hospital for a DHE vacation, he's got me doing another pred taper. Hopefully, this one will either break the cycle or at least give me a few days rest.

This taper is the same as the last: 60mg x 4 days, 40mg x 4 days, 20mg x 4 days then call with a status report and further instructions. Like you, I am 2 days into it - nada. I don't have much faith in it this time, but after a year of looking for a preventative with no luck, I'm feeling kind of jaded here.

Indocin doesn't usually work for CH. When it does work, sometimes has to be taken as high as 300mg to be effective, but it is a real killer on your stomach. My neuro had me try it, but also had me taking OTC Zantac 75 to minimize damage to my stomach. In the end, it didn't work - like everything else so far, so we dropped it and went to the next med.

That's a relatively low dosage of Verapamil. If necessary, the doc could take you up on it. He should monitor your blood pressure with each increase and with every increase over 480mg it is recommended to have an ekg done, although I don't think that recommendation is followed all the time.

As far as aborting individual attacks, you should ask your doctor about O2 (10-15 lpm through a non-rebreathing mask). Also ask your doc about a back up plan, like Imitrex Nasal Spray, Imitrex Injection or Zomig Nasal Spray. Imitrex injection is probably the most reliable abortive. A lot of those for whom Zomig NS works, report it keeping attacks at bay for anywhere from 10 - 24 hours. Again, everyone is different. I could take the Zomig NS and get another attack an hour and a half later. C'est la vie!

I don't know if you've seen this, but at the risk of repeating it, here is a link to read, print and take to your doctor. It covers preventative, transitional, abortive and surgical treatment options.

http://www.future-drugs.com/admin/articlefile/ERN020304.pdf

Don't worry about being a chatterbox. Hell, I'm one of the resident novelists and they haven't run me off yet.

Good luck.

Gator

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by kcorrigan on Oct 22^nd, 2004, 3:19am

My DR hates me taking the trex (nasal spray) but then again, he's not in my head. Last one I took was Wednesday. I was afraid to take another, he said no more for a week if I took two on Wed, which I didn't, but was still leary with all the other stuff I'm on.

By the end of my 12 days I will have taken 84 pills. I know that doesn't seem like much to many of you, but I only get 1 or 2 at most of these attacks through out the day. Then there I sit at around a 3 most of the day with my "f-you" HAs twinging from time to time. I can't even begin to imagine 5-8. Most I've had was 4 when I was peaking.

Thank you all so much for all of your help!

I am already so in love with this group like you wouldn't (or probably would actually) believe.

Rock on...

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by sandie99 on Oct 22^nd, 2004, 6:56am

hi there,

I am taking 200mg prednisolon daily as we speak (half tab in the morning, other half in the evening) and well, so far it hasn't kept CH away. I do have less attacks than usually.

Indomethacin was hellish for me - I had a 3 week treatment and all it did was to give me two 8 hours headaches in the back of my head which kept me up and woke me. Not good one for me.

If it's any concelation, I haven't found a useful preventative either. The docs really should tell that sometimes it takes time to find a preventative which works with CH.

I wish you strenght with CH! :)

Best wishes & PFdays,
sandie99

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by SuperQuack on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 8:23am

Sandie99,

200 mg Prednisone ! ! ! Check your dose!

Maybe you mean one 20 (twenty) mg tablet broken in half to make your dose 10 mg twice a day. ( I sure hope so.)

SQ

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by don on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 8:36am

Without a good preventative I wouldn't count on the prednisone to break your cycle.

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by kcorrigan on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 12:34pm

Sorry. I guess I should have mentioned that I'm also on Verapamil 180 mg SR once a day as well and have been for about 7 years. It helps me from getting HAs year-round but doesn't prevent my seasonal cycles.

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by don on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 4:16pm

Your taking verapamil year round but your episodic ?

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by kcorrigan on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 5:00pm

We started on the Verapamil years ago when we thought that I was getting migraines, clusters, tensions, you name it. I still get them seasonally, but am afraid to go off of it. Every time I have skipped as many as 3 days I start getting headaches. I dont know what the answer is. I'm not sure what would happen if I were no longer taking the Verapamil. I don't like the idea of being on it especially if it's not helping.

I feel very helpless right now and don't know the answers. Nothing seems to be working and I'm not getting any better. I'm going to see about trex injections and O2. Maybe they'll work fast enough to abort the attacks.

I'm exhausted and frustrated. But, the more I read and the more I learn, I know that I'm not the only one. It's trial and error for everyone else dealing with this. If there was a sure-fire answer, we'd all be better.

Thanks for all of your help.

~ K

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by don on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 6:00pm

Quote:

I'm going to see about trex injections and O2.

Those are the two front line abortives.

You might try upping the verapamil dosage while in cycle. 180 is pretty low especially since you've probably built up a tolerance for it.

Title: Re: Prednisone & Indomethacin
Post by unsolved1 on Oct 23^rd, 2004, 7:21pm

on 10/23/04 at 18:00:00, don wrote:

Those are the two front line abortives.

You might try upping the verapamil dosage while in cycle. 180 is pretty low especially since you've probably built up a tolerance for it.

I agree. the Verapamil is @ a low dose.
BUT
Upping the dose could result in low BP and / or heart rate, dizziness, etc... CONSULT W/ YOUR DOC FIRST !!

Dr. Unsolved