good morning all.  well not really good, but it is morning.  last 24 hours have been bad for me, hope not for yall.  4 since 9 am yesterday (20 hours or so) so still room to make 5 before the 24 is up.    I did not really start this to whine though so on with the topic.

I have done a lot of reading on here about people drinking red bull as an abortive. I decided to try this "5 hour energy" shot thingy.  Its in a 2 ounce bottle so can be carried in my pocket.  I cant really tell if it is working or not. took one at begining and still lasted 40-45 min.  Does have caffine and taurine in it.
I just wanted to know if any of you red-bull'ers had tried it and if it worked or not. or if i just need to get some of the real stuff and try it.
Just looking for a hand while grasping at straws.

David

Never tried it. The makers say it contains as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, but they don't say how much. They also don't say how much taurine is in it. I find energy drinks that have 1,000 mg of taurine or more per serving work better for me.

The other thing that scares me away is that it is sweetened with sucrolose, or Splenda. Artificial sweeteners have triggered hits for me in the past, and I usually steer clear of them.

Good morning David.
I have used Red Bull to abort CH's in the past and it has worked fairly well. But my problem along with other's is that you are not suppose to have anymore than a couple per 24hr period. Not much help to me when I get 4 or more hits within that period.
My Red Bull here in Canada is 250ml cans, or 8.45 ounces and contains 1000mg of Taurine and 80mg Caffeine. It must be chugged as quickly as possible, like in one or two swallows.
Another very important thing to remember is DO-NOT take energy drinks like this one when taking other meds such as Verapamil. The side effects could be very bad.
o2 is my #1 abortive, with no side effects and can stop a hit within minutes. Check out the oxygen info in yellow to your left, it works for most of us here.
Print off some of the info to your left and talk to your doc about what might be best for you to try.
Hang in there, we are all in this together.

 Barry :)

From redbull.com:


Quote:

HOW MANY CANS OF RED BULL ENERGY DRINK CAN YOU DRINK PER DAY? HOW MANY CANS OF RED BULL ENERGY DRINK CAN I DRINK IN ONE GO? Red Bull® Energy Drink is a functional drink and not a thirst quencher. Generally, you can compare its digestibility with that of coffee, and this is a good guide to the amount you can drink. It is recommended that the daily consumption including the consumption at one time of Red Bull® Energy Drink should conform to a person's intake of caffeine, and this varies from person to person. The caffeine in one can of Red Bull equals that of one cup of filtered coffee.

barry_sword wrote on Apr 19^th, 2009 at 8:52am:

Good morning David. I have used Red Bull to abort CH's in the past and it has worked fairly well. But my problem along with other's is that you are not suppose to have anymore than a couple per 24hr period. Not much help to me when I get 4 or more hits within that period. My Red Bull here in Canada is 250ml cans, or 8.45 ounces and contains 1000mg of Taurine and 80mg Caffeine. It must be chugged as quickly as possible, like in one or two swallows. Another very important thing to remember is DO-NOT take energy drinks like this one when taking other meds such as Verapamil. The side effects could be very bad. o2 is my #1 abortive, with no side effects and can stop a hit within minutes. Check out the oxygen info in yellow to your left, it works for most of us here. Print off some of the info to your left and talk to your doc about what might be best for you to try. Hang in there, we are all in this together.  Barry :)

Did not know that....im currently taking verampamil only at 120 mg, but gonna change that come monday since it aint doin any good (though it has only been a few days)   I have indocin that i can take, but only 2 a day and either they or the verapamil are tearing up my stomach. i was hoping the energy drinks would keep me from taking them, or at least give me a fall back when i have passed my 2 for the day.

Barry's absolutely right - stay away from taurine when taking verapamil. Messes with heart rhythms.

David, I can just offer my own personal experience with Verap. I am out of cycle right now but I was taking 480mg Verapamil daily but it can take up to two weeks to get into your system. We are not doctors but simply people who are willing to share what works or doesn't work for CH's.

The Verap did not eat up my stomach but I sure found out I needed a little help with the constpation factor. I took a small bowl of hi-fibre cereal each morning and that helped with the plumbing. The short term memory thing was also noted, but it was by far better than the latter.

There are many other prevents out there, such as Lithium, but that one was not for me. Keep posting and let us know how you are doing, this is one awesome support group and they have helped me get my life back, and I am sure we can help get your's back too.  :)

I dont think its the verapamil messing with my stomach. i belive that is the indocin.  gonna try to get in to se dr tomorrow and get some imitrex shots.

I've been using the 5hr energy drinks lately with mixed success.  I started doing it after the others started giving me stomach troubles.  I was getting reflux afterwards, although Coke doesn't do so.  I usually slam one and follow it up with coffee,but then I follow everything up with coffee.  

I'm with Barry and Brew on the Verap and energy drinks.  That is a no-no.  I quit taking Verap a couple of years ago though as  the side effects were worse than the hits.

Jerry

crap,  I didnt know that about the verap mixed with the red bull.  Great :(, I am probably doing abunch of damage that I didnt even realize.

Did you tell your doctor you were doing both?

I'm not sure it does any permanent damage, btw.

I went to the dr today, and asked specificly about the verapamil and energry drinks. He said that he has no evidence that it would cause a problem mixing them.  then told me that i could be getting these headaches becasue all the caffine i take.....  

Upped the verapamil to 240 and now have some imetrex tablets to try.  He did not want to give the shots or the o2.   Said the shots take just as long as the pills, and did not want to try the o2 till after we see how the imetrex does.  

I also got some melatonin  hoping it'll help me sleep through. man i hope so.

Truett wrote on Apr 20^th, 2009 at 10:17pm:

I went to the dr today, and asked specificly about the verapamil and energry drinks. He said that he has no evidence that it would cause a problem mixing them.  then told me that i could be getting these headaches becasue all the caffine i take.....   Upped the verapamil to 240 and now have some imetrex tablets to try.  He did not want to give the shots or the o2.   Said the shots take just as long as the pills, and did not want to try the o2 till after we see how the imetrex does.   I also got some melatonin  hoping it'll help me sleep through. man i hope so.

That's at least four strikes. Get a new doc. This guy doesn't have a clue.

I use energy drinks from the day I found this site. I hate them (disgusting taste) but I do think they help with clusters. I think they kept some of my attacks from getting 'pacers'.

A few weeks ago my neuro put me on Verapamil. Since it's not working yet, I still use energy drinks at daytime to help with the less severe attacks, shadows and help keep my eyes open... And now I read that I shouldn't be using these in combination with the Verapamil! I want to slap myself for not telling my neuro about the energy drinks.  [smiley=hammer.gif]
I didn't notice any side effects though.

So much for the energy drinks, because of the taurine in it. Will coffee be ok to try? I hate coffee even more than the energy drinks, but I need something to help me get through the day.

Lottie wrote on Apr 21^st, 2009 at 6:02pm:

I use energy drinks from the day I found this site. I hate them (disgusting taste)

Lottie have you tried the cranberry flavoured energy drinks, not to bad you know...! For me personally I really don't know if the energy drinks worked or not my heavy shadows were constantly coming and going all day long it was hard to established what worked and what didn't... :-/

Lefty..!

I've tried several... never came across one with cranberry taste though.

I also find it hard to say if it helped with the CH attacks, that's why I said I think it helped. I guess it could've been a coincidence, but I'd rather think it helped than think it was just a coincidence.  :-/

Lottie

darn,  I just took my verap, and chugged down a red bull.  didnt know about not mixing them.  I never noticed even one side effect from verap.   have been on big doses of it too.    8-) 8-)

I like Rock Star Light Vanilla Shake.  I told my neuro that I used the energy drink with Maxalt MLT when out and he did not think it would be a problem for my heart.  I am a pretty big coffee drinker though so the energy drink is in lieu of the coffee.  

I stay away from tablets because they are useless.

Stick with the O2 and get the injections; your doctor seems to be very uninformed.

Emjay wrote on Apr 28^th, 2009 at 10:00pm:

I like Rock Star Light Vanilla Shake.  I told my neuro that I used the energy drink with Maxalt MLT when out and he did not think it would be a problem for my heart.  I am a pretty big coffee drinker though so the energy drink is in lieu of the coffee.   I stay away from tablets because they are useless. Stick with the O2 and get the injections; your doctor seems to be very uninformed.

It's not triptans mixed with energy drinks that presents a problem. It's verapamil (a calcium channel blocker) and energy drinks.

I use verapamil and energy drinks.

I don't use energy drinks to excess.  If I'm getting slammed at the end of a  mini cycle, I may use 3 sugar free red bulls in a day, along with the other meds.  I was using the energy drinks before I started verapamil this last time and the neurologist has monitored me and ok'd it. Verap didn't work for me at all the last time around, but has this time around.  I personally thought the energy drinks may have helped the verap start working better for me.  The doc & neuro were more nervous about me trying verap again, and I was started (believe it or not) at only 20 mg a day and am now at 320 mg a day.

I agree with Brew about the Dr.  Some of the answers are strikes against him.  However, if you try the imitrex and it doesn't work well and then he has you try the O2 - that would show he is willing to learn and I'd keep him.

Charlotte

I went to the neuro today and he told me any type of caffeine will result in rebound clusters and eventually raise the number you have. he said STAY AWAY from caffeine! What do you guys think??

j0hnglist wrote on Apr 30^th, 2009 at 1:16pm:

I went to the neuro today and he told me any type of caffeine will result in rebound clusters and eventually raise the number you have. he said STAY AWAY from caffeine! What do you guys think??

Perhaps if you overdo it. But the benefits outweigh the downside.

JMHO. YMMV.

Caffeine is a drug and should not be used to excess, as would be true of any drug!  However, it is a constrictor!  I have never heard that using caffeine would result in a rebound although if a caffeine addict suddenly stops taking caffeine, she may have a headache!  

BTW, I use the verap with the maxalt mlt and energy drinks when I am away from the O2.  Sorry I was not clear  :-X

Truett wrote on Apr 20^th, 2009 at 10:17pm:

now have some imetrex tablets to try.

This quack does NOT know clusters!  He is an idiot.




Truett wrote on Apr 20^th, 2009 at 10:17pm:

He did not want to give the shots or the o2.

This quack does NOT know clusters!  He is an idiot.




Truett wrote on Apr 20^th, 2009 at 10:17pm:

Said the shots take just as long as the pills

This quack does NOT know clusters!  He is an idiot.  Not only is he an idiot, he does not know his meds, either!  That statement is totally wrong. 180 degrees from the truth!




Truett wrote on Apr 20^th, 2009 at 10:17pm:

did not want to try the o2 till after we see how the imetrex does.

This quack does NOT know clusters!  He is an idiot.



Time to fire him for incompetence, and get someone that knows what he/she is talking about.

Chuck