hello. i an an episodic ch "habitué".
i use a preemptive zoloft/seglor therapy together with sumatriptan injections (max two 6mg doses per day) during my clusters. i tend to stick with it since the sumatriptan kills away the pain in 4-5 min sharp. that means completely avoiding 2 hits per day, which can save a 6-10 hour day at work with absolutely no worries whatsoever.
however, i am not crazy about the idea of taking an antidepressant (although very powerful as a long term serotonin antagonist) every day for 4 week periods at least twice a year (zoloft, which my doctor has been prescribing me, during clusters, for some years. his wife suffers from CH too, so i trust his therapies to be apt for my condition).

about the mushroom issue, i would be curious to hear opinions on the correct dosage/method of employment. i am not sure whether i want to try it, and have no idea as to where i could find them in my country.
but i am still quite curious. i heard that even occasional doses are effective in reducing the number of hits, and their intensity. i have never thought of trying them during an episode or a cluster, until i learned that they are proven to be effective. however, not being an official experimental method yet, i cannot ask doctors or people who haven't experienced this treatment.

hence, were i to have the chance to try the mushroom therapy, i wouldnt be sure whether to:

1. Use a small, preemptive dose every X days/every day. i mean a very mild, non psychoactive dose (less than 0.5 dried grams of psilocybe cubensis strain). could that work?

2. Use a medium dose (tripping a little) every X days (0.5-1 dried grams of cubensis mushroom)

3. Use one large dose when the "cluster season" is about to start (mine are quite regular and predictable) to significantly delay/decrease the hits (again, around 1-1.5 or more grams of dried cubensis, which is usually quite an intense experience).

The problem is that i wouldnt want to be tripping half of the time during a cluster. i need to be lucid all day long to work and live a normal life. A mushroom trip can last up to several hours, and would debilitate my daily activities. All the same, a prolonged psychoactive use (medium trips every day, 2 days or so) would drive me nuts after a while.

Is it possible to use mushrooms to an extent that they work on the CH but do NOT present their entheogenic psychedelic effects? Or is it more effective to RARELY take stronger, psychoactive doses?
Pls no notes on the dangers of using psychedelic compounds. I know enough :)
Thanks!

I forgot to add a couple of further reasons why im not fully satisfied with my preemptive zoloft(sertraline)/seglor(dihydroergotamine methanesulfonate) + symptomatic imigran(sumatriptan shots) treatment:

1. Side effects are many more compared to those of the almost innocuous use of small doses of mushroom.
2. Sumatriptan has been on the market for only a few years, thus not generating significant statistics on long term side effects in patients. Even though i havent heard of any official studies conducted so far, im pretty sure a lot of sumatriptan over the years is not so good for heart, blood circulation, kidneys and what not. If there are more effective preemptive treatments maybe i wont have to use my shots as much. I am 27 and have been living with CH since 17. My father suffered from it from 18 years of age until he was 56.
3. Zoloft takes at least 10 days to 2 weeks to build up significantly in the blood, as seglor, whilst psilocybin, from what ive read so far, is reported to be effective in less time.
4. Zoloft/seglor has worked not so efficiently so far, diminishing daily hits after 2-3 weeks of therapy, and shortening clusters by a mere few days. Seglor is taken before sleep, but my night hits keep coming.
5. even if my zoloft dosage is lower (25mg) than its use as an antidepressant, i don't need an antidepressant whatsoever. my serotonin mood clock is quite fine, unlike my CH serotonin clock ;D
6. Knowing that mother nature offers a better solution would bring me a lot of positive energy. This also helps to prevent clusters: happiness and peace of mind!

I think i am quite finished now. Thanx for your patience.

First, read everything at START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE if you haven't already.

Secondly, to answer one of your questions, refer to the thread entitled "Time for the 75-80% to stand up and be counted
Which I bumped to the top for you.

Lastly, many episodics have success with your option #3 followed by option #2 if needed.
Suggested spacing is 5 days.


good luck
Bobw
P.S. Please feel free to report your findings here.

Whoa, awesome. Thank you Bobw. I figured this topic had been discussed before, but missed this thread; I opened this new one to investigate the technical specifics and what doseage/frequency of use users report works best.
Anyhow that's a lot to read and thanks to ch.com i found all this information in one place and not scattered over a thousand small articles randomly posted on the web.

I'll take a good look at all this info and get back to you.

In the meantime, if others want to share their personal experience with these methods, you are more than welcome. Please keep reports coming. These not being official cures, I must rely on empiric feedback from YOU to learn more! Thanks again  8-)

As Bob mentioned...reading clusterbusters is the most information you can get on this issue all in one spot.

Now, another thing to remember as you read, is that the methods people use are as different as the people themselves.

Just as with western medicines, dosages, timing, and everything else that may work for one person my not work someone else.

Somehow this doesn't sound right.  Am I being overly sensitive?  It sounds to me like you know WAY more than you are telling.  Is there an ulterior motive here?

You say you don't know where you could get them in your country.  What country would that be?  You didn't bother including a location in your profile.

Understand that the purpose of this site is for the support of fellow clusterheads, and the sharing of information to help alleviate the pain of other clusterheads.  It is not a clearinghouse of information on finding illegal drugs.  Saying that is NOT a criticism of Clusterbusters, nor of those who may or may not use hallucinogenics to combat CH.  It is a statement of the purpose made by DJ when he founded this site.  I don't want to see someone coming on this site trying to cause problems.

If I am off base, say so, but for a total newbie to come on the board, with his(?) first post, without even giving any credence to his claims, start trying to generate contacts for illegal substances gives me pause.

Jerry

Me too Jerry.    :-?

I'm episodic, so it could be a bit different.  I followed the instructions on Clusterbusters to the T and dosed 3 times over a period of time after detoxing.  It killed my cycle for a year and I didn't need to maintain.  A generouse donation had me supplied the 1st time and with spores to grow, but they were contaminated and I am scared to try to "find" more for a maintenance dosage or to try again, so I don't know if it would require more the 2nd time around or possibly less as more of a maintenance dosage.  If I ever come along some from a trusted source I'll report back.

Hey guys, thanks for the feedback so far. Am reading all the material on cb.com, taking some time but learning a lot.

Callico and Linda: your assumptions are legitimate, ill try to be clearer. As already mentioned, i am just gathering information. I am not sure whether i will try this cure, all i am searching for is some encouragement/direct feedback. This happens to be the first cluster forum i bumped into during my occaisonal research, and had read a few months ago about the apparent aids of psychedelics for CH.
I did not mention my country also to not imply that i wanted to find psychedelics. If i choose to try this cure, its up to me to find a trustworthy source for mushrooms, or picking them or something. I know the risks i would be taking according to the very strict laws here.
but who of us has never said "i would do anything to get rid of it"?
i have tried mushrooms on different occasions before, in holland, but not in cluster periods. so i know enough about the psychedelic effects, too. even though i found them to be very inspiring experiences, recreational use is definitely not in my interest right now. thats why im asking advice on how to use mushrooms without being stoned.

As i already mentioned, i have been living with the wretched thing since i was 17, and am quite informed about the medical side of things. so dont be surprised if i break things down, it just helps me understand more.

ciao!

Hey everyone....remember me and my query?

After a long research, I finally had the chance to try out the psilocybin therapy. I am now in the midst of a cluster, experimenting with very low doses of psilocybin and registering my system's responses.
Once the cycle ends, I will post an accurate report on my findings: I'm just waiting to gather more stats.

All I can preannounce, answering my own initial question, is (in my case) yes, it is possible to use this therapy without having to undergo any psychedelic effects whatsoever.

The therapy is working very well so far, and I would like to say A BIG THANK YOU TO THE SUPPORT AND INFORMATION I GATHERED FROM HERE AND CLUSTERBUSTERS.COM. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.  [smiley=heart.gif]

Have you checked Mauro Italian OUCH too? Since I guess you are from Italy :) Seeing your name sounding italian and the "ciao" word.

Good luck with therapy! Do report how is it going please !:)