Being as the taurin in energy drinks acts as a calcium track blocker , is it possible that the 3-4 250 ml (the small ones, cos I don't know what that is in fluid ounces) cans that I drink every day to combat the constant shadows could actually be acting as a preventative.... kinda like verapamil dose ??

Any thoughts ?

Nigel

Headache Boy uk wrote on Oct 12^th, 2010 at 7:31pm:

Being as the taurin in energy drinks acts as a calcium track blocker , is it possible that the 3-4 250 ml (the small ones, cos I don't know what that is in fluid ounces) cans that I drink every day to combat the constant shadows could actually be acting as a preventative.... kinda like verapamil dose ??

well...ok Nigel...maybe....my comments:

just because a "drug" comes from the pharmacy doesn't make it bad...and just because a "drug" comes from food doesn't make it good...

my treating neuro is deadset against taurine...not enough known about it per her (i admit i use anyway)

LOTS of sugar in any of the energy drinks (needed to cover the taste of caffeine and perhaps taurine)....

if the no sugar version then bear in mind some folks here are highly sensitive to some of those artificial sweetners....

i pay $20 copay with insurance for a one mo supply of verapamil and I use up to 1060 mg/dy (it's a relatively cheap generic med, dunno cost w/o ins)...energy drinks can cost a LOT more than that depending on the "deals" you can find....

pills is easier than chugging...i find i am able to titrate dosage fairly easily...and they're easier to carry...

this may sound like i'm trying to discourage you...no way brother ;)...WHATEVER works for you is fine by me....just my experience..

best,

jon

Thanks Jon

I tried verap during my last cycle made me feel numb,dizzy,shaky and jumpy at only 40mg per day.

I definitely don't touch any thing with artificial sweeteners in , makes me feel very ill.  :-/

I was just curious as to whether the amount I regularly drink would act as a preventative , I've still only been having shadows but they are getting stronger but maybe that will be it for this year I don't know cos I've only had one cycle so far and I find my self looking over my shoulder every now and then thinking about how things were this time last year.

I've go another prevent lined up to try for my next cycle , when ever that may be, Gabapentin  Ill see how I go on that.

God bless

Nigel

Well, I've tried taurine in pill form as a supplement AND it's in fairly large doses as an additive in the whey protein powder I use whenever I decide I need to diet.  Taurine makes no difference to me.

OTOH, no preventatives, especially calcium channel blockers, seem to consistently work for me except prednisone.  So YMMV.  Try it.

i doubt.
It has happened several times to drink an energy drink
instead of a coffee just for the taste of it and without having any shadow or being in the start of a crisis,got hit just half an hour later cause it was just meant to hit.same happens with shadows.Can get them relatively shortly after.
i suspect that if something is useful in the energy drinks is nothing more than a strong coffee gives except that it comes easier in hand picking up one from the fridge instead of preparing a coffee wasting time in a start of a crisis.
on the other hand i drink coffee anyway regularly and sometimes it helps with shadows.other times it doesn't do a thing with the strong ones.

black wrote on Oct 12^th, 2010 at 10:35pm:

i doubt. It has happened several times to drink an energy drink instead of a coffee just for the taste of it and without having any shadow or being in the start of a crisis,got hit just half an hour later cause it was just meant to hit.same happens with shadows.Can get them relatively shortly after. i suspect that if something is useful in the energy drinks is nothing more than a strong coffee gives except that it comes easier in hand picking up one from the fridge instead of preparing a coffee wasting time in a start of a crisis. on the other hand i drink coffee anyway regularly and sometimes it helps with shadows.other times it doesn't do a thing with the strong ones.

hi black....your comments remind me of my experience.

if i drink caffeine at the "wrong" time...that is no hit, no shadow, just for the enjoyment...i frequently would get hit...AND further caffeine would have no beneficial effect.

however, if i restrict intake to only those times (shadow or hit).... it can be remarkably effective....especially the caffeine/taurine combo(so much better than just coffee alone)

maybe just me...others have reported intake throughout day works for them...

Best,

Jon

I use the 5hr energy for preventative. Seems like the Taurine
needs the other stuff to help.  Cause I tried the pill form and
didn't have the same effect. With 5HR I get less hits and
less intense.  I take one right before bed, helps me sleep
without a visit.  They say that taurine is a sedative on the
hypothalamus area of the brain.  We produce Taurine but
not as infants.  As infants we are suppose to get it in breast
milk, if you had it.  I didn't.  Maybe that's it!  Us CH'ers
may be low on Taurine also.  Something we miss in diet I
guess.  Well, that's My 2 pennies about taurine, My neuro
said use it if it means less imitrex use!

Boski

I have had great success using the red bull but from what I am reading you are not tolerating it well. One other option if you can find it in the UK is to use over the counter ephedrine. In the states they sell it as bronkaid. The ephedrine in it basically is a vasoconstrictor and if taken at the onset of a CH in my case it knocks it out completely.

The Bull works good for me on light hits,but I dont think I could drink enough of it to be a prevent.But what do I know I havn't had a bad headache in 30 days. But the bull is there for the twinges.

Knowing that drugs like verapamil take a couple of weeks to be effective I just wondered if the amount I drink each and every day to keep shadows at bay would cause the taurin to  build up enough to act as a prevent but if the pill form doesn't help much then the amount that's in energy drinks probably isn't going to help.

Still , the red bull definitely kills the shadows, I've just got back from seeing Joe Bonamassa live had a bad shadow in the car on the way back , my eye started dropping , whole right side of my face numb , very little pain tho , drank a can of red bull and it was gone in no time  :)

Thanks for all your responses , I have these thoughts and just like to put them out there to see what comes back.

God bless

Nigel

Nigel,

People using Taurene as a prevent have had very mixed results, but primarily not positive.  Since you had bad results with Verap I would suggest you try Kudzu.  I switched to it several years ago with pretty good results.  As good as or better than Verap and Lithium combined, but I don't get the side effects I got with them.  A little gas is about the worst I've gotten, and over time that has decreased.  There is a long thread on it on the old board.  You might search the archives for it.  Nani started it.  If you don't find the info you need PM me and I'll pass on what I do.

Jerry

Thanks Jerry I'll look into that

God bless

Nigel