I saw my new neuro yesterday after about 3 wks in cycle.  My old Neuro was just not up to date on CH at all.  New Neuro suggested we try a occiptal nerve block first. he upped my daily dosage of Depakote as well.  I was only taking 500 mg ER daily but now wants me to take 1000mg during the day.  I have problems with low blood pressure so Verpamil is not an option for me right now.  He also suggested that I start taking melatonin every night, starting with 3mg and going up from there each night if I am not sleeping well up to 27 mg if needed.
I am scheduled for an MRI thursday- Dr wants one done has I have never had one and he said something about some people with CH show abnormalities in the pituitary gland? Anyone heard of this?
But I am wondering as well if any had any one has had success with the nerve blocks? So far it seems to be working. well I haven't had a Ch since the injections but having side effects from the injections.  Pain at the base of my skull but I will take that instead of a CH every hour during the night.

I have had the occipital nerve block for a cycle a couple of years ago. Worked great for me and I didn't have the pain your talking about. Where exactly did you have the injection? Is it just bruising around the site or something else? Have you mentioned this to your Doc?

Nancy- I can't really tell if there is any bruising as I had the injection at the base of my skull on both sides of the neck in my hairline. There is some swelling there still. I can feel it when I move my head sometimes. 


Potter- I have O2 at home and a portable tank for work.  It works most nights- but last night nothing seemed to work until about 6 am this morning.

I did fine with the nerve blocks until early this morning. I was up every 30 min. It was like the O2 wasn't even working. I will see what happens tonight and if I am still having problems I am calling the neuro tomorrow morning. I know that steriod injections can at times take a few days to work fully and want to make sure before I tell the Dr. 
The Dr thinks that an injection I had in Dec for another medical condition I have could be causing the CH cycle this time to be totally chaotic. 

Oh yes. As for the pain you mentioned, I experience it almost every time. But, as you said, I'd trade that for the MONSTER any day

During my last cycle I had 2 nerve blocks (ONB). Max PF time for me was 14hrs. Some folks have better luck. Injection sites were sore for some time.

From my own and others experience with Depakote it does not have a very good track record for CH. But we are all different so hoping better for you.

Don

Have you talked to you Dr. about headaches being worse? Sometimes the injections do aggravate the nerve instead of helping. You definitely need to let him know that that is what happened. There maybe something else going on there.

I just talked to my Neuro. He thinks that since the injection that my headaches have gotten worse pain wise and how often I am having them that I  may have another condtion called Paroxysmal Hemicrania.  What I have found out so far is that alot of the symptoms mimick CH- like the autonomic responses and unilateral sided pain.  Here is what I have found so far from the NIH website.
Paroxysmal hemicrania is a rare form of headache that usually begins in adulthood. Patients experience severe throbbing, claw-like, or boring pain usually on one side of the face; in, around, or behind the eye; and occasionally reaching to the back of the neck. This pain may be accompanied by red and tearing eyes, a drooping or swollen eyelid on the affected side of the face, and nasal congestion. Patients may also feel dull pain, soreness, or tenderness between attacks. Attacks of paroxysmal hemicrania typically occur from 5 to 40 times per day and last 2 to 45 minutes. The disorder has two forms: chronic, in which patients experience attacks on a daily basis for a year or more, and episodic, in which the headaches may remit for months or years. Certain movements of the head or neck or external pressure to the neck may trigger these headaches in some patients. The disorder is more common in women than in men.

Dr thinks that I may now have migraines, CH and this as well.  There is only 1 drug that helps with the above condition- indomethacin. My neuro thinks I may have this as well due to the fact that my headaches are getting worse since the block last week and coming with more frequency than before as well as being much more painful and the O2 doesn't even touch them anymore.  So we will be doing a trial on this medication for 2 wks. If the headaches stop we know what it is and if not,. We start over again.