Take the pred till the verap kicks in.  You won't gain that
much if your careful.  You will eat.  Then the O2 will help
too!If the Doc says try you should try, then if it doesn't work
try a new direction.  Most people try many things before they
find a solution that works for them.

Good luck and hang in there.

Beautiful Disaster wrote on Jul 21^st, 2010 at 2:55pm:


Verapamil takes time to be effective, but worked to bring from many a day and night to none when at a fitting dose.  Gradually adding during a pred taper could work, but if not going to take it, you'll know if it had contributed to frequency when the pred taper ends. 

I wouldn't have much thoughts otherwise about it if you just started adding 160mg for one day, CH can change on its own. 



I see comments were posted while I replied that are good advice.

Maybe I wasn't being very clear - you have to be on it for a minimum of 10-14 days before you'll even find out if it works for you. And that's without any adjustments to find out if the level is right.

Cool beans. Good luck, and you may want to consider that prednisone taper while the verapamil is building up in your blood. 10-14 days of prednisone is not going to cause 50 lbs. of weight gain.

The only side effect I ever got from prednisone was that I wanted to throttle the living shit out of whiners.

Come to think of it, that could be described as an effect, not a side effect.

I'd be surprised if 240 did the trick, but good luck.  The lowest dosage I have found effective is 480.  Verapamil does have a few significant side effects, but much more tolerable than Prednisone or Topamax in my book.

All medications effect everyone differently, but you may -

1.  Get seriously constipated.  Drink a lot of water.
2.  Feel tired until your body adjusts.  Verap is a blood pressure medication that hits you pretty hard in the beginning, but levels out after a while.  Since some of us are on it for months and months, your body evens out after the initial period.

I'd try the Pred taper while starting Verap.  You'll feel very medicated for 2 weeks, but almost anything is better than CHs.  The main point is to give them a full attempt to work.  One or two days won't do anything.

Chronic

Some conditions that lead to high blood pressure can be alleviated by Calcium channel blockers such as Verapamil.

But calling Verapamil a "blood pressure medication" is akin of calling a hammer a "thumbnail coloring device".


                

AlienSpaceGuy wrote on Jul 22^nd, 2010 at 11:42am:

I honestly don't want to take the bait on this one, but I guess my quick attempt to describe the main use for the drug was not acceptable to this individual.  Therefore -

Why is this medication prescribed?

Verapamil is used to treat high blood pressure and to control angina (chest pain). The immediate-release tablets are also used alone or with other medications to prevent and treat irregular heartbeats. Verapamil is in a class of medications called calcium-channel blockers. It works by relaxing the blood vessels so the heart does not have to pump as hard. It also increases the supply of blood and oxygen to the heart and slows electrical activity in the heart to control the heart rate.

Verapamil (brand names: Isoptin, Verelan, Verelan PM, Calan, Bosoptin, Covera-HS) is an L-type calcium channel blocker of the Phenylalkylamine class. It has been used in the treatment of hypertension, angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmia, and most recently, cluster headaches.[1] It is also an effective preventive medication for migraine. Verapamil has also been used as a vasodilator during cryopreservation of blood vessels. It is a class 4 antiarrhythmic, more effective than digoxin in controlling ventricular rate, and was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1981, some years after it was introduced in most western countries.

...but if you've been taking it for three weeks and miss one dose, it won't take you three more weeks for it to become effective once again.

It seems as though the small dip in serum level is what is most likely responsible.

I take 240mg Verap a day while out of cycle.  Every time if I go off of it I begin shadowing and my eye starts twitching so I have just resigned myself to staying on it.  While in cycle the Doc doubles that and I throw in an alternative method as well. 

Give the Verap a chance.  It helps many people. 

PF wishes,

Jeannie

Verapamil has been a miracle for me but I can't miss a single dose. I sure hope I don't have to be on it forever everyday.