AussieBrian wrote on Feb 15th, 2016 at 9:38pm:Hey, Anubis, don't feel as though you've been singled out. Newbie-bashing is a bit of a sport around here, especially if your thoughts and ideas are a little new or innovative...
...This is an open forum which means everyone has the right to post their opinion or to howl down anyone with whom they disagree.
It's only airheads like myself who believe we're all here to help ClusterHeads and their Supporters deal with a horrible, horrible disease and to perhaps claim some of their life back.
Ah, well. Full steam ahead and damn the torpedoes,
Brian down under.
Brian,
Thank you very much for your supportive words.
After mulling things over a bit, I've come to some conclusions. First of all, although I don't like to make generalizations about people, I had always known that America is a very litigious country. Just driving down the I-81 to Atlanta to visit some relatives, I noticed that practically every billboard was a lawyer's advertisement to help you sue the crap out of somebody for something. In Canada (where I live), Australia and the U.K., such 'legal cases' would often just be thrown out of court as baseless. Based on some of the responses to D3+Vimovo, I'm starting to realize just how confused, frightened, and frankly, paranoid, some Americans can be. Apparently, it's cultural, so I don't blame anybody personally. Apparently, nobody can trust anybody or anything in that country, and so, even if the overwhelming consensus of medical research has demonstrated that Naproxen is safer than aspirin or Advil, and Vimovo, being a Naproxen+protein pump inhibitor, is even safe enough for people with a history of stomach ulcers to use long-term, that's still not going to be good enough. The mistrust in these people is epic.
So, in the spirit of goodwill, in spite of some hostile and bitter replies, because I want CH'ers to try what has worked for me, (especially chronic CH'ers!)
I'm going to recap, since I know some people might only read the latest posts in an active thread.I'm going to reiterate that I, a chronic CH'er, still haven't had a single CH since I was 18 days on the D3+max dose Vimovo back on Nov. 2nd, 2015. (Yes, for that initial loading dose period, you will still need your usual abortive in the event you still get a CH, until they've stopped altogether). Not ONE SINGLE CH. Not even a little, tiny one. Only the vaguest hint of a shadow whenever I burned down the Vimovo a little too much.
I'm going to reiterate that this is not an abortive treatment. I don't take D3+Vimovo only when I sense an actual CH coming on. This is a preventative treatment. That means that once you have stopped your CHs with daily D3+Vimovo doses, you should not get any more CHs. Since I was chronic at the time I started this regimen, I don't know what the implications are for an episodic sufferer. It may be that you can break a cycle with this regimen, and not need to take the Vimovo again unless/until you sense another cycle coming on. I don't know. My belief is that you may be able to avoid a cycle entirely if you are able to resume the D3+Vimovo regimen at the earliest sensation of a shadow.
I'm going to reiterate that this treatment dropped my inflammation levels (meaning prostaglandin levels) down to the point that I have been able to cut down the Vimovo to a single 500/20mg tablet every few days (while still taking one and sometimes two 10,000iu D3 daily). At this point, I'm basing it on how I feel, as I've become quite attuned to my inflammation levels by now. For example, if I start to get arthritic soreness in my right hand joints, I know my inflammation levels in general are rising, and it's time for another Vimovo. So far, once I got past the 3 week loading dose period, I have been able to take no more than 1 Vimovo/day. I haven't had to take 2 in a day.
I'm going to reiterate that Naproxen, the main ingredient in Vimovo, is listed in wikipedia (wikipedia, for crying out loud!) as "the preferred NSAID for long-term use in people with a high risk of cardiovascular (for example, heart attacks or strokes) complications,[3]:665 due to its relatively low risk of causing such complications," and "In order to reduce the risk of stomach ulceration, it is often combined with a proton-pump inhibitor (a medication that reduces the production of stomach acid) during long-term treatment, in those with pre-existing stomach ulcers, or a history of developing stomach ulcers while on NSAIDs.[2][3]:665,673" I'm going to reiterate that Vimovo is just such a Naproxen/protein pump inhibitor-class of drug.
Best wishes to all, even to you, Hoppy & Potter!