Posted by Jackie on August 08, 1998 at 16:41:58:
In Reply to: Tired of fighting the Demon posted by Jackie M. on August 07, 1998 at 21:20:30:
Well, here's a post from one Jackie to another. I've
suffered from episodic clusters since I was about
14. I'm now 51 and in the middle of an episode.
I can't begin to imagine how awful it must be
to have chronic clusters, and on top of fibromyalgia..
unimaginable. I thought I had this thing licked
with Prednisone, but last night, I had a "break-
through" headache. The pain was terrifying, but
I was able to abort it with oxygen in 15 minutes.
But the oxygen doesn't always work. I'm afraid to
go to bed tonight.
I'll say this to myself as well as to you. There's
always hope. Have you browsed all the posts on this
site? If so, you'll see Dr. Mellick's article on
a drug called Ritalin. That drug has been around
for a while for ADD (attention deficit disorder).
So, you could call your doctor and probably get a
prescription right away. I check on the drug and it
seems relatively safe...after all, it is being
used on children. Others in this group
have started to take Ritalin, with good results. I think you
can take the pill in 10 mg doses 3 times a day,
or there's another form of the pill someone had
luck with, as a 20 mg dose timed release, I think?
I assume you've tried oxygen, Prednisone, cafergot,
fiorinal, lithium, verapamil, ice packs, Imitrex,
sansert? If you've missed any of these, please
check into them.
Take care,
Jackie