Posted by Sonya Banna on September 03, 1998 at 01:52:23:
In Reply to: verapamil posted by dennis on September 01, 1998 at 13:20:46:
My experience is this ... the Verapamil takes
time to build up in your system and you take it
slowly. First half dosage, then full pill, then
pill and a half, and then two pills. Takes about
two weeks to safely build up. I felt light headed
and had to take it easy with my body. Also,
I took an Imitrex pill (25mg) when a big attack
occured and went on my Oxygen tank for 20 minutes
at 8 liters per minute. This took care of it
while I waited for Verapamil to work. Now, when
I get an attack, I go on my oxygen tank and it
seems to NOT need Imitrex pill any longer. I think
it is because the Verapamil is started to help
out. If you don't find instant relief with Verapamil,
don't be suprised. Also, check with your neuro
when an attack breaks thru. He might slowly keep
uping your dosage to 4 pills at 180 mg each. But
go slow .... your heart slows down and your blood
is being thinned out. If you do this too fast,
you can faint easily. My blood pressure is a little
low - so my doc added steriods to "pop" these out
faster too. I take 60 mg for 6 days, 50 mg
for 5 days, and 40 mg for 4 days, etc. This is
to shorten the duration of the cycle. It is working
too. But all these meds are strong strong strong!
So, don't go fast - but slow. I highly recommend
getting Oxygen Tank to help give relief. It works
and luckily it's not a drug that affects your
heart or brain. But takes 10 to 20 minutes to
work. I really rely on my Oxygen tank. I got
a J size tank of 2,000 liters. I use up to 600
liters on a really bad day and only 100 on good
days. It clears out all the left over head pain
from clusters too. Good luck, hope this info
helped.