Posted by Dan (205.188.192.151) on September 13, 1999 at 13:17:47:
I am a newbie to this board (since the last 2 weeks). Here's a question I haven't seen addressed. Perhaps I missed it, but here goes.
Is there any connection between CHs and Viagra?
First a little background ...
I am a 17 year sufferer of CHs. My cycles have always followed a very standard pattern -- one HA every 23 to 25 hours. HA always lasted from 45 to 60 minutes. Cycle responded well to Verapamil. Cycles lasted about 6 to 8 weeks, and remission usually lasts about 6 months. After an eight year remission, I began thinking I had out-grown my CHs, but three weeks ago, they came back.
I immediately started on Verapamil (gradual increase to 540mg/day), and the CHs had been blocked for about a week. I still had the shadows, but the pain level was nearly non-existant. I was feeling a little over-confident and I went to Reno for a golf tournament this past weekend. When I arrived on Thursday night, I went immediately to the casino to play a few of my favorite games. I felt good enough to have a couple of adult beverages (scotch) and then went to bed early (10:30pm). The CH began at 11:10, and went to a level 8-9. After an hour of this, the level dropped to about 4, but the HA continued for over 5 more hours. This had never happened before. I resolved to cut out alcohol until the cycle was over.
The next day, I avoided all alcohol, but that night at 12:30am, the CH started once more. Once again, an hour later, the pain level dropped from 9 to 4, but continued for almost six more hours.
Since I hadn't consumed any alcohol the second day, I looked for some other explanation. I had taken 50mg of Viagra both nights, and I wondered if there might be a connection. I stopped taking the Viagra after Friday night, and have been HA free since then (not even shadows).
Question: Has anyone else had this experience? Has anyone taken Viagra during a CH cycle, and noted any changes in the pattern?
Sorry this was so long, but thanks for listening.