Posted by Hal (209.206.0.118) on December 06, 1999 at 18:29:08:
In Reply to: Verapamil posted by Cujo111 on December 06, 1999 at 08:45:59:
I survived 43 years of cluster pain just by toughing it out. Then, this year, my primary-care physician’s office mate suggested Verapamil. (Sometimes, it’s just blind luck that you find something that works.) Nothing happened until I was up to 480 mg. a day. Then, it was like a miracle. The clusters didn’t stop, but the level of agony went *way* down. The attacks still woke me up (after 43 years of battling The Demon, I react automatically to the least hint of a cluster), but they were so weak that a hit or two of Darvocet was enough to allow me to go back to sleep. I stayed on 480 mg. a day until the cycle was over. Since I have borderline high blood pressure, I still take 120 mg. of Verapamil a day, instead of the Atenolol that I had been taking. With any luck, Verapamil will work as well for you as it did for me. But, with The Demon, you never know. We all suffer in our own ways and what works for one may have no effect for another. In any case, your doctor does know what he’s doing. Here’s hoping that it works!