Posted by Jackie on October 21, 1998 at 20:14:05:
In Reply to: Don't Overdo It! posted by M on October 19, 1998 at 21:14:36:
Thank you for passing on the info. I see a few
big problems with it. Many people taking the abortives
are doing so because the preventives are not totally
helping. Without the abortives, a person is often
in terrible pain. It's an extremely difficult
decision to say, "OK, I'll suffer the pain 5
times a week, and give myself relief twice a week."
I'd say any doctor recommending that course of
action does not understand the pain of cluster.
Indeed, I understand that this article is not
specifically addressing cluster. Also, there's
problems with preventive drugs, too. For instance,
one of the two most helpful preventive drugs,
Verapamil, makes me extremely dizzy because of my
low blood pressure. I can't take it. So I take
the other major preventive drug, Prednisone, which
carries its own set of risks.
So, there's no easy answers. It's a balancing act.
I take as little as possible, as infrequently as
possible.
Jackie