Posted by drummer (209.105.134.239) on January 05, 2000 at 19:05:33:
In Reply to: Let me humbly add that ............. posted by Jack Boyd on January 05, 2000 at 18:05:12:
Ok Jack, I’ll add my two cents. Coming from the point of view of a 16 year “chronic” CH guy.
Does this matter? Absolutely not. In my humble opinion, whether we’re talking about Episodic or Chronic CH one can use the same preventative medications and/or the same abortive medications.
I completely agree with Jack that Verapamil is the least “toxic” of all the “known” CH preventative medications. I would like to add though, that Margi’s “water treatment” is a WONDERFUL non-medication that is obviously non-toxic if done correctly. ALL medication is toxic to SOME degree; some more than others.
Verapamil comes in two forms, (immediate release) and (sustained release). Normally doctors start the medication out at 120 or 240mg per day and go as high as 960mg per day as long as the patient has no signs of low blood pressure or any other “icky” side effects. Other names for Verapamil are Calan SR, Covera-HS, Isoptin, Isoptin SR and Verelan.
Other preventatives that I have tried, and that eventually “stopped working”, are Neuronitin, Depakote, Lithium and I’m currently experimenting with Topamax. Jack mentioned Elavil. Elavil is an antidepressant in the Tricyclic group of medications. There is a whole bunch of these that can be experimented with for the preventative use for CH. Just ask your doctor about Tricyclics.
I also completely agree with gary g on his abortive post too.