Posted by Stephen on November 10, 1998 at 22:02:04:
Of all I've read, Jerry's "water therapy" seems to be the most consistently successful. And I, too, have to say that it both makes sense and seems to be working for me. Of course, I'm trying pills, too, so it's hard to tell what is making the difference. I've been taking Cafergot before my regular headache times, with another pain killer whose name I can't find. I don't like the idea of taking the pills if I don't know if I'll get a headache but I like the insurance. Sometimes they don't work, but you all know what it's like--every time I get one I swear I'll never miss the pills again.
Since I've been careful to drink a lot of water and avoid salt and alcohol, I've only had a couple of close calls--the pain starts and lingers far ths side of the debilitating pain--a little tearing in the eye, but it doesn't close.
Now a question and a contribution--strike that, reverse it. I read that alka-selzter might help some severe headaches because of the alkaline effect on the body's Ph. Sounded worth trying, and sounded like it might have something to do with the water therapy Jerry discovered. It seems to work. Unlike pills, which take far to long to affect the body, an alkaseltzer would quickly have an effect. If the pain is related to ph regulation, here's a... what do they call it? emergency treatment?
My neurologist prescribed depakote and prednisone today, saying that I should definitely avoid taking more than ten cafergot a week (I was at, oh, 25...). I'm wary of this new treatment, especially after the reports I read HERE. And I'm suspicious of prednisone--don't they prescribe it for just about everything? Still, I'm a bit nervous, not wanting to feel another cluster EVER. So wish me luck, I'm just going to drink a lot of water now, and if I get a headache I'll do this treatment. MY QUESTION, for anyone with this expertise, does Depakote's description as a "sodium valproate" mean that it is a salt, that is, that it will behave in some ways like a salt and affect the water ph balance that seems to be important? I'll try to find out, too. Someone said that it dried them out, right?
I'll see and keep you all posted. Thanks for all this stuff! Especially a tip of the hat to Jerry! I hope you're still clear headed, unclustered!
Stephen