Posted by Flash (217.32.135.87) on July 07, 2001 at 09:35:14:
In Reply to: Hallucinogenics and cluster headaches posted by James on July 06, 2001 at 11:05:35:
A note to anyone interested in this treatment:
It is well worth researching everything you can find out about these drugs before taking them. You WILL be pleasantly surprised. The best resource on the web is www.erowid.org.
My guess is that if something does trigger the onset of CH, then the CH would onset immediately, not 1 month later. LSD is fully metabolised by the body in less than 3 days. That's a fact. If LSD caused your CH then it would have caused it then and there.
Another thing that we are well aware of is that LSD works for some people, psilocybin works for others, in some cases both drugs work. It would be fair to assume that other hallucinogens might work for some people - mescaline for instance. We believe that under the right circumstances hallucinogens can fool the brain into reseting it's chemistry, getting serotonin release/production back under control or whatever. It's a bit like whacking a stuck thing with a hammer - sometimes it takes more than one whack, sometimes it takes a whack from a particlar angle, sometime a different hammer is required (smaller head & more focused blow, longer handle, larger head). If the LSD had been the hammer of choice in your case, then you wouldn't have gotten hit with CH one month later. That's my guess. It may be that the LSD would work to relieve CH at a later date. It may be that another hallucinogen would be required.
I have also suspected that under certain circumstances, over indulgance in hallucinogens could backfire in the CH sufferer. In the same way that radiotherapy can kill tumours, it can also cause them. I'm not sure that hallucinogens are merely a reset button. I think it's possible that this switch goes 3 ways, with CH being the result of the positive and negative positions, and balanced brain chemistry being the center position.
My best advice is that if you are at the onset of a CH episode, or if you are chronic, then take the correct dose of a hallucinogen, and keep taking it every 5-10 days until the CH starts to improve. If the improvement stops far short of remission then take some more. Once in remission stop taking the hallucinogen. Simple as that. If the hallucinogen has no effect the first time the take a larger dose. If you take enough to get some noticable side effects and it still does nothing for the CH then try another hallucinogen.
I have taken a level for dose of LSD. I don;t really want to take one again. It was both one of the best and worst experiences of my life at the same time. CH patients should not exceed level 3 under any circumstances.
Flash