Posted by Hutch (207.42.160.25) on July 27, 2000 at 12:15:58:
In Reply to: Popular cluster patterns?/Cafergot/Clusters leading to physical damage? posted by John Bragança on July 26, 2000 at 21:03:21:
i use the prednisone / cafergot treatment with a pretty high success rate. my clusters run from june to october, generally peaking in august. i begin in june with a three week steroid burst of the prednisone and turn to the cafergot as a reactive treatment for the ones that sneak past the 'roids. the cafergot only works if i can recognize the aura of the oncomming CH and take it as much as a half hour before the attack. now, and here's the punchline, i take two tablets at onset and one each additional half hour durring. up to five a day and no more than 10 in a week...so if my CH lasts two hours, no more cafergot today...so, ulimately i am forced to choose which two CHs i want to treat a week. the 10 tablet limit, i am told, is to avoid possibly damaging side effects of the cafergot, which include increasing frequency and/or severity of CH. the predisone is also giving me some trouble in the form of weight gain, acne and general moodiness....feels like puberty all over again. but hell, it seems to work (mostly). as for any pattern, i really wouldn't know, i've never met another cluster head face to face. but you might want to check paul borneo's site ( http://www.sleeptalk.com/paul/cluster.htm )he talks about some success he's had with CH by manipulating circadian rhythms (your body clock). might be helpful.