Posted by David on April 24, 1999 at 14:28:04:
Most Doctors are nice guys and good golfers but they don't have a clue about CH. If you are near a City with a major hospital that has a headache center (Cleveland, Chicago, etc.)go there if not save your time and money. There is a chance that a Nurologist can help but don't put too much faith in it. I wasted 1 year with bad advice from the Chief Nurologist from a major hospital and my Internest. Most doctors will do more harm than good. They can't even diagose a CH let alone treat it. I went to a Medical Library and did my own research.It's all about trial and error and what works for you.You will learn more from this www than 90% of the doctors. This disease is too rare for most docs to treat because they just don't see it. This is what works for me I have tried almost everything.
1. Verapamile 260 mg a day every day as prophalatic. It just loweres the intensity and frequency, no cure.
2.Major cycles prednisone stops them 100% for me but this is a steriod and you don't want to take it too often. You should take as little as possible and wait at least 10 days between treatment. It lasts 15 days. Methyelprednisolne also works .
3. Oxygen during an attack at 10 liter/minute will stop the CH in 20 minutes. Over time it will loose it's effectivness.Very important to have.
4. Maxalt works for me 100% to abort the headache in 15 minutes with no rebound headache. No side effects. It is not perscribed for clusters but for migrains but it works.
Bottom line go to one of the Major Hospitals that have a Headache Center. Experiment to see what works for you. TRY MAXALT. No fee for this free advice