A man whose gnarly cluster headaches were so severe that it was threatening to commit suicide, said the medication he took helped him feel better. the psychedelic drug illegally known as LSD during a clinical trial.
“It’s the most unimaginable pain. It’s like if an Ice pick was stuck in your back of your eye,” Jeffry Bader, 30, described his frequent chronic cluster headaches within “How to Rewire Your Brain.” The words of Jeffry Bader are translated and interpreted by producers of this Netflix film, which focuses on the use of mind-altering medications to treat conditions which don’t always respond to the existing treatments like cluster headaches.
Cluster headaches are regular episodes of intense pain, generally felt in the eye They can peak in intensity in just 15 minutes and typically last from one to three hours. For the majority of people suffering from cluster headaches they experience attacks lasting from one month and 12 weeks and are followed by months and even decades of rest. However, around a fifth of sufferers, like Bader and others, suffer from chronic cluster headaches with no pain-free time.
Bader claimed that he suffered “attacks” in pain throughout the day, often up to eight times a day, causing him to lose hair. This pain became so intense that Bader could not work.
Everyone can suffer from anyone can suffer from cluster headaches However, they are more common in males more often than females. There’s no cure currently available for this elusive and life-threatening condition that affects less than 1 per 1,000. Treatment options include oxygen therapy in the moment of the attack and drugs that reduce blood vessels’ blood flow, or decrease inflammation as well as are used in order to stop headaches by stabilizing the levels of specific brain chemicals.
Scientists who study LSD have found reports that it decreases the severity and frequency of cluster headaches and it can prevent symptoms from occurring, but this hasn’t been proven yet.
Bader tried all sorts of antiepileptic drugs to ketamine to treat his headaches
Bader first had “strange headaches” when he was a young child, however, they weren’t as intense or frequent.
Bader stated to Insider that his first cluster headaches began at the age of 14 or 15 years old and began to occur daily thereafter. His diagnosis was for chronic cluster headaches 10 years later, and that was when he first received treatment.
Since since then, Bader has tried more than 12 different treatments, ranging including antiepileptic medication to the infusion of ketamine.
The pain was unbearable.
“In Switzerland we have an institution known as Exit which allows you to decide to commit suicide. This is an option that is realistic to me. In what way is life worthwhile?” Bader said to reporter Michael Pollan in the documentary that was in response to his memoir “How To Make Your Mind Change.”
As per Brain Research UK, the discomfort that results from headaches that cluster headaches is so severe that suicidal tendencies are frequently observed by patients and they are referred to as “suicide headaches.”
Bader has had five days of pain-free living after taking LSD
Bader was prescribed LSD under the supervision of the clinic three times over three weeks as part of a clinical trial to see if the drug could be used to help treat cluster headaches.
Bader claimed during the film that following his LSD trialbegan, he’d gone at most five days with no cluster headache.
He said to Insider the magazine that his LSD experience has given him “a new sense of joy” and is now taking steps to determine whether he’s able to return to work.
“It’s not that I’m miraculously healed but I’m capable of participating in the world once more,” he said.
When describing his visit to Insider, Bader said he was “carefree and relaxed” and “could be like a child for a short time without worrying or worries.”
He added: “My self-pity dissolved into the air and everything became just beautiful for a brief moment. I could feel the tiny things in my life once more and feel them as beautiful like those lush, green leaves of the tree, or how they moved with the wind.”
The trial Bader took part in is still ongoing, but it’s still too for now to determine whether it was LSD which caused his symptoms to get better. Certain people suffering from cluster headaches may experience reliefs lasting many months or even years. The medication will also have to be proven to be safe and effective during further studies before regulators grant doctors the go-ahead to prescribe it.
However, Bader claims to be “definitely certain” there was LSD that boosted his attacks on clusters.
“This chance gives me a lot of optimism to the next chapter,” the actor said.
We understand how important it is to choose a chiropractor that is right for you. It is our belief that educating our patients is a very important part of the success we see in our offices.
