Clusterbuster Pain Tracker Scale

Clusterbusters has developed a standardized scale for tracking cluster headache activity for people that are considering using psychedelics for treating their headaches. This tracking system should be started before beginning the treatment to give a good accounting of how things were before the treatment and comparing how the treatment is progressing. It can be valuable to show if things are improving or not, and is useful in determining when the next dose should be taken, if at all.

Rather than just using the Kip Scale which rates each individual headache, we have added some additional factors that help describe the attack in more detail and allows for totaling up the day’s cluster activity. This allows a view of how each day is going and will show the progression of the cycle itself, from day to day. If you just added up the total Kip figures for the day, a total of 20 does not tell us if it was (2) K10s or (4) K5s. We feel there is a significant difference in those two types of days. It is especially helpful when trying to figure out if (10) K1 shadows in a day is better than one K10. These changes will be apparent using this tracking system and will help identify improvements due to treatments. You may also find it useful in making any adjustments in your dose sizes and identify the usefulness of any adjunct treatments you may be using.

The Kip Scale

This scale is becoming widely used among cluster sufferers and describes in detail the level of pain that an attack reaches.

The Clusterbuster Duration Factor

This factor is based upon the assumption that the longer an attack goes, the worse it is, even if it remains at the same pain (Kip) level. We also believe that this increase in severity rises in somewhat of an exponential manner. This scale takes into account that not only is 20 minute K5 attack twice as bad as a 10 minute K5 attack, but in our opinion, it’s even more than twice as bad.

An explanation of this is that most people are more wiped out after one 40 minute K10 than they would have been after each of two 20 minute K10s. Even though some people may prefer to get it over with in one sitting, the drain on the system and the mental anguish attached to prolonged attacks is, IOHO, significant and increases with each minute.

The Clusterbuster Intensity Factor

This factor follows the same lines of thinking as the Duration Factor as described above. Here, we apply an exponentially increasing value to how intense the attack is, based upon the Kip Scale. Here, we have determined that one K10 is more than twice as bad as two K5s, of the same duration. The factors we assign to the different ranges of intensities, takes this into account.

The Charts for the different factors follows in this document and may also be found in the Clusterbuster files for printing purposes. There is also a chart that can be completed each day to track your progress. This tracking should begin as soon as you decide to begin preparing for the treatment. You may also find these charts useful during any detox period you may need to go through. Starting early on charting will give you an excellent baseline from which to work to determine your progress.

Once you have collected several days worth of data, you may want to begin a graph to better see how you are progressing and to see if there is improvement or a worsening of attacks.

Clusterbuster Pain Tracker Scale

References : Legend

Standardized Kip Scale

Calculating for your chart

Muliplying the length of attack factor by the intensity factor for each attack, will give you a total pain level for each attack. You can then add up all the attacks during each 24 hour period to get a total for the day. Watching how these totals move up or down each day should give you a good handle on how the cycle is progressing.

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