Has anybody here tried ZMA to fight cluster headaches?  It is a dietary supplement with high doses of Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6 that affects sleep and also mildly boosts testosterone levels.  Since cluster headaches are often associated with irregular sleep patterns as well as low levels of magnesium and testosterone, ZMA seems like it would have the potential to help.  

I have taken it as a supplement for weight lifting and, come to think of it, I think it may have affected my cluster headaches...

A while ago I started taking it and during the time I was on it I only had 1-2 headaches per week tops (excluding shadows).  After a few weeks, I went on vacation and didn't bring the bottle of ZMA with me.  While on vacation I had a minimum of one serious cluster headache per day and on a few days had three or four.  It just hit me today that the ZMA and headaches could be related.  I'll go back on it and let everyone know what happens...

We been waiting for a feller just like you.  Where might we get this miracle supplement?  

         Potter

You can get it at any place that sells supplements.  I got mine at Vitamin Shoppe but GNC would work too.

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There is an article about it.  That website sells it as well for pretty cheap!

ecp1321 wrote on Jul 5^th, 2008 at 3:07pm:

You can get it at any place that sells supplements.  I got mine at Vitamin Shoppe but GNC would work too. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE There is an article about it.  That website sells it as well for pretty cheap!

 You wouldn;t have any connection to this miracle drug website would ya?

    Potter

Oh, you caught me.  I'm trying to get rich 15 dollars at a time by selling a multivitamin to cluster headache sufferers.

But seriously, I just figured I'd let other people know in case it works.  I'm 17, not old enough to associated with a huge company like that.

Magnesium has been helpful for some people, I'm not sure about zinc or B6. If it helps you, more power to ya!
:)

Good luck and let us know how things go.

How about that!

Nani,
I know that some forms of melatonin supplements are combined with B6, stating that B6 is essential in the body's natural production of melatonin.

Also, pyridoxal phosphate, one form of B6, is involved in the metabolism of histamine.  I have read that cluster headaches are also know as histamine headaches due to the high levels of histamine during a hit.

 

Thanks for that info, ice.

There is a site, that unfortunately has been down for a bit, that probably has additional helpful info. It belongs to a clusterhead, who has compiled tons of research.

The site is here:  {I only have a link to the kudzu page}

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I know that it's being worked on, so it will be up eventually.

I take a Magnesium/Calcium/Zinc supplement and a multi-vitamin containing B6 and I have never noticed a difference. Thats my experience anyway.

~LOst

Makes sense to me that it would work considering the results I am getting with the Taurine magnesium/calcium regime I am on; I haven’t tried B₆ myself but when you read up on the literature it makes sense that anything that promotes the flow of O² through the body it has to help in some way or another.



Below is a short description of B₆ & a link to the complete article.

Vitamin B₆ is a water-soluble vitamin that exists in three major chemical forms: pyridoxine, pyridoxal, and pyridoxamine [1,2]. It performs a wide variety of functions in your body and is essential for your good health. For example, vitamin B₆ is needed for more than 100 enzymes involved in protein metabolism. It is also essential for red blood cell metabolism. The nervous and immune systems need vitamin B₆ to function efficiently, [3-6] and it is also needed for the conversion of tryptophan (an amino acid) to niacin (a vitamin) [1,7].

Hemoglobin within red blood cells carries oxygen to tissues. Your body needs vitamin B₆ to make hemoglobin. Vitamin B₆ also helps increase the amount of oxygen carried by hemoglobin. A vitamin B₆ deficiency can result in a form of anemia [1] that is similar to iron deficiency anemia.

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Cheers
Barry