In an older version of this forum I saw somone (John M) that he tried a strict detox diet which helped.  anyone know of this?

Lots of different possabilities. Not enough information. Detox is good only in some situations, in others it may be harmful.
the bb

Detoxing is basically just staying without any kind of meds (except the ones you really cannot stay without, like heart-medication and such) for several weeks to a month or so. Also during a detox it's common to cut out all caffeine intake, so herbal tea is the way to go. Detoxing is generally thought to be very difficult but worth it, as it results often as a far lesser amount of background headache and sometimes even milder attacks. Often people also fear detoxing so much that they don't try it, and as often find it not to be as difficult as they feared it to be.

If you want, you can also cut out all purine-containing foods, monosodiumglutamate and any foods that you are even mildly allergic to (because of the histamine response).

From wikipedia: "Purines are found in high concentration in meat and meat products, especially internal organs such as liver and kidney. Plant based diet is generally low in purines. Examples of high purine sources include: sweetbreads, anchovies, sardines, liver, beef, kidneys, brains, meat extracts, herring, mackerel, scallops, game meats, and gravy.

A moderate amount of purine is also contained in beef, pork, poultry, fish and seafood, asparagus, cauliflower, spinach, mushrooms, green peas, lentils, dried peas, beans, oatmeal, wheat bran and wheat germ."

- Best regards and PFDAN,
Rosa

I'm John M

I am still a firm believer in the detox diet to break a cluster cycle. It has worked for me in every cycle since April 2001. I reckon after the past 7 years it is not just a coincidence - for me at least.

I have tried quite a few varients on the theme over the years. And I try to do this at least twice a year in an effort to remain CH free. Sometimes I overlook this and end up in cycle.

Basically my simplified version of the diet involves eating ONLY fresh fruit and vegetables and drinking only fresh water for at least a week. Nothing else. I also found that taking a "recognized" (from a health store?) type of detox aid helps me a lot.

The down side is that it is likely to induce a mother of a headache that can last for several days during this detox. I also often have a few days of very frequent bowel movements. The upside for me is that within a week the CH goes away.

March this year was my most recent cycle and my daughter persuaded me to visit a chinese doctor. He prescribed a herbal "tea" for me. It tasted like mud! I drank this muck twice a day for 4 days and guess what - day 5 or 6 was the end of my CH and no HA of any kind since then - apart from the occasional self induced hangover from too much red wine :-X

IM me if you want more details. This board has been pretty cynical about my method in the past. I don't say this will work for all. But it works for me.

John