The past four or five nights, I've been awakened at 1:30 a.m. with a hit that's hard enough to awaken me, but not intense enough to make me grind my palm into my eye, grit my teeth, and begin swearing. Usually, I sigh, get out of bed, grab my smokes, and then head down to the basement/garage to pace a little. After about 20 minutes, my right nostril clears, and with it, the headache.

It's the only hit I'm having... I don't know what to make of that. I don't otherwise feel like I'm in cycle. This is very strange.

[smiley=worried.gif] [smiley=wtf.gif]

I'd suggest you start on whatever your preventive plan is.  Don't wait.  If it's nothing more than a mini cycle, at least you have your bases covered.

The one thing I think alot of us do, after being PF for any period of time, is to get complacent or downright in denyal.

Please take care of yourself Frank, and get on top of the bastage before he gets on top of you.

Good advice. I guess I'll start on the kudzu. *sigh* I hate this...

Christmas greetings from The Beast...  >:( :P

I actually started doing a taurine prevent back in late August, because I was expecting my cycle to appear (especially after having Ava).  But there hasn't been anything up until last week.  I did experience a rouge hit, so I doubled my dose.  I swear some try to break through (Phantom ones possibly, along with a change of mood), but they stay away.

Tis the season!

Hope you remain pain-free, Mel.

Likewise Frank.

Mel, do you take taurine as a prevent on a daily basis?  My son uses it with his vitamin etc regimen, & he did suggest I supplement with that.  I just was not aware that anyone did this>

Also, I heard on radio that Ava was the top girls name for the 2nd year in a row! I love that name!

debs

debOUCH wrote on Dec 26^th, 2008 at 3:21pm:

Mel, do you take taurine as a prevent on a daily basis?  My son uses it with his vitamin etc regimen, & he did suggest I supplement with that.  I just was not aware that anyone did this>

Hi Deb, yes, I took 1 capsule (850mg) once a day before bedtime.  Now I currently take twice that.


Quote:

Also, I heard on radio that Ava was the top girls name for the 2nd year in a row! I love that name! debs

I didn't know it was a popular name until months after we choose it. :)

I always get a few this time of year.  They started a couple of weeks ago.  It's not a real cycle, just a result of less sleep and Christmas stress.  

Christmas day was clear but I woke up with a pacer at 4am yesterday.

I hope it's nothing Frank...

-Dennis-

Thanks, Dennis. It's interesting that I'm not the only one who's having this. I've never experienced this before.

No hit last night, but I had a shadow a couple of hours ago. A week before Thanksgiving, I was having very mild 5-minute twinges, and then... NOTHING! Honestly, I just don't know what to make of this. I'm hoping that this IS my cycle, and that I'm going to just keep on sailing right through...

Still keeping my fingers crossed... I hope you remain pain-free, Dennis. :)

Aw, gee, Frank!  You have had a headache?  Take an aspirin and go lay down.  I had one of those, once.

I guess it just goes to prove, Frank, what many of us have know since meeting you, You are STRANGE!!   LOL!

Luvz ya
Chuck

Thanks, Chuck. I was thinking a shot of heroin might be better.

Frank.... I hear that Heroin is not good for CH.  You may want to go another route!  LOL!!!


Seriously... I hope this is just a fluke for you.  I myself  had a couple of strange hits a couple of weeks ago.  Since then I have had some shadows and some eye twitching too.    

I'll be thinking of you and hoping your days and nights are PF!

Jeannie

Thanks, Jeannie. :)

FWIW, I've no intention of shooting smack. "Go take an aspirin" really pisses me off, though. (Sorry, Chuck. I know you have a rough time, but there's no call for that.)

Frank_W wrote on Dec 28^th, 2008 at 11:24pm:

"Go take an aspirin" really pisses me off, though. (Sorry, Chuck. I know you have a rough time, but there's no call for that.)

Hey, Frank, I did NOT mean to piss you off!  I was trying to bring out some of the stupid things that we are told.  It was meant as a play on those dumb remarks.

As you and I know, "Take and aspirin"  or  "Go lay down"  or  "I had one of those, once"  are total false and dumb comments that are made to all of us at one time or another.

It was (I guess) a poor attempt at humor.  It is the same sense of sick humor that I took your comment about taking smack.  I KNOW you would never do that!

Sorry if I pissed you (or anyone else on the site) off.  It was NOT my intention.

I meant it when I said "Luvz ya" to you and most all other suferers here!

Chuck

Sorry, Chuck. I was too touchy. I've been gone too long and forgot (and missed) your wry wit. ;)

I hope you are as pain-free as possible, brother.  [smiley=hug.gif]

Shoot - I took two aspirins and it didn't help a damn bit!!! ;) Thanks a LOT Chuckles!!!! :-* :-* :-*

Frank, I think it's just Christmas or something. I got hit Chirstmas morning and have been getting hit since then. This morning I feel almost human again. Been real "fond" of my O2 tank since Christmas. :)  And I think I've been bragging too much lately about being almost PF.

Maybe Mr. Demon just likes Christmas -- at least that's a theory. Got slammed last Christmas morning with a 10 (just in time for Santa). This year I caught it before it got that far, but it messed up Christmas Day for me. Got hit off and on all day.

So today, I'm feeling better and am gonna take down the tree and tell Mr. Demon that Christmas is over -- GO AWAY!!!! Maybe he'll get the message and we can get back to some PF times again.

Wish ya'll the same.

Hugs BD

Hey Frank, you have written my story. I didn't have any attacks from about 1999 to 2007. I did have some periods of minor shadows but no real attacks. Last winter I started getting a nightly wake up call about an hour after falling asleep each night. When spring came the wake-ups went away. Now it is happening this year. Since the weather turned cold I've had at least one wake-up-and-pace-call each night. This morning 2. The first was just enough to wake me and get me up. 20 minutes later I was back to bed. 3 hours later I was up again. This time it was a strong enough attack to have me out on the patio deep breathing the cold air. I sure don't know why they have come back but I wish they leave me the hell alone. I'm getting too old for this crap.

Dammit, when it's your time, it's your time. Maybe try some of them RC seeds. I hope the bastard stay's away.
the bb

I got a present from the Beast: This afternoon, I got nailed with a half-hour hit that had me really aching and massaging my eye and neck. Maybe a Kip-3 or 4? It seemed to come in waves, though. I would think it was going away, and then it would ramp back up. It did this about six times before it finally faded. *sigh* I know I should be hitting the kudzu, but I've been stubbornly resisting...

The week prior to Thanksgiving, I had a bunch of little twinges, and then nothing until about a week ago. Still, I'm only getting hit once a day, if that. If the cycle started in late November, then by mid-January, it should be tapering off.

Still keeping my fingers crossed.

Stubborn male!!!  Grrrrrrrr >:(

Frank, you sure are a glutton for punishment aren't you?

Kudzu!!!!

Yeah, I am. That's why I hang around you buncha' dain bramages!  :D ;D

Anyway... If I get hit again like that, I guarantee, I will begin taking the kudzu. For now, I'm just going to wait and see. Fair enough?

:-* [smiley=lick.gif] [smiley=laugh.gif]

I can't force feed them to you Frank...but you know as well as I do that the stronger hold the beast gets...

I hope it just leaves you alone.  But it's your head.  You do what you feel you need to do.

Thanks... I'm doing okay, for now. ((HUG)) Thank you for caring, my friend. :) Like I said, one more hit like I had today, and I'm on it. I promise.

Heee hee a little kip 6 or 7 you'll be stuffin kudzu in ya so fast.
I hope ya dont have to Frank. Your battle hardened, I know you will kick some demon a$$ is any event.
the bb

Thanks, BB. :)

No hits last night, and none all day, today. Earlier yesterday, we went out and had Japanese food. I'm wondering if there's some connection. Is MSG a known trigger for CH? It's so weird that I got hit as hard as I did, but since then, no problem. Mysterious....  :-/

Don't know about clusters. But MSG is on the list for migraines so it is possible.

Yep. I knew it was on the migraine list of triggers. I've also had hits after eating Sonic burgers. Thank God ice cream isn't on the list of triggers!!
:o ;D

My cycle (if it is)this time  is actually very similar on all accounts to what you are experiencing Frank. Very strange. I'm into week 4 of this and am finding the anticipation that it should be getting worse soon to be a distraction but starting to hope that maybe the last 5 days of no hits could have drawn a close to it, with nary a headbanger.

I feel deserving of one, my cycles last year sucked.

Scott

MSG definately triggers many CH'ers, including me.

MSG is just like drinking a beer for me during a cycle.   Triggers REALLY bad hits.

Jeannie

Thanks for the feedback on MSG. I went out for Chinese food last week, and it didn't trigger anything, but the Japanese food sure seemed to. Maybe it was the soy sauce... Something to definitely steer clear of.

Boomer, I'm glad your cycle is a mild one the way mine seems to be. I was awakened this morning by that familiar pressure sensation, but five minutes after getting out of bed, it just faded. So weird...

I didn't think alcohol was a trigger for me. I found out last night, a couple hours after I stopped drinking, that alcohol is definitely a trigger. I only had a few beers and rum & Coke, but I ended up with a Kip-3-4, this morning. It lasted about 30-40 minutes, and it was heavy enough that I ended up dumping a bunch of ice into a dish-towel and pressing it to my eye and the side of my head. Yuck... thpppth...

I'm actually liking this cycle, if such a thing is possible. So far, I've identified two triggers, which is something I've never been able to do before. It seems that this time, if I do something that's a trigger, I get hit. Otherwise, the Beast is leaving me alone. In future cycles, I now know that I need to avoid MSG and booze. I guess most clusterheads already knew that, but this time, I've been able to prove it to myself.

:)

Frank_W wrote on Jan 1^st, 2009 at 5:08pm:

So far, I've identified two triggers, which is something I've never been able to do before.

Congrats on the new findings!

Oliver

Thanks, Oliver. :)

Ya know, that was the one thing I was worried about last night, getting hit if I had a small glass of champagne.  I had been shadowing and decided to take some alka seltzer before I ate, then afterwards I was able to drink 3/4 of a small glass of champagne and not wake with any hits or have any shadows this morning.

Good for you, Mel! Glad you didn't have a New Year's waltz with the Beast. (He's an awful dancer; He keeps stepping on mah eyeball!)  >:(  ;)

Frank_W wrote on Jan 1^st, 2009 at 5:08pm:

I didn't think alcohol was a trigger for me. I found out last night, a couple hours after I stopped drinking, that alcohol is definitely a trigger.

If alcohol was a trigger would it take hours to kick a CH in?

Or was it just a hit that was coming no matter what?

Just a thought.

Hrmmm.... You may be right, Jonny. This is the strangest cycle I've ever had. Very sporadic. Eh, not that I'm complaining. This is about fifty-times better than getting slammed 5-7 times a day, every single day/night for 8 weeks.

Food companies hide MSG everywhere. Here is a link that will help you avoid it. Good Luck! :)

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

Thank you. I appreciate that. That's just crazy...  :( >:(

Frank_W wrote on Jan 1^st, 2009 at 5:08pm:

I didn't think alcohol was a trigger for me. I found out last night, a couple hours after I stopped drinking, that alcohol is definitely a trigger. I only had a few beers and rum & Coke, but I ended up with a Kip-3-4, this morning. :)

even out of cycle if i drink enough beer i get an a$$ kicking migraine. wine or whiskey don't have this effect.

i hope you can catch this early man.

try some rc seeds ;)

I'm chronic, but since rc seeds, I only get the occasional hit (2-4 a week) instead of the multiple a day, every day.  I know what you mean about liking this cycle.  This, I can live with.......I just never know when or where or how bad it will be.

I avoid msg, I think it is a trigger for me.  I don't know if alcohol is a trigger for me or not.  Sometimes I get hit, but most of the time I do not.  It's always a risk I take.  Good thing I'm not much of a drinker.

pf wishes to you!
Beth

Thanks, Beth and Johnny. Two hits, yesterday. One, around 2030, and the other, around 0330. Treated them with ice wrapped in a towel. Pretty solid fours on the Kip scale, and each one lasted approximately a half hour. Still livable...

If this cycle started the week before Thanksgiving, then the increasing duration and severity of the hits makes sense. This is about the time that an ordinary cycle would really be peaking.

If things follow true to form, then by mid-to-late January, I should be free and clear.

The kudzu takes ten days to fully load, and at this late date, especially if I'm not getting slammed with sevens and eights several times a day, then I see no need to use it, this time.

Keeping my fingers crossed...

ch is a fun old game. seems like every cycle is a little bit different. old strategies that worked in the past may not work in future cycles.
a battle of whits if you will ;D

keep us posted frank. if you need anything let me know.

Thanks, Johnny! Much appreciated! :)

Sorry you're having to deal with finding triggers but glad you are able to identify them. I was never able to find one. Alcohol was never one for me.

Keep after the bashtard Frank.

Charlie

Thanks, Charlie. The more I think about it, the more I think Jonny may be right. Alcohol has never bothered me, so maybe the Beast was already getting ready to jab me with a sharp stick, anyway.

The hit that I had after having Japanese food, though... Wow! THAT ONE got my attention!

Quote:

I'm actually liking this cycle, if such a thing is possible.

;)Headbanging freak ;D ;D
Hope the bastard don't get dug in Frank
the bb

Frank_W wrote on Jan 2^nd, 2009 at 8:00pm:

Alcohol has never bothered me...

I've always been the same, Frank, except for the start of a new cycle a couple of years ago and beer was unquestionably a trigger for me (first one I've ever had).

It was the longest 11 days of my life.

God... A fate worse than death!! I thought CH was bad! A whole eleven days without beer??

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