Hi, everyone. My name is Lawrence and I've suffered from CH since my first year out of college. My episodes have shifted from time of year to time of day, but always the same old pain. I have learned that I can get rid of them by vigorously exercising, usually 100-150 squats (no weights) or 10-15 minutes on an elliptical machine. I have gone as long as 2 years without an episode, but they've come back this past December, probably due to some personal stress that I've been going through. By no means do I categorize my pain as life-altering, but that's only because I've found a "cure" that seems to be working well enough. I'm always interested in hearing of other "cures" that may be out there, so if anyone has any advice or knows of any products that work for them, I'd love to hear it. I recently read of something called "Sinus Buster Migraine," a homeopathic nasal spray, and I've been reading about nasal irrigation as a possible deterrent. Anyone have any experience with these?

Hi, Lawrence!  Glad to meet a fellow TarHeel!  I live in Greenville .. About an hour east of you.

Many have found that strenuous exercise DOES work as an abortive.  I am glad that it works for you.

You said that due to stress, your cycle came back.  That is true for many of us, including me.  Yet others found that as long as they were stressed, the beast stayed away.  That is just another example of how one thing works for one, but is a trigger for the other.  No wonder this is such a hard condition to treat!

Stay away from the sinus buster.  It is a ripoff.  A total waste of money.

Have you tried oxygen as an abortive?  Most of us use that as the primary abort method.

How about preventative medications?  Have you had any positive results from them?

We are planning to have another meet-n-greet in the Carolinas, within the next month or so.  You should join us, so that you can meet some of us drain bamaged freaks, in person.  It is something EVERY clusterhead should do!

Chuck

Hi Lawrence and welcome to the freakers ball.

Stay with us as there are many wonderful people with a wealth of knowledge that you can benefit from

Walk in Peace  :)

 
Cluster headache.
From: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE (Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases)
[Easy to read; one of the better overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article if you are serious about keeping a good medical library on the subject.]

Leroux E, Ducros A.

ABSTRACT: Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disease characterized by recurrent short-lasting attacks (15 to 180 minutes) of excruciating unilateral periorbital pain accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic signs (lacrimation, nasal congestion, ptosis, miosis, lid edema, redness of the eye). It affects young adults, predominantly males. Prevalence is estimated at 0.5-1.0/1,000. CH has a circannual and circadian periodicity, attacks being clustered (hence the name) in bouts that can occur during specific months of the year. ALCOHOL IS THE ONLY DIETARY TRIGGER OF CH, STRONG ODORS (MAINLY SOLVENTS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE) AND NAPPING MAY ALSO TRIGGER CH ATTACKS. During bouts, attacks may happen at precise hours, especially during the night. During the attacks, patients tend to be restless. CH may be episodic or chronic, depending on the presence of remission periods. CH IS ASSOCIATED WITH TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION AND NEUROENDOCRINE AND VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCES, HOWEVER, THE PRECISE CAUSATIVE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNKNOWN. Involvement of the hypothalamus (a structure regulating endocrine function and sleep-wake rhythms) has been confirmed, explaining, at least in part, the cyclic aspects of CH. The disease is familial in about 10% of cases. Genetic factors play a role in CH susceptibility, and a causative role has been suggested for the hypocretin receptor gene. Diagnosis is clinical. Differential diagnoses include other primary headache diseases such as migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania and SUNCT syndrome. At present, there is no curative treatment. There are efficient treatments to shorten the painful attacks (acute treatments) and to reduce the number of daily attacks (prophylactic treatments). Acute treatment is based on subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. Verapamil, lithium, methysergide, prednisone, greater occipital nerve blocks and topiramate may be used for prophylaxis. In refractory cases, deep-brain stimulation of the hypothalamus and greater occipital nerve stimulators have been tried in experimental settings.THE DISEASE COURSE OVER A LIFETIME IS UNPREDICTABLE. Some patients have only one period of attacks, while in others the disease evolves from episodic to chronic form.

PMID: 18651939 [PubMed]