In talking with a fellow sufferer, the idea was brought up that this person's hypoglycemia might be triggering their hits.  It is a new concept that I had not heard of, before.

I wonder, are there any diabetics here that are also clusterheads?  If so, what type are you?  Type 1 or type 2?  (Or as we used to call it: juvenile or adult onset diabetes)  If low blood sugar can be a trigger, you might think that a diabetic, who would have a higher blood sugar level, might have a built in immunity to clusters.

On the same wave length, are there any clusterheads out there that suffer from hypoglycemia?

I know, a lot of you hate these impromptu surveys, but TOUGH!!!  LOL!

Curious Chuck

I'm not diabetic but when my blood sugar drops or goes up (not sure which) I shake, get extremely weak and have to eat something immediately or else there is hell to pay.

...and when I go through that... no it does not trigger a hit.

Tony

There has been some research on energy metabolism - 'nocturnal lipolysis' is impaired in many clusterheads, which basically means that trigylcerides don't get broken down to glycerol fast enough while sleeping to meet energy demand.  This might feed into night hits, although in the abstract below, it seems they think it is a symptom of nervous dysfunction, rather than a cause.

Like Artonio, I get the jitters sometimes when my blood sugar drops too low. Sometimes causes panic attacks for me.


Quote:

Neurology. 2003 Nov 11;61(9):1250-4.    Diminished nocturnal lipolysis in cluster headache: a sign of central sympathetic dysregulation?    BACKGROUND: It is unclear whether the autonomic symptoms during cluster headache (CH) attacks are of central or peripheral origin. A metabolic change such as altered lipolysis would reflect a central autonomic dysfunction. OBJECTIVE: To study nocturnal lipolysis in CH patients and healthy control subjects. METHODS: Microdialysis technique was used to measure glycerol levels, the end-product of lipolysis, in subcutaneous adipose tissue. Ten CH patients participated, of whom six were studied in remission as well as during symptomatic periods but between headache attacks. Fifteen healthy control subjects were studied. Mean glycerol, glucose, and lactate concentrations were calculated for three 2-hour intervals between 2400 and 0600 hours. RESULTS: Compared with healthy control subjects, symptomatic CH patients had lower glycerol levels during all three intervals (69, 61, and 73% of control levels; p < 0.05). CH patients in remission showed lower glycerol levels from 0200 to 0600 hours (68 and 63% of control levels; p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the CH groups. Compared with healthy control subjects, patients in remission also showed a significantly different nocturnal temporal pattern, demonstrating declining glycerol levels during the first part of the night. CONCLUSIONS: Altered lipolysis was found in patients with CH, both in symptomatic periods and in remission. The altered lipolysis may be due to a reduced nocturnal sympathetic activity and consequently an indication of central sympathetic dysregulation and hypothalamic dysfunction.

Monty,

I am hypoglycemic and I have night CH attacks.

So in my case that would explain why fish oil which is delivered by triglycerides did me no good, had no effect for me.

If I do have a problem breaking down triglycerides, that would explain why the krill delivered in Phospholipids seemed to help, seeing how it is identical to our cells and my body would not have to break it down. I

Am I understanding that right Monty?

Thanks Cassie

I was hypoglycemic for years, but it morphed into type two diabetes about 10 yrs ago.  Was episodic prior to becoming hypoglycemic, and went chronic about 4 yrs after becoming diabetic.  I get hit whether the sugar is low or high, although when getting hit really badly I have trouble keeping the sugar regulated.  I believe however that it is the CH disturbing the diabetes rather than the other way around.

Jerry

cassie wrote on Apr 7^th, 2009 at 4:14pm:

Monty, I am hypoglycemic and I have night CH attacks. So in my case that would explain why fish oil which is delivered by triglycerides did me no good, had no effect for me. If I do have a problem breaking down triglycerides, that would explain why the krill delivered in Phospholipids seemed to help, seeing how it is identical to our cells and my body would not have to break it down. I Am I understanding that right Monty? Thanks Cassie

Maybe - I am not sure.  Fish oil and krill oil both contain the same omega-3 fats (EPA, DHA, etc).  I am not aware of any reason that they can be considered different on the main ingredients.  

Krill oil is often red, from a compound called astaxanthin. Not sure what effect this has, although I came across some work suggesting it can reduce nitric oxide, which is associated with cluster pain.

Also, you said the krill oil was in association with phospholipids.  This would make it more absorbable, which could be important for some people.   Also, the phospholipids themselves might be having an effect - cluster heads have a deficiency in choline (from phosphatidylcholine, a main phospholipid).

I work at a lab and had some labs drawn during a hit. The results showed high triglycerides and high cholesterol, which I thought was a result of diet choices. I have not changed my diet and have not taken any medicine to control this, and had labs drawn again out of cycle (1 month ago/1 month following previous labs). The results showed a significant contrast. Triglycerides were down 60 back in normal range, and cholesterol down 50 back in normal range.

Chris Morrow wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 11:32am:

I work at a lab and had some labs drawn during a hit. The results showed high triglycerides and high cholesterol, which I thought was a result of diet choices. I have not changed my diet and have not taken any medicine to control this, and had labs drawn again out of cycle (1 month ago/1 month following previous labs). The results showed a significant contrast. Triglycerides were down 60 back in normal range, and cholesterol down 50 back in normal range.

Thanks for the info, that was really interesting.

Cassie

I am hypoglycemic and when my blood sugar drops, it will set off a migraine, but not a CH attack.

Jerry, how did you know you when you went from being hypoglycemic to having type II diabetes?

I kept getting the shakes and was treating it as if it was hypoglycemia.  The problem was that I was driving a limo instead of a truck, and was doing no physical labor.  I drank a lot of coffee, very sweet, and Coke to stay awake and put on over 50 lbs.  When I went in for my DOT physical I flunked the pee test.  If I hadn't had to take the test I probably would have found out when I went into a coma.  

Anyone who is hypoglycemic needs to pay close attention to it and not try to treat it themselves.  I was in denial and it could have cost me my life, or at least my eyesight and feet.

Jerry

I was diagnosed with it years ago. Was having a reaction whenever I ate something with sugar... a soda, a cookie. Saw an endocrinologist, and a nutritionist. I now know what I can and can't have, to control it. So far so good. I see my doc regularly, and he keeps track.

Chris Morrow wrote on Apr 8^th, 2009 at 11:32am:

I work at a lab and had some labs drawn during a hit. The results showed high triglycerides and high cholesterol, which I thought was a result of diet choices. I have not changed my diet and have not taken any medicine to control this, and had labs drawn again out of cycle (1 month ago/1 month following previous labs). The results showed a significant contrast. Triglycerides were down 60 back in normal range, and cholesterol down 50 back in normal range.

I'm really happy to read this!  Seems I've started another cycle, after several (many?) years of no real set cycles.  Blood tests done yesterday had some disturbing results - high cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar. Maybe it's because of the hits - because those numbers aren't normal for me.

As for your question, Chuckiepookiepoo, I get hit whether I've eaten or not - whether sugar is high, normal, or low.

As to Chuckies question..........letting myself get really really hungry....while on cycle....is the closest thing to a beer test to bring on a hit for me. Diabetes runs in my family but hasn't touched me yet.

Joe