How many smokers do we have here? And how many quit and think of quitting due to CH?

Just wondering as the first info I read tried to link smoking in with CH though I don't think directly. Plus the first sign of illness and everyone ALWAYS tells me it is time to quit, whatever it is. I could lose a toe to frostbite and I guarantee someone will blame my smoking!

I smoke 2 packs a WEEK and it has has never triggered a CH, in fact the first thing I do is grab a couple smokes and chain smoke them at the start of each attack..I said this before,my doctor says the smoking restricks the blood vessels, just what we want durning an attack. I probable wouldn't smoke at all if it wasn't for CH. :D ;D

Never smoked never will! ;)

One of the doctors who spoke at the last covention made a great point. If you are going to continue smoking, the majority of the treatments we currently use will be unavailable to those with lung and heart issues. He encourages all his CH'ers to stop smoking, not because it'll "cure" their CH, but just to be able to avail themselves of the latest and greatest treatments.

Joe

I quit 30 years ago, 11 years after contracting CH in 1969. CH wasn't my reason for it and I never expected it to have an effect. I quit because males in my family never made it to 60.

It is a lot easier not to smoke today.

Charlie

I haven't had a cigarette now for one year, 10 months, 17 days and 10.5 hours and it hasn't made a blind bit of difference to my CH.

Mind you, I've more money now for beer.

AussieBrian wrote on Oct 7^th, 2010 at 6:54pm:

I haven't had a cigarette now for one year, 10 months, 17 days and 10.5 hours and it hasn't made a blind bit of difference to my CH. Mind you, I've more money now for beer.

Damn Brian, you can't tell us how many minutes?

Good on ya for quitting.  I've been quit now for 5 years 7 months and will never go back.  Didn't spend it on beer, but got a real nice camera!

I am smoke free 5 years & 1 month and still get CH's :(

Made no difference with me...
Brian, cheers, I can afford more beer now too!
[smiley=beer.gif]

Clusters for 20 years, quit smoking 7(?) years ago (with setbacks inbetween, but they didn't last very long), CH still continued.  Last cycle I had, I started up smoking after my first attack and after realizing the smoking was causing my cycle to be extended (it was the longest I hever had of 44 days), I quit again and about 5 days later it ended.

a pack per day.Tried to cut it several times and managed to do it only for a month in legth maximum.
I find it pretty hard even to reduce it.
no change in ch those times i stopped smoking.


Quote:

One of the doctors who spoke at the last covention made a great point. If you are going to continue smoking, the majority of the treatments we currently use will be unavailable to those with lung and heart issues. He encourages all his CH'ers to stop smoking, not because it'll "cure" their CH, but just to be able to avail themselves of the latest and greatest treatments.

any medical info to back this up?
what are these latest treatments?names?
he means isoptin?
has any of the former ch smokers here seen any diference in the treatments after?

I smoke and I don't have CH - go figure . . .

(now back to vacationing)

Cluster headaches cause smoking.

black wrote on Oct 8^th, 2010 at 12:25am:

a pack per day.Tried to cut it several times and managed to do it only for a month in legth maximum. I find it pretty hard even to reduce it. no change in ch those times i stopped smoking. Quote: One of the doctors who spoke at the last covention made a great point. If you are going to continue smoking, the majority of the treatments we currently use will be unavailable to those with lung and heart issues. He encourages all his CH'ers to stop smoking, not because it'll "cure" their CH, but just to be able to avail themselves of the latest and greatest treatments. any medical info to back this up? what are these latest treatments?names? he means isoptin? has any of the former ch smokers here seen any diference in the treatments after?

The doctor at the convention was speaking about triptans. He didn't provide any studies, just said these medications would not be available to those suffering some of the long term effects of smoking.

Joe

Bob P wrote on Oct 8^th, 2010 at 8:56am:

Cluster headaches cause smoking.

Not for me and I have no intention of ever doing.

However around the times I normally get CHs, smelling either cigarette smoke or nicotine gum is enough to trigger a CH for me.

Quit smoking in '80, Ch quit for now in '91. Beats me if I see a connection.

Charlie

...been both...no difference...

I too love beer....send ALL my EXTRA to Brian...he's still waiting 8-)...I do love to stare longingly at the cans...even in cycle.........

I too tried it both ways...No difference at all...One difference i have noticed is,how wonderful it is to light one up as you feel the beast starting to leave your head (especially the eye).....Lenny

I used to smoke.  Haven't in 14 years.  Had ch's while I smoked and now as a non-smoker.  No correlation for me either way.  In cycle, however, put me in a room full of smokers and I get hit immediately...no rhyme or reason to this thing.

Langa

Never smoked, never will and I'm sensitive to the smoke.

Sanna

My Dad has quit smoking (Woohoo) since he used to go through at least 2 packs a day.   His cig smoke used to drive me insane, I couldn't even go in the same room as he was in when he was smoking it bothered me so much.  He quit cold turkey, tough guy.

I used to be a pack a day smoker or more.  I have now cut back my smoking and have been able to have a pack last me as long as 3-4 days.  For now I am stuck at the 3-4 day marker.   Sometimes cig smoke will trigger CH sometimes it doesn't.  Am chronic CH and I've figured out that during the Extra high time of CH attacks cig smoke will bother me, during low or normal CH times it doesn't.   ::)

Bob P wrote on Oct 8^th, 2010 at 8:56am:

Cluster headaches cause smoking.

hahahahaha!!!

Funny thing is that i had quit for over a yr and once I peaked in a cycle I started again.
what better ways to spend the nights than walking the streets with a cup of jo and chain smoking.

I've been trying off an on for yrs now...it's a struggle.

"Walking the streets and chain smoking" :D ;D

Thats me!!!!!

I started smoking in my late teens - CH started in my late teens.  (now 41)  Quit smoking during pregnancy and the first two years of my sons life - no CH during pregnancy but then started up once I stopped breast feeding.  Then back to regular cycles.  Quit again last year for just over 10 months - staked on the weight  :o had my regular cycles.... started smoking again...regular cycles... quit again... regular cycles.. smoking again (lost weight  :P) CH has not changed at all - smoking and in cycle now  :'(    smoke about one small pack of rolling tobacco a week

Joe, my doc said the same thing: quit smoking or some treatments would not be available to me. I've been a half-pack a day smoker since 19 (a while ago) and I did quit for two years but it didn't stick. There are an inordinate number of CHs who smoke, vs the regular population, and some speculation that the same mechanisms involved in a hit also make quitting anything harder. lance

Yeah Lance, some of our more research oriented posters have talked about that in depth. That the mechanism that controls CH has a relationship with addictive personalities.

I'm still hopeful they're going to discover the solution to this is so simple we'll smack our foreheads over not seeing it for so long! ;)

Joe

Guiseppi wrote on Oct 14^th, 2010 at 9:20am:

Yeah Lance, some of our more research oriented posters have talked about that in depth. That the mechanism that controls CH has a relationship with addictive personalities. Joe

Yep, which is a pretty darned good excuse to stay away from narcotics as a CH treatment. 

AussieBrian wrote on Oct 7^th, 2010 at 6:54pm:

I haven't had a cigarette now for one year, 10 months, 17 days and 10.5 hours and it hasn't made a blind bit of difference to my CH. Mind you, I've more money now for beer.

Love your humor Brian!

Quote:

One of the doctors who spoke at the last covention made a great point. If you are going to continue smoking, the majority of the treatments we currently use will be unavailable to those with lung and heart issues. He encourages all his CH'ers to stop smoking, not because it'll "cure" their CH, but just to be able to avail themselves of the latest and greatest treatments.

I took notes at the convention because I never would have remembered this, but the future treatments are:

ABORTIVES

     CGRP, Antagonist
     Inhalable Dihdroergotamine   (Levadex)


PREVENTS

    LLD

Agostino Leyre wrote on Oct 14^th, 2010 at 10:26am:

Guiseppi wrote on Oct 14th, 2010 at 9:20am: Yeah Lance, some of our more research oriented posters have talked about that in depth. That the mechanism that controls CH has a relationship with addictive personalities. Joe Yep, which is a pretty darned good excuse to stay away from narcotics as a CH treatment.

It might also explain what a nurse told me when I was trying to get oxygen:


Quote:

Oxygen is a drug and we try to wean people off it as soon as possible.

I've been addicted to oxygen all my life with a 20% mix with nitrogen, however recently started "enjoying" 100% oxygen at times.

I don't intend to be weaned off this anytime soon.

Some interesting thoughts there guys. I would be interested in looking into the predisposition idea some more. In the meantime I'll just keep saying I'll quit some day. My wife says when I hit 30!

I still smoke.  I did quit for a short time, but when the Dr put me back on steroids, it was either smoke or  kill people who pissed me off (everyone). 

Congrats to all the quitters!!!!!

Since I quit smoking 5 years ago (6 this coming March), my clusters have been a LOT easier to handle.  When I use to smoke in cycle, it was evident that a CH would follow a cig.  Everybody is different, but I blame smoking as one of my major earlier triggers.  Some ask why....well, it doesn't matter if i'm by a by-stander smoke, smoke from a chimney, whatever...If I smell smoke, a CH will follow (only in cycle).  What I don't understand is those that do smoke and say they can smoke during a hit just confuses me.  I can't do anything during a hit, but suck O2.  To end my babble, we all function differently so i'm not making a statement to quit smoking.  It just benefited me for both my headaches and my lungs  :)

Quit smoking in 96, 97, and 98. Each time i did a little better... quit solid 99-05 then made the mistake of "just smoking a cigar" when golfing or fishing. Went back to quitting in 06 and 07, then off for good, almost. I still pinch a bit of skoal here and there. What an addictive thing it is...or I am, not sure which.

-Chris