Can a vaccine trigger a cluster period?

It’s been a while since I’ve been up to this site and I had to re-register to post this.  I did a search and found that I’m not the only one that thinks a vaccine can trigger a cluster period.

I’ve been traveling for a couple of months and to make a long story short I had to get a yellow fever vaccination before I would be permitted to leave one country and travel to the next. 

Five days after getting the shot I got a mild (4.5) cluster headache.  Five days later I got another mild one (4.5) and then three days after that I got my first stinger level (6.5).  Needless to say, a month later, they’ve pumped up and I’m getting my ass kicked right now.

I’m getting shadows all the time and this time around it’s mainly the “alarm clock” version and getting any sleep is tough to do.

Background:

I finally got a correct diagnosis in ’04.  My headache log proved to be invaluable in making the diagnosis.  From ’04-‘09 I tried everything in my neurologist’s play book and nothing worked or worked very well.  To be fair I did get some relief from time to time, but as we all know the beast changes and what works today may not work tomorrow.

After an 11 month cluster period that spanned ’08-’09, I did some research and found the Harvard Medical School research paper titled “Psychedelics in the treatment of Cluster Headache”.  I had pretty much gone chronic and I couldn’t handle much more pain so with nothing to lose and all to gain I tried the cluster buster method. 

In ’09 I found that a light giggly buzz from a little mushroom would give me two weeks pain free.  After 11 months of pain I was like a dog off its leash.  Once I would get another attack, I would repeat the process and get yet another two weeks pain free.  Lather, rinse repeat.

So every two weeks or so Alice and I would go down the rabbit hole and kick the beast’s ass, or at least knock him out for a while.

This went on till I successfully broke the cycle or I went into remission.  I’m not so sure which it was.  I haven’t had an attack since early ’12 and (due to fear of them coming back), I medicate about once a month.  I’ve been working on cutting that back to every three months.  I think of it as a booster shot.

Now that I’m traveling I haven’t been medicating and I can’t exactly prove that there’s a causal relationship between this new cluster period and the vaccine although I highly suspect it.

I won’t use that 4-letter word (cure) here.  What I will say is this… A little mushroom helped me regain my life.  It’s the best preventative medication I’ve found to-date and I’ve tried a bunch of them.

The beast is different for all of us although our common bond is the pain and disruption of our lives we all experience as CH sufferers.  What works for me may not work for you although I can say for sure, oxygen is your best friend.  Ice is nice and caffeine can help.

Any thoughts about the vaccine causing my latest cluster period would be appreciated.

PF days to you,

TunaBoat

I've never heard of that ...that being said...there's still far more we don't know then we do about the beast! If you've been away a while, you've missed the latest and greatest. It's had me pain free for 4 years, and while I won't us that 4 letter word either.... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D....4 years pain free after 30 years of beastie works for me. It's called the D-3 regimen, give it a look see:

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Joe

Quote:

Can a vaccine trigger a cluster period?

The answer to that is unknown. However I'd consider it to be very unlikely. It is most likely just coincidence. And worrying about what kicked off the cycle won't really do anything to help address it.

I'll second the D3 suggestion as it has kept me CH pain free for over 2.5 years now.

I think the D3 regimen is well worth trying because if it works, most likely your body needed it for all sorts of other reasons! The more I research it, the more my mind boggles.

As to a vaccine being a cluster cycle trigger I think it is possible.

Yellow fever vaccine has been documented to rarely cause adverse reactions, including neurological and anaphylactic (allergic):
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It has also been known that allergies can trigger CH:
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So, to me it's not too far a stretch to speculate that a mild vaccine reaction could trigger CH.

Thanks for the responses.

Okay D3 looks promising and since I’m traveling I may give this a try.

The beast has been with me for 28 years and I’ve had 2.5 years pain free with the method I presently use.  For obvious reasons I didn’t travel with my meds.

I can already see the negatives to this method for me personally.  It’s a handful of pills every day and I’ve never done well taking supplements.  Even with quality vitamins they mess with my stomach.  Yeah, better than CH, I’ll concede.

Thing is guys, I have something that works and works well.  And I only have to take my meds once a month and not a daily handful of pills.

To each his own and I know what I’ll do once I’m through with my travels.

PF days to you,

TunaBoat

I'm glad busting works for you, assuming you're already aware of our sister board which deals with "alternative" treatments, but in case you're not, take a look to make sure you're getting the maximum benefit from your Vitamin "M" busting.  ;)

clusterbusters.com

Joe

Thanks for the response Joe.

As you can see I’m pretty much open to any method to kill the beast.  In no ways am I nixing the D3 method.  I truly believe that what works today may not work tomorrow and seeing that there’s another way to kill the beast that people here are excited about gives me hope.

I have a lot of experience and research busting with vitamin “M”. 

I will sign-up for the Cluster Buster Site and start a thread.

PF days to you.

TunaBoat

Tunaboat, I've found that it really helps to take supplements with dinner, NOT in the morning. Also, some supplements have been easier for my stomach to tolerate - look for formulations specifically designed for that. For example, the fish oil that I take now has "no aftertaste" written on it. That seems to work better for me.

Good luck with becoming pain free, however you can accomplish that.