Hi all!

I'm sure that you  all have discussed this treatment, at length, in the past.  Being still pretty new around here, I wondered if I could bring it up again.  I did read the info on the left about drinking water and last night I woke about an hour after going to sleep with a HA.  I quickly got up and drank as much water as I could hold then  dank some more.  I also filled a baggie up with ice and put it on my head and tried hyperventilating.  I wanted to avoid Imitrex for fear of rebound HAs.  

I couldn't believe it!  The hit lasted close to an hour but it was relatively mild!   No higher than a 6.  I decided to start today drinking a glass of water every half hour.  I read that it might really work.  But, does anyone know WHY it would work?  I am just curious.  Also, have many of you had luck with this method?

I realize that my hit may have just been mild do to the fact that my cycle may just be getting started.  I know that they can sometimes build.  I figure that I may as well try everything that I can.  Wish me luck.  I'll be in the bathroom! ;D

Jeannie

Jeannie,

lots of luck! :)
I'm drinking lots of water also, so see you at the bathroom! ;D

I'm not following the water treatment per se, but I do know that when I directed fellow Finns to this site and other ch sites, one Finnish clusterhead found it and it worked for her. If my memory doesn't fail me, she found her way to remission thanks to it. :)

Sanna

Jeannie wrote on Jun 24^th, 2008 at 9:29am:

But, does anyone know WHY it would work?  I am just curious.

Cases of water intoxication are in the news from time to time.  Maybe the mechanism for the water treatment is similar to what occurs with water intoxication (without going to such an extreme, of course)  Wikipedia explains that:

"Blood contains electrolytes (particularly sodium compounds, such as sodium chloride) in concentrations that must be held within very narrow limits. Water enters the body orally or intravenously and leaves the body primarily in urine, sweat, and water vapor. If water enters the body more quickly than it can be removed, body fluids are diluted and a shift in electrolyte balance occurs. In other words, the body has too much water and not enough electrolytes.

"Most water intoxication is caused by hyponatremia, insufficient sodium in the blood plasma, which in turn causes an osmotic shift of water from extracellular fluid (outside of cells) to intracellular fluid (within cells). The cells swell as a result of changes in osmotic pressure "

Maybe swelling the brain cells just a bit has a beneficial effect on a headache?
Just a thought, I have no idea if it has any validity.
Cynthia

cynthia_in_nh wrote on Jun 24^th, 2008 at 3:41pm:

Maybe swelling the brain cells just a bit has a beneficial effect on a headache? Just a thought, I have no idea if it has any validity. Cynthia

Never thought of it this way, but the cranial artery starts to swell (dialate), and the surrounding grey matter is already swollen and pushing back, thus limiting the dialation potential of the artery.

Hmmmm.....Seems to make sense.

wrote on Jun 24^th, 2008 at 4:53pm:

[quote author=7E50554F4F5A49500D3C0 link=1214314142/0#2 date=1214336472]Maybe swelling the brain cells just a bit has a beneficial effect on a headache? Just a thought, I have no idea if it has any validity. Cynthia

Don't know--but wouldn't water intoxication that causes enough cerebral edema to squeeze cerebral blood vessels cause noticeable edema elsewhere in the body?  Swollen hands and feet for example?

Has anyone trying the "water X 3" treatment ever noticed this?

I don't see how excessive water-drinking would selectively affect cerebral tissues without having effects elsewhere.

Just an aside, but I've been searching for neurological effects caused by water intoxication as a possible alternative explanation for why the "water treatment" apparently works for some folks.  Either I'm not using the proper search strings, or there isn't much out there about it, or I'm barking up a tree with no cat in it.

Best,

George

what an interesting thread. i've often wondered if the use of your muscles in your face had something to do with the effectiveness of the water treatment. the water treatment was one of my first remedies. every cycle is a little different, how ever water seems to be more consistent. when i'm in high cycle i usually have 3 gallons in rotation in the fridge and my wife keeps the ice cube trays full. be careful not flush out all the good stuff though ;)

-johnny- wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2008 at 6:37am:

be careful not flush out all the good stuff though ;)

But DO flush before exiting the bathroom.

Please. ;)

Well, here in the Southwest we're in a drought, so if it's yellow, let it mellow....

On the other hand, if you're doing the water treatment, your deposit may be so voluminous that the bowl will siphon all by itself. No flushing needed.

God I hate to post this, I REALLY do!!!! there is no crappier feeling in the world than thinking you might have a handle on this bastard then having some party-pooper bust your bubble. But,, I have tried the water  treatment three times in the past, I literally drank myself sick,(throwing up) a few times, and to be honest, My hits were harder and more frequent. but hey, My wife has ALWAYS said i was a weirdo freak, maybe its just me, hell, maybe i just didnt do it right, anyway, good luck to you and i hope and pray it works for others!!!  Tuck

tuck wrote on Jul 3^rd, 2008 at 8:19pm:

God I hate to post this, I REALLY do!!!! there is no crappier feeling in the world than thinking you might have a handle on this bastard then having some party-pooper bust your bubble. But,, I have tried the water  treatment three times in the past, I literally drank myself sick,(throwing up) a few times, and to be honest, My hits were harder and more frequent. but hey, My wife has ALWAYS said i was a weirdo freak, maybe its just me, hell, maybe i just didnt do it right, anyway, good luck to you and i hope and pray it works for others!!!  Tuck

Don't feel like you're all by yourself with that.  It doesn't work for me, either.  I've tried it five or six times.  

Soggy, but unbowed.

:P

Best,

George

Guys, care to share bit more about your experiences with the water treatment? I decided to give it a go, and I'm curious about how it worked out/ didn't.

Sanna

what can i say sandie, i tryed three times in the past, long past , like ten years ago, all three times i gave up on the fourth day. why???? well,, during those four days my hits went from three a day to five a day , and they were MUCH harder!!! who knows, maybe if i would have stuck it out a few days longer it might have worked. but it just seemed to me like it was making matters worse.  I sure as hell wouldnt let me keep you from trying it though, it works for others so give it a try, hell we try everything else!!!!!  Good luck and keep us all posted!!!  Tuck

Hi Sanna,

Well--not much I can say, other than it seemed to make no difference at all, according to my HA log.  Did not seem to alter the frequency or intensity of hits during high cycle.  

Most of my attempts were 4-5 days at a time, but I did try it for two weeks once.  

I'm happy to hear that others have had more success with it, though.

Best wishes,

George

Tuck & George, thank you. :)

What comes to my water treatment, here's the results:

I started after lunch few days ago. At first, it went nicely; I drink lots of water, so drinking more was easy. First days were easier pain-wise; I didn't get hit, just shadows arrived.

Then came the day 4, when I had to run some errans and couldn't drink water every 30 minutes or so. I returned to the treatment as soon as I got back home. I got hit several times in the afternoon and evening and lots of persistent shadows.

The next day I got migraine and shadows, which pretty much stayed with me the whole day until they turned into hits.

So, in sum, in my case, I need to stay on the treatment and follow it to the letter to get benefit. It did help when I stayed on it, there were those nice "just shadows" days thanks to it. I  will try it again, maybe already after few days.

Sanna

Hey Guys,

For me,   I started the water  drinking and back on the Verapamil at the same time.  Went to just shadows in just a few days but am not sure if it was due to the Verap or the water?

Good luck, Sanna!   Keep us posted!

Jeannie