Hello,

I have been happily without cluster headache attacks for 2 years now.

I believe that this is because of acetaldehyde blocker called ACETIUM (contains L-cysteine amino acid which react in stomach with acetaldehyde).

I read lots of articles and web-discussions about trickers for cluster headache.  To my surprise quite a many of those were somehow related to acetaldehyde (alcohol, yogurt ext).

At the same time the product called acetium was invented and appeared to market (I think it is originally targeted preventing stomach cancer).

So I started using this...and my spring and autumn cluster attacks never appeared again...

I have also noted that things before triggering my cluster don't have any effect (alcohol, stress, little sleep ext.).

Any experience?? Comments??

best regards, Isto

Love these first posts.  Stick around and read read read.  Gettin educated is a first priority.

          Potter

 

The acid in vinegar?  ::)

Hi

I think you are spot on. The cause of CH is properly do to an imbalance in our microbiome. Acetium is perhaps a solution, but a combination of a good probiotic and prebiotic are effective too.

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??????????

How to make yourself look credible
1. Claim that vinegar acid cures or helps cluster headaches.
2. Claim that cluster is caused by an inbalence in microbes.
3. Link to two studies that do not have anything to do with cluster headaches.
4.??????
5. Profit

It seems that we have an increased level of acetaldehyde, maybe because of a defect ADH4 gene, candida infection or/and a high level of the bacteria helicobacter pylori.

When the acetldehyde level reaches a certain point do to eg. candida, a high dose of histamine will be released and a CH attack can occur.

Cluster headache is associated with the alcohol dehydrogenase 4 (ADH4) gene
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Production of carcinogenic acetaldehyde by Candida albicans from patients with potentially malignant oral mucosal disorders
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Lipoic Acid Proven to Clear Acetaldehyde in Humans
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Isto wrote,

I have been happily without cluster headache attacks for 2 years now.

I believe that this is because of acetaldehyde blocker called ACETIUM (contains L-cysteine amino acid which react in stomach with acetaldehyde).

I read lots of articles and web-discussions about trickers for cluster headache.  To my surprise quite a many of those were somehow related to acetaldehyde (alcohol, yogurt ext).

At the same time the product called acetium was invented and appeared to market (I think it is originally targeted preventing stomach cancer).

So I started using this...and my spring and autumn cluster attacks never appeared again...

I have also noted that things before triggering my cluster don't have any effect (alcohol, stress, little sleep ext.).

Any experience?? Comments??

It's all in your head "HYPOTHALAMUS" not in your stomach
that cause  [smiley=headbanger.gif].

Hoppy.

Hi Hoppy,

Haven't you heard about The Gut/Brain Connection?  ;)

Intestinal bacteria influence brain activity in healthy humans
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Hi nhs,
Your links have nothing to do with   [smiley=headbanger.gif]


Hoppy.

Hoppy wrote on Oct 14^th, 2013 at 7:58pm:

Hi nhs, Your links have nothing to do with   [smiley=headbanger.gif] Hoppy.

   What Hoppy said.

         Potter

What potter said.

Hi

Since it is difficult to explain and especially to understand it makes no sense of continuing to discuss the topic. I do not want to start another long discussion because I still remember what happned back in 2009 when I recommended, you all to take vitamin D and magnesium.  :-/

I no longer discount anything nhs has to say. I ridiculed him when he recommended vitamin D, and now I realize I was wrong, having become one of the more vocal vitamin D3 converts.

Let's cut the new guy a little bit of slack. He found something he thinks stopped his CH. We ridiculed those drug seekers who suggested LSD. Mushrooms or seeds could help CH, we ridiculed those space geeks who suggested Oxygen could help CH, we chases Niels off the board when he suggested Vitamin D-3 could help sufferers, does anyone else see a pattern forming here????

This person suggested something that was given to him as a potential treatment to assist with CH. He wasn't hawking Acai Juice that he happens to be a dealer for, he's not trying to make any money off of us, just suggesting a treatment that he thinks helped his CH. I suspect after the "warm greeting" he has received he won't be back. What a shame if he's a CH sufferer, and the one community where he's supposed to find support, decided to dog pile him and chase him away.  :-/

Joe

I for one thought our posts were quite constructive, to
enable debate.

Hoppy.

Like whatever works for your headaches, that's great, but color me skeptical.

Isto wrote on Oct 14^th, 2013 at 12:34pm:

Hello, I have been happily without cluster headache attacks for 2 years now. I believe that this is because of acetaldehyde blocker called ACETIUM (contains L-cysteine amino acid which react in stomach with acetaldehyde). I read lots of articles and web-discussions about trickers for cluster headache.  To my surprise quite a many of those were somehow related to acetaldehyde (alcohol, yogurt ext). At the same time the product called acetium was invented and appeared to market (I think it is originally targeted preventing stomach cancer). So I started using this...and my spring and autumn cluster attacks never appeared again... I have also noted that things before triggering my cluster don't have any effect (alcohol, stress, little sleep ext.). Any experience?? Comments?? best regards, Isto

   Well sir I see you poppin in and out daily.  Have you read any of the self help links on the board?

           Potter

                  

This was brought up long ago.  If you look way back you'll see posts about putting blu cheese in your arm pits and taking a vinegar bath!

Hello,

Thanks for your comments (most of them quite funny ;-).
 
I am somewhat surprised, because none/or very few have had any interest why I ended up to testing acetium/acetaldehyde blocker (normally >50% of people should be in this category).

And yes, I have tested during last 10-15 years close to everything (except mushrooms and LSC). 

Those who might be interested more please read below. Others please don’t, because the text might irritate you (there is no links to the references and text is not that scientific)

Brg. Isto

Substance that are sometimes mentioned as triggers for cluster headache;
Alcohol
-      One of the best known “starter” of Horton headache. A product of alcohol metabolism is acetaldehyde is created when the alcohol in the liver is broken down by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase.  Microbes in mouth produce more acetaldehyde from strong liquour than mild drinks.  Better to avoid drinks that have high acetaldehyde content (because of production methods) like sherry, strong fruid liquid, calvados ext.
Nitrates, nitric oxide producing substances
-      This is not clear to me (is there connection to acetaldehyde?), though I have found an article “Mechanism for the inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase by nitric oxide” (which could mean that there is after all a link between acetaldehyde and nitrates).
Food that may contain acetaldehyde
-      Products may come to contain acetaldehyde during the production process (e.g. fermentation) or acetaldehyde can be added to a product to improve its taste and smell. Food products containing acetaldehyde: yogurt, fruit juice, pureed fruit (even baby food), preserved vegetables, soy sauce, vinegar products.
Aged and Cultured Dairy Products
-      Cultured dairy products include buttermilk, sour cream and aged cheeses such as  blue cheese, Brie, Cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, mozzarella, Roquefort, Stilton,  Parmesan, provolone and Romano. If you suffer from frequent headaches, avoid or  limit these foods. If you enjoy dairy products, choose those that are less  likely to cause symptoms. Such foods include homogenized 2 percent or skim  milk, American cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and cream cheese. A  modest serving of yogurt, approximately one-half cup, is also acceptable
Smoking
-      Smoking is one of the most common and strongest cluster headache triggers. Tobacco smoke contains acetaldehyde
Ripe fruit
-      Contains some amounts of acetaldehyde
Sugar
-      Candida (yeast infections) is often related to cluster headache and sugar is typically related to candica. Candica produce as side product acetaldehyde
Strong-smelling substances, such as solvents, perfumes, petrol, etc
-      Some this type of volatiles may contain acetaldehyde. It has been reported that persons that are very sensitive to acetaldehyde will feel sick and are very sensitive for smells of solvents ext. (like person in hangover is sensitive for strong smells)

Substance that are often used for self-treatment;
Magnesium
-      Magnesium helps break down acetaldehyde in body (magnesium may be used to help enzyme (aldehyde dehydrogenases) function).  Magnesium supplements have been shown to be of some benefit in about 40% of patients who have low serum levels of magnesium.
Curcumin
-      Polyphenol which has evidence of reducing acetaldehyde concentration of the blood.  Curcumin has been mentioned as one possible herbal treatment for cluster headache.
Oxygen
-      This is a mystery to me (=did not find relevant articles about this)
-      There is articles about atomic oxygen reacting with acetaldehyde where the reaction results are acetic acid, CO, CO2 and formaldehyde (but there should not be atomic oxygen in the body)
Water
-      Drinking excess of water is mentioned helping (during attack)
-      Not clear if this is related to acetaldehyde (personally I think it might be similar case as preventing hangover with drinking water)

Other issues of interest;
Oral hygiene
-      By lowing the microbial levels in the mouth also reduce alcohol based acetaldehyde formation.  Better to get periodaltal disease treated.
Disulfiram (= Antabus)
-      Not mentioned as a trigger, but of interest me anyway. Inhibits acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, the enzyme responsible for the metabolism of acetaldehyde.  It would be great if someone of us (= Horton effected people) would dear to make an experiment (might be extremely painful, but might give one indication of the reason for cluster headache!!!).

WOW! Most of that is way over my head as I don't lean towards the scientific aspects of CH. Many here are more educated in regards to the receptors involved in CH and will hopefully chime in. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

As to why oxygen works....yeah I don't have a clue as to the WHY it works, but it aborts an attack for me in about 6 minutes. Check out this link on how to use it, discovering how to correctly use oxygen all but eliminated the need for any other abortives for me.

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Wishing some pain free time your way.

Joe

Isto wrote on Oct 17^th, 2013 at 9:47am:

Hello, Thanks for your comments (most of them quite funny ;-).   I am somewhat surprised, because none/or very few have had any interest why I ended up to testing acetium/acetaldehyde blocker (normally >50% of people should be in this category). And yes, I have tested during last 10-15 years close to everything (except mushrooms and LSC).  Those who might be interested more please read below. Others please don’t, because the text might irritate you (there is no links to the references and text is not that scientific) Brg. Isto Substance that are sometimes mentioned as triggers for cluster headache; Alcohol -      One of the best known “starter” of Horton headache. A product of alcohol metabolism is acetaldehyde is created when the alcohol in the liver is broken down by an enzyme called alcohol dehydrogenase.  Microbes in mouth produce more acetaldehyde from strong liquour than mild drinks.  Better to avoid drinks that have high acetaldehyde content (because of production methods) like sherry, strong fruid liquid, calvados ext. Nitrates, nitric oxide producing substances -      This is not clear to me (is there connection to acetaldehyde?), though I have found an article “Mechanism for the inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase by nitric oxide” (which could mean that there is after all a link between acetaldehyde and nitrates). Food that may contain acetaldehyde -      Products may come to contain acetaldehyde during the production process (e.g. fermentation) or acetaldehyde can be added to a product to improve its taste and smell. Food products containing acetaldehyde: yogurt, fruit juice, pureed fruit (even baby food), preserved vegetables, soy sauce, vinegar products. Aged and Cultured Dairy Products -      Cultured dairy products include buttermilk, sour cream and aged cheeses such as  blue cheese, Brie, Cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, mozzarella, Roquefort, Stilton,  Parmesan, provolone and Romano. If you suffer from frequent headaches, avoid or  limit these foods. If you enjoy dairy products, choose those that are less  likely to cause symptoms. Such foods include homogenized 2 percent or skim  milk, American cheese, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese and cream cheese. A  modest serving of yogurt, approximately one-half cup, is also acceptable Smoking -      Smoking is one of the most common and strongest cluster headache triggers. Tobacco smoke contains acetaldehyde Ripe fruit -      Contains some amounts of acetaldehyde Sugar -      Candida (yeast infections) is often related to cluster headache and sugar is typically related to candica. Candica produce as side product acetaldehyde Strong-smelling substances, such as solvents, perfumes, petrol, etc -      Some this type of volatiles may contain acetaldehyde. It has been reported that persons that are very sensitive to acetaldehyde will feel sick and are very sensitive for smells of solvents ext. (like person in hangover is sensitive for strong smells) Substance that are often used for self-treatment; Magnesium -      Magnesium helps break down acetaldehyde in body (magnesium may be used to help enzyme (aldehyde dehydrogenases) function).  Magnesium supplements have been shown to be of some benefit in about 40% of patients who have low serum levels of magnesium. Curcumin -      Polyphenol which has evidence of reducing acetaldehyde concentration of the blood.  Curcumin has been mentioned as one possible herbal treatment for cluster headache. Oxygen -      This is a mystery to me (=did not find relevant articles about this) -      There is articles about atomic oxygen reacting with acetaldehyde where the reaction results are acetic acid, CO, CO2 and formaldehyde (but there should not be atomic oxygen in the body) Water -      Drinking excess of water is mentioned helping (during attack) -      Not clear if this is related to acetaldehyde (personally I think it might be similar case as preventing hangover with drinking water) Other issues of interest; Oral hygiene -      By lowing the microbial levels in the mouth also reduce alcohol based acetaldehyde formation.  Better to get periodaltal disease treated. Disulfiram (= Antabus) -      Not mentioned as a trigger, but of interest me anyway. Inhibits acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, the enzyme responsible for the metabolism of acetaldehyde.  It would be great if someone of us (= Horton effected people) would dear to make an experiment (might be extremely painful, but might give one indication of the reason for cluster headache!!!).

  You must have googled every thing in your post.  Except Oxygen for CH.  I googled for you,
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  The evidence is overwhelming.

             Potter

Oxygen is a vasoconstrictor when inhaled in high doses. While cluster isn't exactly a vascular issue, it helps calm down the run away dilation going on inside your brain to reduce stress to the trigeminal nerve system, which aborts attacks.
That's how it's been explained to me by neurologists, at least. Someone feel free to correct me.

Having only been on this board for a few months, maybe i am still too new to say how things are.  But here goes.  I think that when veterans and old timers on this site see a new poster posting advice that is out of the norm, it makes them weary.  In the few months I've been on this site I do notice a lot of new folks hopping on and posting advice with their first post, without having read anything on the board or even introduced themselves yet.  I think its natural to be skeptical of new ideas when it comes from a stranger.  Like I said, I'm still a newbie myself.  When I came here I knew nothing of Clusters, but I have learned much since then. I guess my point is for new folks - get to know us and let us get to know you before you post your CH cure that can seem like its from left field...

Teej...if you're a CH'er......you've been around long enough to comment on posts and say how things are! ;)

Joe

Hi Isto,
Very interesting post. Yes alcohol and food containing
nitrates are known triggers for CH's,but not for all of us.
I know of at least two here that can enjoy sausage bacon
and eggs for breakfast and a beer a lunchtime with no
worry's. As for smoking the jury is still out on that one.
There is no concrete evidence that smoking is a trigger
for CH's you need to look further afield than google for
this one.

Hoppy.

I can't have nitrates and tobacco smoke is a huge trigger for me.

   



A pilot study but, nevertheless, rare data on the link between CH and smoking.
========================
J Headache Pain. 2013 Jun 6;14(1):48. [Epub ahead of print]
Impact of continuing or quitting smoking on episodic cluster headache: a pilot survey.
Ferrari A, Zappaterra M, Righi F, Ciccarese M, Tiraferri I, Pini LA, Guerzoni S, Cainazzo MM.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The majority of patients suffering from cluster headache (CH) are smokers and it has been suggested that smoking may trigger the development of CH. The aim of this pilot survey was to describe: 1. the differences between current, former, and never smokers CH patients; 2. if smoking changed during an active cluster period; 3. if CH changed after quitting.

METHODS: All outpatients with episodic CH according to the criteria of ICHD-II who were consecutively seen for the first time from October 2010 to April 2012 at a headache centre were interviewed by phone using a specifically prepared questionnaire. Statistical differences between continuous variables were analysed by the Student's t-test or the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), followed by Newman-Keuls post-hoc testing. Comparisons between percentages were made using the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. All data were expressed as the mean +/- standard deviation (SD).

RESULTS: Among a total of 200 patients surveyed (172 males, 28 females; mean age +/- SD: 48.41 +/- 12 years) there were 60%, 21%, and 19% of current, former, and never smokers, respectively. Current smokers reported longer active periods (12.38 +/- 10 weeks) and a higher maximum number of attacks per day (3.38 +/- 1) compared to never smoker CH patients (5.68 +/- 4 weeks, P <0.05 and 2.47 +/- 1, P <0.05, respectively). During the active period most of the patients stated to decrease (45.7%) or not to change (45.7%) the number of cigarettes smoked. Among those who decreased smoking, most (83.8%) reported that they had less desire to smoke. After quitting, the majority of former smokers stated that their headache had not changed.

CONCLUSIONS: PATIENTS WITH EPISODIC CH WHO ARE ALSO SMOKERS APPEAR TO HAVE A MORE SEVERE FORM OF THE DISORDER. HOWEVER, IT IS UNLIKELY THAT BETWEEN CH AND SMOKING THERE IS A CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP, AS CH PATIENTS RARELY IMPROVE QUITTING SMOKING.

PMID:23742010[PubMed]






   

And of course, none of what is suggested explains the months - years of ch dormancy, when nothing triggers an attack.

Hi Bob,
And that's the mystery of CH's.

Hoppy.

What Joe said.

In the 1890's the impressionists were degenerate art. Now they sell for millions.

Who has contributed more to our relief? The neurologist community or the snake oil "sales people" flogging Vit D or mushrooms. They too were degenerates in this forum in the early days....

I am convinced that there is a relationship between stomach and CH and I for one will use this post to find out more about it.

Isto, are you finnish by any chance ?

I have been sure for quite some time that acetaldehyde plays a major role in my cluster headaches. I made myself pain free (Thanks Clusterbusters) and have successfully stayed this way for over 3 years now. I was chronic prior and 25 years total. Every time I get problems I think the direct cause is acetaldehyde (usually smoking normal cigarettes, no problems with e-cigarettes). I have had this theory for 3 years since I became pain free but now I am virtually sure in my case it is the acetaldehyde.

EDIT: Yeppers, we have f**ked up hypos. It all begins in the hypothalamus. But I can start things going bad by myself with just about anything involving acetaldehyde.

TeeJ2379 wrote on Oct 17^th, 2013 at 1:16pm:

Having only been on this board for a few months, maybe i am still too new to say how things are.  But here goes.  I think that when veterans and old timers on this site see a new poster posting advice that is out of the norm, it makes them weary.  In the few months I've been on this site I do notice a lot of new folks hopping on and posting advice with their first post, without having read anything on the board or even introduced themselves yet.  I think its natural to be skeptical of new ideas when it comes from a stranger.  Like I said, I'm still a newbie myself.  When I came here I knew nothing of Clusters, but I have learned much since then. I guess my point is for new folks - get to know us and let us get to know you before you post your CH cure that can seem like its from left field...

You said it well. For me, one of the most important things is to keep my mind open, pretty much to everything. Too many of the great treatments we have nowadays were ridiculed when they first came out. I have studied my condition, cluster headaches, for 25 years. Internet changed the whole ballgame but before that I spent a lot of time in libraries and university libraries reading everything that I though related to mechanisms of CH. I have been laughed at by the doctors when telling them about oxygen, melatonin and various medications which are "official" nowadays. Some doctors even offered the same stuff to me, having forgot I had told them about these years ago. I have not been at CH lectures for years because the news is always old to me. I have given up trying to educate the healthcare. But all this time I have been studying more. CH world is kind of cool place to be nowadays when we have hallucinogens, vitamin D and herbal protocol. I truly believe here is a connection, maybe even the missing link. I am eagerly waiting for the future and studying some more in the meantime.

EDIT: I don't hang around here much. More active on the CB board. Plus Facebook takes the majority of my time.

CH is a complex disorder. For many years it was known to "have something to do with histamine", until it was realized histamine secretion is only a single side effect. For many years it was known to have something to do with smoking and alcohol consumption, and speculated to be an outcome of substance abuse, until it was realized even babies may suffer from it. 

Today it is known to have "something to do" with many substances and processes - Nitric Oxide and CGRP, hormones and neurotransmitters, circadian rhythm and hypothalamus, autonomic nervous system as well as the trigeminal nerve and now also the vagus nerve etc. etc. Also, you have therapies that are very effective for some and useless for others. You have things that are strong triggers for some and have no effect on others.

So it is safe to say CH may have something to do with anything. If you're a CHer with back issues than your triggers, symptoms and treatments may differ from a CHer with stomach issues or a hormonal imbalance or a certain nutrient deficiency, and so on. For every one of us, CH may have something to do with different things.

By the way - I had my first CH attack when I was 11. Nobody in my family smoked cigarettes than, nor did I.

I think getting too much acetaldehyde certainly does not require smoking or alcohol. Diet and living conditions are enough, and any stomach issues maximize this. The more I read about it now the better I brush my teeth  :D

Good luck with that.

There seems to be plans to make academic stydy about this (The Efficacy of L-cysteine in Prevention of Cluster Headache).  It seems that this will be paid by Biohit Oy (small private company).  Similar stydy seems to be starting also related to migrane...

You can find information about this via google "The Efficacy of L-cysteine in Prevention of Cluster Headache."

While waiting for some years results from this "A double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled multi-centre trial", please enjoy 41 pages of interesting text (+ lots of references).

Well this has caught my attention!   

I will reasearch more about this and perhaps give it a try!  What is too lose? 

E

The clinical trial of Acetium for CH

(Even though I have well over 1,000 posts at CB.com, I don't have enough here to include a link/URL.  So I'll post the main part of the announcement/press release, and I guess you can google key phrases if you want to know more. This is just info -- I have no axe to grind here.)
>>Biohit Oyj Stock Exchange Release April 29, 2014 at 4:30 pm local time (EEST)

Biohit Oyj initiates two clinical trials for prevention of migraine-type headache attacks, testing the efficacy of Acetium® capsule in novel clinical indications. The purpose of the trial is to assess the effect of Acetium® capsule in prevention of headache attacks   among patients suffering from migraine or cluster/Horton headache. Both studies will be conducted as multi-center clinical trials in collaboration with Terveystalo Oy and Aava Medical Center altogether in six cities in Finland.

The study hypothesis is based on the fact that acetaldehyde liberates histamine from the mast cells which are ubiquitous in all human tissues.  Histamine in turn is a well-known trigger of the acute attacks of vascular-type headaches (migraine, cluster).  By preventing the local effects of acetaldehyde with Acetium® capsules, it might be possible to prevent the headache attacks in these two categories of patients.

Both studies will be conducted as placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials, where half of the subjects will receive the active compound and the other half will receive a placebo.

    Acetium® capsule in prevention of headache attacks among patients with cluster headache:
    altogether, 100 subjects with clinically diagnosed cluster headache will be enrolled in the study. <<

Hello,

I just read some posts in "clusterbuster pages" related to acetium...some major misunderstanings might be there...

I try to explain (about how I understand/not sure if I am absolutely right);

1) Trying to stop "already started period with acetium" - this might be a bad move !
- acetium worked with me by "preventing" periods
- - start taking acetium between periods (I took 4 per day in the beginning, later 1 before going to sleep has been enough, if I drink alcohol or smoke I take some more)
- NOTE; acetium might even have negative effects, IF you already are in period (not sure - pure guess, but detoxing effect might increase blood circulation - thus making headache worse)

2) food additive L-cysteine tested from local store - NOT likely to work
- even though main component in acetium is L-cysteine, additives in acetium prevents acetaldehyde to be dissolved/getting free again in your stomach...

Comments??

brg. Isto

I find this topic super interesting...I am very interested in the results of the study CHfather is referring to.

My main question is we know Isto claims to have good results with Acetium....who else has tried this and think they have missed a cycle.

I will say if you are episodic and don't have headaches for 2 years or so that does not mean you are cured. I went 2 1/2 years without CH only to just have it come back currently.

I actually bought a box  of acetium off the internet .. hey ,, it was cheep .. just L-cistine and I figured why not.  But in treating my sons acid reflux his cluster period either ended or treating the stomach issues resolved it and he never tried the acetium.  box is sitting un opened on his desk. will have to wait and see what happens .. but im open to trying it at this point as its natural to the body.

To acetaldehyde or not to acetaldehyde? That is the question. Just kidding....I just wanted to see if I could spell it correctly.
There could very well be a connection between the stomach and clusters. I don't know but will wait and see what the studies tell us. I'm certainly not going to dismiss it just because it was posted by a newbie.
The subject of clusters and the worms and germs in the gut was on the site years ago but not much came of it.

I have used this for quite a while now. It works for me. But I use it just to fix issues I get from my own actions.

I was chronic, found Clusterbusters, been managing my clusters with Busting, Anti-Inflammatory regimen and Herbal Protocol ever since. I add Acetium only when I smoke regular cigarettes (mainly smoke e-cigs). If I don't I get shadows and potential hits.

When chronic I got circa 2000 hits annually (kips 6-10). With busting, I get circa 20 hits annually (kips 0.1-2).

gee, very interesting !
  also shows we should all temper our replies at times.
while not related, directly, batch also delves into our ph levels !  and has often written of the benefits of doing so in order to absorb parts of the regime...

I personally believe, that everyone is different and that ch effects people differently. There are some here that have gone completely pain free with the regime, others that it improves there symptoms dramatically, but doesn't get them to a complete state of being pain free. The body is such a complex organ, I mean, some of the threads that Batch puts up, showing how each part of the regime effects other parts , regarding absorption and at a gene level, to me, is quite amazing. As with this topic, again, at a completely different level, but may also be connected.
That's why we have great minds like Batch and Co to make sense of it all  LOL, but  somewhere amongst it all im sure is that " magic bullet"  well, heres hoping anyways !
I say, keep the discussions and potential idea's flowing, that's whats needed !
regards
colin   

This is getting more and more interesting:

The Efficacy of L-cysteine in Prevention of Cluster Headache
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Our CH patient community in Finland is working with Biohit with this. Yes, it's very interesting to have actual research done about the subject. I have to add, the compiled information sheet about cluster headaches done by Biohit for this research was one of the best "information packages" about cluster headaches I have read. To me, this at least to some extent adds the role of our intestines in cluster headaches.

L-Cysteine seems to be working for me. I'm PF for over a week now, in the middle of a cycle.

I started taking L-Cysteine in 500mg capsules 10 days ago. Since then I had only one attack, and it was on the first day after I started taking it. There were some shadows and I still feel strange (like I do in cycles) but no hits. Prior to that I had an average of 2 hits a day.

This could all be a coincidence, of course, but I think it isn't. The theory of why reduction of acetaldehyde should help in prevention may or may not be true, but I think acetaldehyde IS a trigger, at least for some. 

Some important notes:

A. I'm 4 weeks into cycle. My past 4 cycles were 7-9 weeks long. Before that it was 5-7 weeks long.

B. I'm on the D3 Regimen for some time now which didn't make me PF or prevent the 2 cycles I had in 9 month (used to be once a year), although my attacks did become less aggressive. 6 days ago I stopped taking the D3 and since then I think I had just a little bit more shadows, so I guess it's the combination of the regimen and the L-cysteine that does the magic.

C. Prior to starting the L-Cysteine I already managed to prevent my nocturnal hits (almost) completely with a the relatively harmless combination of 5mg Melatonine, 25mg Amitriptyline and 25mg oral Imitrex. I just switched to 2mg sustained release Melatonin and will try reducing the Amitriptyline and Imitrex in a few days and see what happens.

D. Prior to the L-Cysteine, I usually had 2 daily hits for which I used a total of 2-4mg of Imitrex shots (with the "imitrex tip") and/or O2 + some energy drinks. I don't really need those now.

E. The L-Cysteine only adverse effect on me was an upset stomach. It was solved once I started taking it with food.

Will keep updating.

An update:

I'm still in cycle but almost PF. In the last 8 days I had 3 minor attacks, which is 1/5 of what I had before I started the L-Cysteine. My response to known triggers is notably reduced. I still have shadows from time to time but not as much.

As far as I can tell, it's the combination of the D3 regimen and the L-cysteine (and B complex) that is responsible for the change. I urge you to try that.

Shooky,

Good update.   L-cysteine is an α-amino acid and also a semi-essential amino acid, which means that it can be biosynthesized in humans.  It has many functions particularly in genetic expression... and as such it supports vitamin D3 in this role... 

The B complex vitamins are also important for a number of reasons...  Both sound promising for you...  and may be helpful for other CH'ers.

If you have any fallout and the beast tries to make a return, you might try adding 5,000 to 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3 to see if you can eliminate any cling-on CH symptoms...

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Hey Batch. Thanks for the support. Will keep updating.

Hey Guys,  After an up and down week, first part really sucked, Thursday and Friday not too bad, and getting hammered constantly from 9 pm Fri to 11 am Sat I finally felt able to leave the house. Purchased a bottle of l-cysteine and popped 1 500 mg capsule. I know the devil is toying with me but I just got my first full night's sleep and it's 9:40 am Sun morn and still no shadows or ch's. I've had buy days in the past and been fooled before so I'll not be suckered this time but I'm savoring this brief moment. I'll let you know what happens in the following days and weeks.

         Sean

       I've got a question for Isto. You mentioned yeast infections as being a potential source of acetaldehyde, what about fungal infections such as athlete's foot?   I have a good reason for asking. I finally started noticing that some of my cycles were coinciding with a flare up in my athlete's foot problem.                                                                                                                                                                           
      My 2013 cycle also fell in that category and at first I ignored it. I went on the d3 regimen, it took 3 or 4 weeks but my cycle ended way early only to relapse a month later. This time I went after that fungal infection with a vengeance and completely cleared it up. That relapse only lasted 3 weeks. Coincidence? Probably.

                                  Sean

Possibly, however could the flare up in CHs help result in the athletes foot? A CH cycle will impact your body from the stress of a cycle, so other impacts like this could be the result.

    The chicken or the egg.   Hadn't thought of that, good point. Not this time though, I think I got rid of that little problem for good or at least until I get reinfected.  I will say this, between the D3 regimen and adding one capsule of l-cysteine a day to the mix, life is getting better and better every day. 
   
    This cycle came on harder and faster than any in recent memory and wasn't responding well to O2 like past cycles and I was starting to get a little scared and now, as of Sunday things have turned around. I hope they continue this way cause I'm starting to feel human again.                        

     Hats off to Batch.

              Sean

If O2 isn't working as well as normal, it might be worth re-reading the oxygen page - START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE - it might have some hints that might help.

What flow rate are you using? Quite a few people have posted around using higher flow rates changes O2 from not working or working poorly to working well. From my own experience 15lpm on average aborts a CH for min in about 12 min, but at 25lpm it is under 5 minutes.

Another trick is to combine using an energy drink with the O2. Give it a go and see how that goes.

Have you any other abortives, like imitrex injections?

Having multiple methods to abort CHs helps avoid the scare factor.

Thanks Mike,    Batch gave me a tip on helping the O2 work better -- hyperventilate for a bit, then completely empty your lungs and suck in a lung full of oxy and hold for 30 sec. It works but it's kind of hard for me to do for reasons you might understand but a non clusterhead  wouldn't.  I've now learned the true value of the dance or rolling on couch or banging ones head against something or whatever distraction technique we use. For some odd reason whenever I hold my breath I tend to hold myself completely still and those stabs or pulses seem tenfold worse then. But his tip works, I just have to practice more.

     I use both medical and welding oxy, one with a 0-25 lpm (which is barely enough) and a welding  regulator that can deliver way more than 25 lpm so I can easily hyperventilate on pure oxy if I wanted to but boy can you drain a tank fast doing so.

     I should point out I'm not taking any meds except oral sumatriptan at bedtime to get through the night ( it's worked well for many cycles) and then killed that morning wake up call with oxy. Day time hits( which are less frequent) I used to run off but now I use oxy.  It's just that this cycle (and my 2013 cycle) seemed to take it to the next level and my old standbys are having to work overtime to keep up.
   
     I'm not a big fan of energy drinks but I sure love espresso so I use that instead. Hopefully this is all moot point now cause the d3 and l-cysteine seem to be having their desired results.
    
         Sean

good stuff Sean !
Hope this cycle just peters out to a wimper for you !
I too found that if I took a 50mg imigran at night before I went to bed as a preventative, I slept like a baby and missed out on my 2 am wake up call, didn't do it all the time, but after 4-5 days of getting hit at 2 am, it was a gods end to sleep thru. It kinda threw the beast off as well, cause it normally had a ripple effect and kept me pain free for a few nights. I know we are not suppose to use it as a preventative ( before I get berated for doing so)  But the beast don't play by any fair rules, so I didn't....
Hope thing continue getting better Sean
cheers
colin

On my last cycle, after years of trial and error, I started using a combination of imitrex, melatonin and amitriptyline, all in very small doses (25mg, 3mg, 25mg). I'm in the middle of a cycle now and had only one nocturnal attack so far (in the past it was 1-2 hits a night). I'm also doing the D3 regimen and take l-cysteine daily, which decreased my daily hits by 70-80%.

All in all, my CH become manageable, with only 2-4 weekly hits compared to 20-30 two-three years ago.   

I run out from acetium pills (I did not order them in time) and I was happily about 2 weeks without them. I even drink some beer and staid up long without any problems (hevier hangover though..as it seems that acetium helps a lot agains hangover).
I thougt that that's it, no need for those pills...
Unfortunately I ended up eating sauerkraut (which is known for large amount of acetaldehyde)..BAG..shadows next night, I was very, very scared, that now IT begins.
Next day I started taking 4 pills a day..and now about 3 weeks after I am back to one pill in evening.
scery story, but happy end  :)

I am a new guy here but I would like to throw my 2 cents in.

Tobacco has long been said to be a trigger for CH, it also has not shown to be be very effective in reducing CH when quitting tobacco. I suspect that is because nicotine is a vasoconstictor. Maybe the two cancel each other out a little bit..

I am tying this in because acetaldehyde is known to release histamines. This is very interesting considering Batches' recent revelation concerning diphenhydramine (a histamine blocker) stamping out his CH.

Walmart supposedly has some of this. I am off to get some.

The totality of evidence is too much to ignore.

In Canada the trade name is aldesolve (package looks very much the same as acetium)

I have been taking 500mg of L-cysteine for 2 weeks now. I have not noticed any reduction in attacks. Also it has not helped with mild reflux, that famotidine normally takes care of. But I'm wondering if there is in fact a difference between Acetium and L-cysteine from the  local Wally world ? Why would Biohit basically rebadge a readily available vitamin at 10x the cost. Perhaps the bio-availability is different?  IDK

Sorry, there is no alternative L-cystein for acetium. Acetium is patented product thus no competition at market.

Yes, it would be nice to use other cheap l-cystiein product.

Acetium has controlled dissolving of l-cystein, and same effect can not be gained with oher products.

Most of the comments in internet (like yours) about l-cystein are not related to acetium.

It might be that we know more about L-cystein vs. Cluster headache in the end of this year.


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