Hello, all,

I'm curious if anyone has experience light-headedness or dizziness when starting the D3 regimen? My husband began the regimen two weeks ago with the exception that he did not start his B-50 until Day 9. He was also on the accelerated schedule. He has had several days where he has experienced light-headedness/dizziness. Just curious if anyone else has had this experience.

Thus far he hasn't had a huge reduction in his pain or frequency of his CCH. We have had ice and snow, however, from day 6-15 and believe that the changes in the barometric pressure may be lengthening this round of attacks. Barometric pressure is a major trigger for his CH.

Thank you in advance for your response!
Crystal

Crystal,

Thank you for the update and question.  I've checked the online survey results of CH'ers using this regimen to prevent their CH.  There are no comments about light-headedness or dizziness associated with this regimen.  I've also done a wildcard search of all the posts here at CH.com... No dizzy comments attributed to vitamin D3.

What other medications is your husband taking?  Is he drinking plenty of fluids?  Do these symptoms dissipate with physical activity like walking around the house or climbing stairs? 

As your husband approaches the end of the 4-week vitamin D3 loading schedule, be sure to schedule a lab test of his 25(OH)D with his PCP.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

Hi Crystal

It could also be something else non-CH related. If in doubt get it checked up with your GP.

Crystal,
I agree with Mike and Batch, it's always best to have it checked out by your husband's GP.
Personally, I have experienced that dizziness and lightheadedness while in a CH.  I'm also taking the vitamin D3 regimen but, what I believe is happening to me is not related to the D3 regimen.

I'm a massage therapist and through the years whenever I get into cycle I notice I also get very, very tight muscles on my left neck and shoulders (same side as my headache pain). For some reason CH does this to me. My Doc joked with me and said that the ultra tight muscles were "along for the ride."

Very tight neck and shoulder muscles, especially ones that attach to the skull, will pull on those cranial bones ever so slightly disturbing the organs of balance inside the Temporal Bone and that (at least in theory) is what causes my dizziness. It's a rare occurrence, but it does happen, even to people who don't get cluster headaches.
 
When I get a deep tissue massage on those specific muscles that effect diminishes or even goes away, although it's always temporary. Another CH comes along the next day and those muscles get tight again and, well, there you go....

If your husband's GP gives him a clean bill of health, see if you can get him to give deep tissue massage a try. Be sure to find a therapist who has a number of years experience in deep tissue massage and/or neuromuscular therapy.
It won't do any harm and might even help (though temporarily as I said).

Steer clear of relaxation massage or spa style treatments, those won't help at all and might even aggravate the situation (I know it does for me).

Massage will NOT stop a cluster headache once it's started, it will not stop a cluster cycle, it will not alleviate the pain from a cluster headache and it will not prevent cluster headaches. But it may give some much needed, though temporary, relief from the muscular tightness and pain that can accompany CH.

I will say this: This is the easiest and mildest cycle I've ever had and I have been diligently taking the D3 regimen since coming into cycle (with some modifications and extra coaching from Batch). The headaches I have had during this cycle have been much less painful, shorter in duration and more manageable than compared to previous cycles. I believe I owe that to the D3.

I hope this helps.
Gary

Crystal,
P.S.
Should your husband decide to try a therapeutic massage....
Be sure the massage therapist is someone who will work well within your husband's pain tolerances. A therapist who has as their mantra "no pain, no gain" is not the therapist he wants.
Some discomfort may be necessary to relax a spastic muscle but it should never be a painful experience.
Make sure your husband speaks up during the massage and tells the therapist to use more or less pressure as needed. This will make for a better outcome and the therapist will (should) appreciate that.

Also, this kind of massage may make him feel good immediately after, but the next day he may experience some muscular soreness.
This is common, there's no clear cut idea why this happens, but it's similar to post exercise soreness and should pass in a day or two.
That will become less an issue as he gets massage on a more regular basis.
Gary

A respected neurologist from Ireland recently told me that more than half the patients referred to him with suspected Hemicrania Continua had, actually, their problem originating in the neck, a Cervicogenic or a Dysfunctional  or a Hypo-Mobile Cervical Spine.

A common playmate of this condition is Cervicogenic Dizziness. A simple X ray (not MRI) should indicate whether that diagnosis is worth further investigation (but unfortunately not rule it out)

If this is / might be the underlying problem then the person performing the deep massage should be aware of the possible connection as further harm could be done.

lancashire Lad,

We have suspected that my husband may also have cervicogenic headaches. According to the research we've done, cervicogenic headaches are one of the easiest to diagnose with a simple nerve block. When my husband asked his old neurologist (we fired him) he scoffed at my husband and would not even consider doing the nerve block even for just the reason of ruling it out as my husband requested! Physical therapy is one of the treatments recommended for cervicogenic ha but, again, after my husband asked him about it he responded that he would "look into it". Never mentioned it again!! I'm not a person that used curse words, but he was just a bastard!