Vent all you want Maggie.  Thast is why we're here.  Yes, alcohol is an almost universal trigger when in cycle, however more people than not will tell you that it is when you stop being active or excersizing...that they get hit. 

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While I think I know what you meant...do NOT ever define yourself by this condition.  How long do your cycles last?  When you are in cycle you adjust yourself to them and when they are over you continue your life as if you never had CH in the first place.

   Welcome to the nut house Maggie.  If you read for any length of time around here you will find a great deal of humor about this condition.  We need that.   

Linda

I hate being that person that's like hey guys wait up!... I have to give myself a shot on the side of the trail or on the side of the river. My triathlon training class is where my clusters started, I'll never forget it. My cycles last 2-3 months. So exercise does not cause most peoples CH?

While I'm on my rant...how do I tell the lady in the cubicle across from me I can't stand the smell of her perfume, it makes my eyeball want to explode.

When i stopped using imitrex, and drinking allot of water and using o2. I noticed my cycle staring to taper off. Currently I am getting k2 and k3. They do last much longer but only get 4 or five day. Very manageable with o2, and strong coffee.  I wish you all the best. My last job had a policy against strong smelling perfumes and colonge.  Possible a last resort but. Check with you Hr rep. Thats only if your coworker puts up a stink. Getting high Kip scale attacks at work is misserable. I've been their. Take care

Jason Cox

I know where you are coming from with the perfume issue!
I'd bring it up with her and if nothing changes bring it up on her

Alcohol is the same for me. It's a strong trigger when I am "eligible", and I do recognize the disgust with being forced to adapt to the condition. I tend to be headstrong and go my own way. It took a long time before I actually realised I can't just "work through" it.
On the other hand it has turned out rather well. These days I almost never drink anything, and I don´t miss it especially much. Rather I´ve managed to convince myself it's part of a health scheme.

Excersice however is not a trigger for me. In fact if the hits are small (usually in the start of a cycle for me) I can actually stop them with excersice.

On the other hand I am not protected from hits by excersicing. I was 1h from home when I got the hit. Realised I need to plan the excersicing so that it doesn't conflict with the attack schedule.  This is hard when it isn't stable, but if you have stable pattern it works well for me. (but as I said - excersice or downwinding after isn't a trigger for me)

I actually heard that exercise helps abort some headaches. (especially jogging or squats...anything where you're using your legs) It helps getting some of the blood flow into your legs so it doesn't cause pressure in your head. It had worked for me on several occasions, but then on others I felt like I couldn't stop or I'd be in trouble. It would help control some of the pain, but there were times I became extremely tired from neurotically exercising to chase away the beast. I'd avoid exercises that might bring the blood up towards your head or neck more (like using your arms a lot) I suppose that could cause a headache. And remember proper breathing...deep breathes. Keep the flow of oxygen up!