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Traveller

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When the Cycle Ends...
Feb 5^th, 2012 at 3:31pm

Question for the Episodic Vets -- when your cycle ends are you completely 100% free of all symptoms, ie. life is perfectly normal, no hints, suggestions, or mild, not-to-bother pains?

I ask because I have now cut my Verap dosage to 120mg/day (under doctor's care). I am essentially free of symptoms (no attacks since mid-November, no shaddows since mid January ), but every now and then when I am exerting a bit, I get a quiet little reminder twinge in the usual places. Only lasts a few seconds, and happens only rarely. Next step in another week or so will be get off Verap totally and I think I am ready, but I am curious if others have found the beast offers gentle reminders even when we are not in cycle?

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LasVegas CH.com Sponsor Offline Episodic CH since 11 yrs old, now 50. Posts: 2020 north of the 60th parallel Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #1 - Feb 5^th, 2012 at 3:53pm Obviously everybody is unique, but I have experienced that "gentle twinge in the usual places" when off cycle you are referring to. I view it as a reminder that I am still enslaved til death do us apart and to be extremely grateful that I am not in cycle. -Gregg in Las Vegas
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Guiseppi CH.com Moderator CH.com Alumnus Offline San Diego to Florida 05-16-2011 Posts: 12063 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA USA Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #2 - Feb 5^th, 2012 at 5:21pm Off cycle I don't even get what people call normal headaches! As Vegas mentions, we're all a bit different. Joe
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LasVegas CH.com Sponsor Offline Episodic CH since 11 yrs old, now 50. Posts: 2020 north of the 60th parallel Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #3 - Feb 5^th, 2012 at 5:28pm Joe, Interesting you say that. I do not recall ever having a "regular headache." I have felt head pain from a long day/night of excessive drinking resulting in a hangover hundreds of times; but truly don't recall ever having a regular headache, migraine, sinus headache, etc. -Gregg in Las Vegas
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Guiseppi CH.com Moderator CH.com Alumnus Offline San Diego to Florida 05-16-2011 Posts: 12063 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA USA Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #4 - Feb 5^th, 2012 at 6:00pm Yeah, same here. If I don't earn a headache, basically a hangover, I don't get em! (I think it's natures way of achieving a harmonic balance.) Joe
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Mike NZ CH.com Hall of Famer Offline Oxygen rocks! D3 too! Posts: 3785 Auckland, New Zealand Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #5 - Feb 5^th, 2012 at 6:29pm For me, I just get migraines by themselves, instead of being mixed in with CHs. We're all different, which shows the benefit of working with someone who can tailor a treatment plan to match your symptoms.
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Purple (head404)

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Re: When the Cycle Ends...
Reply #6 - Feb 5^th, 2012 at 6:43pm

Traveller wrote on Feb 5^th, 2012 at 3:31pm:

when your cycle ends are you completely 100% free of all symptoms, ie. life is perfectly normal, no hints, suggestions, or mild, not-to-bother pains?

No. I don't think I, myself, have ever been 100% free since my 1st CH 32 years ago. When off cycle, it's not a clear shadow I often get (3-4 times a week I'd say) but uhhh... yeah, a reminder "that I am still enslaved" (hopefully not till death...), just a wink from the beast saying: I'll see ya later... then I usually drink beer to test if it was just a wink from the beast or if a cycle is actually starting.
Very rarely will I get a regular headache, even with too much beer or wine.

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Mike NZ CH.com Hall of Famer Offline Oxygen rocks! D3 too! Posts: 3785 Auckland, New Zealand Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #7 - Feb 5^th, 2012 at 10:10pm Purple (head404) wrote on Feb 5^th, 2012 at 6:43pm: Very rarely will I get a regular headache, even with too much beer or wine. I suspect that our tolerance to headache pain is such that if we do get a "normal" headache that it is below our pain threshold.
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chewbaccamonkeylunch CH.com Junior Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 25 Weatherford, TX Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #8 - Feb 6^th, 2012 at 11:29am for me once its over, its over. I can usually get a few months of pain free-med free living in between cycles. Its wild, during those months everything is so 'clear'. Almost impossible to describe.
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Mike Bernardo

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Re: When the Cycle Ends...
Reply #9 - Feb 7^th, 2012 at 9:41am

I was never a "headache" person. Only had them with flu or bad fevers, as well as the 3 concussions I've had. I now get them outside my cycles, but they come in bursts and more like migraine-type issues (barometric pressure changes, loud noises, bright lights, etc.). Doc says I have a combo of CH and migraine, which is wonderful to hear, because when the CH steps down for a while, the migraine kicks in. I also get triggers from seafood, dehydration, overheating, wine (never had an issue with sulfites before). Stress does NOT cause headaches, surprisingly enough.

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Joshl924 CH.com Junior Offline I Love CH.com! Posts: 84	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #10 - Feb 16^th, 2012 at 2:22pm I actually used to get bad sinus headaches and prob still do although I dont feel it as much due to aforementioned pain threshold post CH... but for me I get incredibly nervous now... whenever I get a shadow or twinge....
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Billie CH.com Junior Offline I Love CH.com! Posts: 62 Maryland Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #11 - Feb 17^th, 2012 at 12:14pm I am episodic, and yes, I get those. My theory is that those twinges of pain are just to torment us. I personally think it's what I know will happen if the twinges escalate to a full-blown cluster that makes me more aware that they are there, and they hit those areas where a cluster would.
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HelgaY

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Re: When the Cycle Ends...
Reply #12 - Feb 28^th, 2012 at 9:34am

I'm episodic, just came out of a bad 7-week stretch with 2 - 4 headaches every night. I feel exhausted and still have some brain fog and occasional "reminders". I was put on prednisone to break the cycle, seems to have worked with only a few bad nights following the pred. treatment.

This was only my 2nd bout with it, brand-new diagnosis after treatment for sinus pain. I have so much to learn about this! According to my neurologist, the short-term memory problems will go away, so will the fumbling for words - I always had a great vocabulary, where did it go?

I just now realize how messed up I was during the cycle, getting my February utility bills and noticed that I paid several of the January bills twice, others not at all. OMG! I do database administration from home, wonder what else I messed up if I couldn't keep track of my few household bills?

I'm keeping a headache diary and wrote myself a reminder to NEVER make any important decisions during an active cycle. I'm terrified that I'm losing my mind!

It is good to know I'm not alone, I wish all of you a pain free day.

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AussieBrian CH.com Hall of Famer Offline CH - It's all in your head! Posts: 3851 Cairns, Qld, Australia Gender:	Re: When the Cycle Ends... Reply #13 - Feb 28^th, 2012 at 5:58pm Traveller wrote on Feb 5^th, 2012 at 3:31pm: ...but every now and then... I get a quiet little reminder twinge in the usual places. Thanks to the delightful Bonnie Lee, many of us now call those things "devil pokes".
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