Hi Everyone,

This is my first post on clusterheadaches.com, but I have been browsing this site for years.  From the cures to the comforting remarks, this site has had a tremendous part in my coping with the disorder. 

Real quick, a little about me and my headaches:  I am currently 20 years old, a sophomore in college.  I started getting cluster headaches in my junior year of HS (diagnosed by a neurologist).  My headaches are chronic--I do have CH-free periods, but they are only about a week or so, with my cluster periods lasting for two months or more.  I have have a prescription for nasal and oral sumatriptan, but i don't use them because they only work about 25% of the time but they make me very nauseous and seem to put me in a bad mood.  I'm very healthy; I drink lots of water every day, and go to the gym and lift weights every day.  The gym is my favorite place, not only because I enjoy working out but its the only place that I seem to be guaranteed not to get a cluster headache.  I'm not sure if it's my pre-workout, the fact that I'm active, or both, but the gym is a CH-free place for me.

Now, the reason I made an account here and this post:  I've done a lot of reading on causes of cluster headaches, and I know that the common belief is that the pain is caused by the dilation of blood vessels in the brain.  I'm one for traditional Western medicine, but since that doesn't provide a good solution for us clusterheads I've been more open to the idea of homeopathy since I've had these.  My friend suggested I look into essential oils.  I first googled "essential oils cluster headache" but I didn't see anything that looked promising.  Then, I googled "essential oils constrict blood vessels" and found a swarm of results about "Cypress oil."  I read that smelling cypress oil can cause blood vessels to constrict.  I know that for me smells were often a trigger, but I figure I'd give it a try.  I ordered a bottle of amazon and began using it day to day and the results have been AMAZING.  The first day with it, I woke up with a cluster headache at about a 6.  So I took a shower and put a couple of drops in the shower; I was pain free within five minutes.  Since then, anytime I felt a headache coming, I have reached for the cypress oil, put it under my left nostril, and deep breathed, and it alway was gone within two minutes.  Now, I'm showering with the cypress oil daily and I'm also using it in a diffuser.  I have not had a cluster headache since I got the cypress oil 10 days ago. 

I'm not saying this will work for everyone, and I'm not even sure if this is going to keep working for me--only time will tell.  But if this helps one person, then I'll be happy.

Hi Ryan and welcome,
I've read Peppermint oil pain relieving properties have been proven to reduce the impact of tension headaches and migraines, but not CH's. So, if Cypress oil is helping you with your CH's that's good news, and who knows, it could help others here.  for sharing your story with us.

Hoppy

Welcome Ryan. For many of us smells can be a trigger. I see no reason other smells can't do the opposite.

thierry wrote on Feb 16^th, 2016 at 3:52am:


Thierry, 
            What a brilliant replying post to Ryan !
         Cant say or add much more than that !

regards
colin

My husband started getting his clusters 11 years ago, so it's been a LONG time since I read up on the root of cluster headaches, but I thought the major difference between clusters and migraines was that MIGRAINES were caused by blood vessel issues and clusters were caused by a misfiring nerve. Am I wrong??

Hi Alison
I believe you are partly right and partly wrong. My understanding of the condition is that it is a misfiring nerve, but it misfires because a dilated blood vessel is pressing on it.

The blood vessel swells, and it's increased size causes it to touch the trigeminal nerve. The pulsating effect of the blood flowing through the vessel sets off the nerve.

When vasoconstrictors are used, obviously the vessel shrinks again and takes the pressure off the nerve.
Maz.

Headaches can be extremely painful, especially in the form of migraines and cluster headaches. These more extreme forms of this debilitating and disturbing condition occur independently of an underlying disease; their roots are found in the chemical activity of the brain, within the nerves and blood vessels of the head, or in the muscles of the head and neck.

Those who find themselves afflicted might be conditioned to bust open the door of the medicine cabinet, pop the top off of a pill jar, and neck enough aspirin to dull the pain of such conditions. However such chemical relief may come with a price. Aspirin doesn’t mitigate pain in isolation; its side effects include heartburn, stomach irritation, anemia, and seizures, among other things.

This seems like a game of roulette that isn’t worth playing — especially when one explores other viable natural alternatives. By far the most effective of these is frankincense essential oil, an age old antiseptic, disinfectant, digestive, and anti-inflammatory agent. Derived from the gum or resin of the Boswellia genus of trees (Boswellia Carteri, Boswellia Sacra, and Boswellia Frereana), this oil has maintained a revered status for centuries.

Completely natural compounds are very often met with stern skepticism. How could anything not tweaked by the hand of man and a multi-billion dollar drug industry have any empirical effect? Thankfully, there is adequate science available to tell us exactly why and how this ancient remedy wields such power over headaches. (It should also be noted that the active ingredient in aspirin, salicin, is completely natural, being sourced from the bark of the white willow tree).

The potent effects of frankincense oil in the treatment of headaches is likely due to a collection of compounds found within this botanical essence known as monoterpenes. A research paper titled “A Review on Anti-Inflammatory Activity of Monoterpenes,” published in the journal Molecules, discusses the anti-inflammatory activity of 32 bioactive monoterpenes found in essential oils (frankincense oil contains a colossal 34 monoterpenes). Many of these have powerful anti-inflammatory properties which, much like conventional painkillers, reduce the swelling of blood vessels that initiate the chin reaction that leads to pain. The authors of the paper state: “The data demonstrate the pharmacological potential of this group of natural chemicals to act as anti-inflammatory drugs.”

More scientific investigation that lends credit to the use of frankincense oil in the treatment of headaches was published in Cephalalgia, a journal published on behalf of the International Headache Society. This study tested oral frankincense on a small sample size of four patients that suffered from cluster headaches and disturbed sleep cycles. The authors of the paper state that: “The results provide Class IV evidence that oral B. serrata [frankincense] reduces the intensity and frequency of headaches in patients with CCH.”

Frankincense oil is easy to administer to ease headache pain. Its recommended that the sufferer place a drop of high quality, pure frankincense oil on a finger or thumb and apply it directly to the roof of the mouth for instant relief. However, if the sufferer maintains the view many share that anything that is healthy tastes bad, they can apply a couple of drops of the oil to the temples and gently massage until the essential oil is  absorbed.

 
   




   

Yes! You can find the original post, I posted here, on the 3rd of March 2016.

Hoppy

G'day Thierry,
I have a friend who suffers from CCH's, he's on the vitamin D regimen, but he could never get rid of those pesky all day shadows, but since trying this remedy, the shadows have gone.

Hoppy

thierry wrote on May 22^nd, 2016 at 9:40am:

Thanks for your post about cypress oil. I am definitely going to give it a go.

I'm sorry if anyone came off as less than supportive. Some of us have very difficult to treat headaches and can be a bit dismissive of reports like yours. But I never give up encouraging everyone to keep an open mind.