Welcome, Guest. Please Login or Register
Clusterheadaches.com
 
Search box updated Dec 3, 2011... Search ch.com with Google!
  HomeHelpSearchLoginRegisterEvent CalendarBirthday List  
 





Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print
does alcohol prolong a cycle?? (Read 6285 times)
Peter B
CH.com Junior
**
Offline


I Love CH.com!


Posts: 70
Boston, MA
Gender: male
does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Sep 12th, 2016 at 8:47pm
 
Have an argument with my wife and need some data if possible. Anecdote if not.

Background:
I am finishing a long cycle for me (6mo) which was particularly hard. Cycle started off slow but eventually the beast showed up to party and I ramped up my Verapamil and O2. As of last week I am finally off verapamil and have been pain free for 4 weeks with only one shadow.

My question to y'all:
As alcohol is a trigger I often test that my cycle is really done by having a nice glass of wine or two. No headache, then I wait three years or so for my next cycle. My wife is worried that alcohol could prolong my cycle and wants me to wait (esp until after a big family event late October). Does anyone have any evidence or anecdote of alcohol causing longer cycles vs triggering a headache during an attack??

Any thoughts are much appreciated. I don't care about the alcohol so much as it's a marker that I don't have to fear the beast anymore. I so desperately want to box away that fear until next cycle. But I respect my wife's worries and desire that I not unnecessarily prolong this particular nightmare.

???
Back to top
  
 
IP Logged
 
jon019
CH.com Alumnus
***
Offline


"Ya gotta believe!"


Posts: 1656
USA
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #1 - Sep 12th, 2016 at 9:30pm
 
Yo Peter....

Mixed thoughts...I think there are various triggers that do precipitate a cycle....MSG used to do that to me. Did not experience with alcohol....the beer test was either a success...or a FAILURE and I had to wait a while..... only one way to find out..............

I do note that one of the few Kip 10's I ever had was as the result of a bottle of NO alcohol red wine....
and did set off a cycle...but Kip 10's are fortunately RARE beasts for most...I remember EVERY second of that 6 hour descent into the abyss...............

Best

Jon
Back to top
« Last Edit: Sep 12th, 2016 at 11:07pm by jon019 »  

The LARGE print giveth....and the small print taketh away.    Tom Waits
 
IP Logged
 
AussieBrian
CH.com Hall of Famer
*****
Offline


CH - It's all in your
head!


Posts: 3851
Cairns, Qld, Australia
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #2 - Sep 12th, 2016 at 10:58pm
 
We must be the only people in the world to have a 'beer test' so it's little wonder others think we're mad.

I can't report personally on this because I happily drink me grog before, during and after individual headaches and cycles, which has caused much hate-mail to land in my in-box.

Anecdotally, however, many CHeads have major problems with booze being an almost immediately trigger for a headache while in cycle, though I don't recall anyone saying it triggered an actual cycle nor extended one.

Mind you, and as you already know, your wife is right regardless.
Back to top
  

My name is Brian. I'm a ClusterHead and I'm here to help. Email me anytime at briandinkum@yahoo.com
 
IP Logged
 
Peter510
CH.com Alumnus
***
Offline


Don't give out... But
don't give in.


Posts: 966
Wexford. Ireland
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #3 - Sep 13th, 2016 at 5:59am
 
Hello Peter,

I can only speak for myself here. I am a chronic sufferer so I don't enjoy episodes. I'm in cycle all year round for the last 3 years.

I never touch alcohol....never. After many years of episodic suffering and searching for triggers, I finally found that alcohol is the a certain trigger for me.

I have tested this twice over the last 3 years and each time the result was the same......ugly.

However, it would appear that, like everything else in CH world, everyone is different.

Best regards,

Peter.
Back to top
  

You don't stop laughing because you grow old....You grow old because you stop laughing.
 
IP Logged
 
Bob Johnson
CH.com Alumnus
***
Offline


"Only the educated are
free." -Epictetus


Posts: 5965
Kennett Square, PA (USA)
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #4 - Sep 17th, 2016 at 1:45pm
 
Interesting mix of triggers.

Several years ago we had good reports that red wine would trigger attacks but not white wine. The explanation had to do with the chemical complexity of red vs.wine.

But we have long agreement that alcohol, alone, is a trigger. So the answer to your question is ????
Back to top
  

Bob Johnson
 
IP Logged
 
theydontunderstand
CH.com Newbie
*
Offline


I Love CH.com!


Posts: 14
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #5 - Sep 23rd, 2016 at 2:01pm
 
It's never prolonged a cycle for me though it is definitely my most major trigger. It actually lets me know when I'm about to start a cycle.

The last cycle I had last year I discovered Batchs' D3 therapy and was actually able to imbibe as long as I kept up the treatment, the cycle lasted no longer than usual.
Back to top
  
 
IP Logged
 
Bob Johnson
CH.com Alumnus
***
Offline


"Only the educated are
free." -Epictetus


Posts: 5965
Kennett Square, PA (USA)
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #6 - Dec 27th, 2016 at 9:19am
 
I'm with Peter's comments. The general understanding is that alcohol can trigger an attach WHEN we are in a cycle but not CAUSE a cycle.

We have received comments from Europe that WHITE wine does not trigger an attack altough RED does. I have shared that experience. The assumption is that the chemical structure of red wine may have ??? not in white which trigges an attack.
Back to top
  

Bob Johnson
 
IP Logged
 
lifer
CH.com Newbie
*
Offline


I Love CH.com! We make
it great!


Posts: 22
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #7 - Jan 7th, 2017 at 3:58am
 
  I would say that alcohol contributes to an attack if you are the type that gets loose.  If it causes you to change the way you act and move, chances are good. 
  If you are the type that pretty much carries on as usual, acting and moving the same, chances are low.
  If you do a little of both, it's a gamble.
  Consider my opinion with a grain of salt.  I'm that crazy member proposing Dale's Black Eye palsy.
  Nerve irritation will prolong the cycle.
Back to top
« Last Edit: Jan 12th, 2017 at 7:01pm by lifer »  
 
IP Logged
 
Hoppy
CH.com Alumnus
***
Offline


LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE


Posts: 1890
Perth WA
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #8 - Jan 7th, 2017 at 6:50am
 
For me, when I was in a cycle and drank alcohol it would guarantee a bonus, but between cycles I could drink as much as I liked with no visit from the beast.

Cheers Hoppy
Back to top
  
 
IP Logged
 
Marc
CH.com Old Timer
****
Offline




Posts: 429
TX
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #9 - Jan 8th, 2017 at 10:13pm
 
For many years on this site, there were a lot of us chronics who could not detect any impact from alcohol.

That "us" includes me.

Marc
Back to top
  
 
IP Logged
 
LasVegas
CH.com Sponsor
***
Offline


Episodic CH since 11 yrs
old, now 50.


Posts: 2020
north of the 60th parallel
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #10 - Jan 11th, 2017 at 7:34pm
 
Hi Peter,
My cycle is episodic. I do not drink alcohol while in cycle as it is an immediate trigger for me. So whether or not it prolongs a cycle, is something I never became aware of as I simply would not drink to begin with to know.

Side note: I gave up drinking alcohol last February for lent, and still haven't drank alcohol despite Easter being long gone. Feel much better without alcohol in my social life, as I found myself struggling my entire adult life with not stopping at just one drink.

I recognize this is a compulsive type of personality issue and finally realized after countless times of getting myself in trouble due to over indulging with alcohol.

Compulsive behaviors is another subject possibly relevant to CH's and how we CH'ers are "wired" differently than others. Are most CH'ers compulsive with their actions...smoking, eating, drinking alcohol, drug use, accomplishing tasks, etc.?! I for one have a compulsive personality and have matured enough to recognize it is easiest for me to just not indulge in something that I struggle with self control.

Sorry to get off topic, but at least you have another opinion to add to this thread.  Wink

Gregg in Las Vegas

Back to top
  

Wishing everybody at CH.com less pain w/ more productivity in their lives in 2019
 
IP Logged
 
BobG
CH.com Hall of Famer
*****
Offline




Posts: 6422
St. George, UT
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #11 - Jan 12th, 2017 at 4:45pm
 
Compulsive actions, habits, addictions are partially traced back to the hypothalamus as are cluster headaches. Doesn't mean we are all druggies or drunks that smoke too much, just that there is a connection.
My opinion is no. Alcohol does not extend a cluster cycle. It does not trigger a cycle but can trigger an individual attack.
Back to top
  

Stay stressed. Never relax. Never sleep. Ever.
 
IP Logged
 
Dre22
CH.com Newbie
*
Offline


I Love CH.com!


Posts: 8
NY
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #12 - Jan 28th, 2017 at 8:33am
 
I recently was working to taper off my verapamil as per my neurologist (360mg to 240mg to 120mg).  I also take depakote 500mg 2x/day. 

Alcohol was most certainly a trigger.`However, I also have found that a single drink if it doesn't trigger one right away then a few days later I will most certainly get one. 

(I have recently had to go back to my original dosage of verapamil.  As a chronic CH sufferer, I got 3 in the last 2 weeks after being down to 1 per month.  Wasn't going backwards.)
Back to top
  
 
IP Logged
 
UMASS
CH.com Newbie
*
Offline


I Love CH.com!


Posts: 2
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #13 - Jun 21st, 2017 at 11:17pm
 
I was headache free for 13+ years. I think everyone is different. I was an extremely heavy drinker. I was told 6 months ago I had to stop because of my liver. So, in short I didn't get CH's @ the peak of my drinking career & now that I don't, my headaches are back as of 5 weeks ago. Go figure.
Back to top
  
 
IP Logged
 
shooky
CH.com Veteran
***
Offline


33 years of CH.


Posts: 193
TLV Israel
Gender: male
Re: does alcohol prolong a cycle??
Reply #14 - Jun 23rd, 2017 at 5:17pm
 
In theory, alcohol is a trigger only during a cycle and once you're out of cycle you can go back to drinking. Of course this is not the case with chronic CH, in which the sensitivity to triggers is always there to some degree.

In practice, many go from being episodic to being chronic in some point, and certain triggers are known to trigger cycles   (using Viagra or nitro glycerin, switching to daylight saving time, extreme seasonal changes etc.). So you have to assume that drinking alcohol always carry some risk.

Personally, I stopped drinking altogether after I saw this study from 2009, that found a link between CH and a mutation in the ADH4 gene, which is connected to the breakdown of alcohol in the liver
Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to Login or Register
Back to top
  
WWW https://www.facebook.com/shooky.galili  
IP Logged
 
Page Index Toggle Pages: 1
Send Topic Print

DISCLAIMER: All information contained on this web site is for informational purposes only.  It is in no way intended to be used as a replacement for professional medical treatment.   clusterheadaches.com makes no claims as to the scientific/clinical validity of the information on this site OR to that of the information linked to from this site.  All information taken from the internet should be discussed with a medical professional!