Hello everyone, I am Darcy, and have been suffering from CH's since 2003.  Mine switch sides every couple of episodes, and then I may go 12 or 18 months without one.

I have been down the medical path, first to my primary doc, then to the ENT doc, then to the Dentist, then the chiropractor route; x-rays, MRI's and a CAT scan, all showed nothing, and then thrown in the occasional visit to the ER or Urgent Care Center.  A dose of steroids and a scrip of Flexeril and I would be good for two weeks.

The first one I ever got I was driving down the road for work and it hit like a brick out of nowhere.  That first bout lasted 3 months.  The second came later that same year and lasted about 3 months, just on the other side.  I don't remember much about the intervening years, it is all a blur at the moment, as I am in the middle of the longest and most stubborn bout of all, this one has been ongoing since the first week of Dec 2018.

The last couple weeks have been an epiphany of sorts for me.  The intensity of the CH's over the past week have been top of the scale bad, I have proven one of my hypothesis about what is the root cause of my CH's.

I started a new job at the end of May this year.  Won't get specific but lets just say it involves lots of walking during each shift, over 5 miles a day on concrete and steel.  I had a very comfortable pair of shoes, or so I thought.  One three day shift and my feet were killing me.  So I went to a local shoe store, a small local store, not a big box store and asked for the owners assistance in picking out the right type of shoe for the work place.  After trying 5 or 6 pairs and not liking any of them, the last pair was perfect.  Feet felt great. 

The next day I went to work, did all my walking, and lo and behold, no foot pain....but when I got home, I kicked off the new shoes and put on a pair of flip flops.  It was not 30 minutes and along came Satan, full of fire.  I did my normal routine to beat Satan back, but nothing.  So, I put on the new shoes and went for a walk.....and lo and behold, Satan was vanquished within 5 minutes...just gone.

The next day work was fine, came home, and not thinking, I kicked off the shoes and went barefoot this time.  I was fine for about 2 hours, and then Satan came back.  This time I fought him barefoot, and he only got angrier.  Even the new shoes did not help.  He finally slunk back to hell after 3 hrs or so.

Fast forward a week.  The days I work, 12 to 13 hr shifts, I do not experience any CH symptoms.  When I get home, I am tired of course, so I sit and relax, or try to sleep, and then Satan comes back.  The last couple days I have been playing guinea pig with myself to try and narrow down what is a trigger for my CH's to start up and what sends Satan back to hell the fastest.

Here is what I have found.
If I sit down, I need to have lumbar support on the chair or couch.
If I lay down, I need to be on a firm surface, such as the floor, or add a folder Pilates mat to the couch or bed, plus extra lumbar support.
If I do any walking at all, from the chair/couch/bed to anywhere, I wear the new shoes.
If Satan still shows up, I use my Wahl Deep Tissue Massager on my back muscles on the side of the CH.
If the massager is only partially working I add in TheraWorx Relief anti cramp foam.

If I catch the CH starting quickly enough, TheraWorx and the massager with some stretching will knock Satan back to hell within 10 minutes.  If I don't jump up and catch him early enough, it might take 30 to 45 minutes, but he goes away.

I am of the mindset now that my CH's come either from flat feet/bad arches, or a pinched nerve in my lumbar region, or both combined. 

When I am free from the CH, my back is knot free, the neck muscle along the spine on the side of the CH does not feel like a steel cable, the muscles on the side of my neck are not tense and my shoulders are relaxed.

When a CH starts, my back on the CH side cramps, but does not hurt, the muscles from my sacrum up the base of my skull turn into steel cables that do not want to relax.  The pain starts just below the knowledge knot on the back of my head and my sinus pressurizes and my eye immediately starts to feel as if it will pop out my skull, watering like crazy, and the eye lid droops with a will of its own.

Doing the massager, along with the TheraWorx and intensive stretching, and if I am lucky, or do those steps in just the right way, the pain stops like someone flicked a light switch.  The sinus opens up fully, the tears and watering cease, and the pain across the skull and behind the eye are gone.  I may get a minor lingering pain in in the back of my head, but I think that is related to beating the hell out of my muscles with the massager.

Has anyone else connected their CH's to flat feet/bad back/back muscle cramps?

If so, have you found a way to stop the cramps from occuring?

Has anyone tried CBD Oil to prevent the CH's from occuring?

Just wanted to share my experiences, what I have found out about mine, hope to God that I am on the right path this time, and looking for suggestions.

I am typing this in the middle of a short remission.  I had a flare up about an hour ago, had laid down to get some sleep, and while I fell asleep, I turned onto my side while asleep (a huge no-no for me) and woke up to the pain just starting.  Oh, I can hear the muscles tensing in my ear on the side of the CH, it sounds like a dull, rushing sounds, kind of like a shushing sound that increases in volume as the muscles tighten up.

Nice to meet you Brian!

Well, after four level 9's today, I was thrown back to the bottom once again.  So when I went to a local store, they happened to have CBD Tincture on the counter for sale.  I said what the hell and bought a bottle, $20.  Got home and looked it up online to get some background on dosage and expected time to take affect and how long it should last.

I doubled the recommended dose and then waited.  30 minutes later and the linger headache disappeared.  10 minutes after that I felt normal.  The instructions said to take a dose in the morning and a dose in the evening.  Of course being desperate to get some sleep, I have taken a couple more recommended doses, just in case. 

The effects are supposed to last 4 to 6 hours....we will see how accurate that is as I am going to try and get more than an hour of sleep.  Wish me luck!  Will report later today how I fared.