Posted by lowercase bob on January 22, 1999 at 14:04:14:
this is a bit long. sorry - please bear with me ...
i am firmly convinced that the problem is based in my neck. i can abort a CH in seconds if i can roll my head/neck correctly (this is sometimes difficult) and get 1-4 small "clicks" just at the base of my skull where the neck connects to it. i believe the "squats" recommended and successfully used by some here are in fact causing necks to loosen and the muscle/vertebrae event that i experience rolling my neck is occurring - but being misinterpreted as an effect of tired legs or simple exertion. i've been thru all the suspicions of teeth, TMJ, eye problems, etc. this theory is the only one that's held up over time (more than 3-5 days).
Please BE CAREFUL with this if you try it!! i have aborted CHs this way ... but i've CAUSED them too. just adds fuel to the fire for me that these abysmal monsters are born in the back/neck.
Consider that we ALL have trouble sleeping. lying down for an extended period (>1 hour) stiffens my neck - when the CH wakes me it's always the same. i work out the stiffness, get the click, go back to bed. It’s annoying and frustrating - but it’s NOT painful.
i began this "research" because all these drugs (i've done the prednisone regimen and imitrex suppressants - successfully) are blankets on a fire. the fire is not out - just not visible (for a short time!). the "shadow" and "rebounds" aren't new CHs - just the old one resurfacing after the drug(s) wear off. WE NEED TO FIND THE CAUSE AND ELIMINATE IT!!! It scares me to think we’ll find some miracle drug and consider it the answer. i don't want to be leashed to a drug for my life (although if it's the only answer, of course i would do it!) any more than I want to be dogged by this predatory, merciless, inhuman pain till death parts us. there's GOT to be a fix, a correction ... instead of a masking, non-healing drug.
i believe, utterly, that the neck, it's muscles and attendant bones are the root cause. they're outta place. For me, it begs the validity of trying chiropractice or massage (i have not tried either of these yet). i've seen the posts from those who've tried these "cures" and have been dissatisfied. but think about it ... it you go to a chiropractor and it works to reduce or eliminate the pain - would you come back to this site? would you risk your credibility (against all the skepticism regarding chiropractice/massage) to post messages that would be ridiculed? would you even think that perhaps your cycle simply ended and the manipulation/massage was just a coincidence? would you really CARE anyway if the damned CH stopped? i think we hear here only from those who’ve tried it unsuccessfully (that's why they're still here!!). a typical case of "feedback is seldom thankful and positive ... negative feedback is normally the only feedback).
sorry if this sounds like a rant. i've been thinking about and using successfully this "procedure" for 4 weeks. i've been reluctant (and still am!) to post it for fear of the (coming) critical response. so be it. this works for me. i think it's worked for others, too. here goes:
first sign of pain - clasp hands behind your back, thumbs pointing up (this means you have to roll your shoulders a bit and actually cross your hands behind you) and lift the arms up behind you as far as you can. your back will normally "pop" once or twice - this is a typical way of cracking your own back. roll your head so the CH side cheek is up - and GENTLY pull your head back, straightening the spine as much as possible. Hold this for a minute or two. Roll your CH-side shoulder backwards (again gently) in a circular motion (you’ll hear the clavicle cracking/popping). be patient - eventually (2-3 minutes) some loosening will occur just where the skull meets the neck and you'll "hear" a few "pops" there (you'll hear it but it's a very low sound - of course you'll feel it). wait about 1-2 minutes (the CH doesn't disappear immediately). but it does disappear in a short time.
i only hope just ONE other person here has the success i do with this. i saw a post about 3 months ago where another dude had similar experience. there were no responses. no follow-ups. guess we all thought he was nuts. He (and i) are not, i assure you.
i have stopped taking imitrex, antihistamines, and aspirin. it's just me and (self-)manipulation now.
i agree with the allergy connection. histamines come from more than allergens - they are produced by injured cells. i cannot find the mechanism of a sneeze no matter how hard i try on the web - i think nobody KNOWS how/why/when we sneeze. i cannot sneeze during a cluster (someone else also posted this a few weeks ago - again no responses) i think this is significant. in fact, since i'm bearing my soul here, i'll tell you i actually think the whole CH is a FAILED SNEEZE. there, i said it. when i DO sneeze - i notice that the pre-sneeze feeling, the tickle in the back of the nose that signals an upcoming sneeze is in EXACTLY the same place as that CH warning feeling and actually feels like a CH starting, but it only lasts for a second - and then you sneeze. how does that work? i theorize that there is a membrane at the back of the nose that is sensitive to a body substance (histamines?) and it's being overwhelmed by an overproduction of that/some substance - like histamines from local injured cell tissue. for instance - suppose a muscle in the neck is injured/pulled, and floods the ear/nose/throat with histamines - the nose stuffs, the eye waters, the ear blocks, and the sneeze (that does NOT occur) becomes painful. i'm not a medical person - but it sounds plausible to me. consider that Dr. Jerry's water treatment (i've used that successfully, too) is just washing the renegade substance from the area - e.g. it's not the water in the body - but the act of drinking - that actually makes it work. the oxygen that so many find effective may be chemically altering the substance to make it impotent against the sneeze membrane. antihistamines ARE effective - i think we've all had some indication of that - to some degree.
So I guess what I’m thinking is that the injured back/neck tissue is flooding the ENT passages with histamines or some other substance. histamines are also produced by the endocrine (hypothalamic/pituitary) system - producing the circadian timing of the CH attacks) these histamines are aggravating a tissue that normally produces a sneeze, but because there’s too much of the substance or because the tissue is itself damaged, the sneeze fails, builds, and becomes the CH we all dread.
i don't know - it's all crazy, maybe. but i saw a PBS show last night about 100 neurologists who are researching the cause of THE 1921 FLU EPIDEMIC!!! for CHRIST'S SAKE!!! when so many of us are in such horrific pain HOW CAN THESE PEOPLE WASTE THEIR TIME ON THIS??? who GIVES A DAMN about a 70+ year old virus when WE'RE DYING TODAY!!! it made me aware of the fact that NOBODY in the medical profession is going to help us. we're on our own. this is my contribution - such as it is.
sorry for the length of this - i've been holding this back for weeks - afraid what you all might think of this apparently insane idea. i'm just so angry this morning i don't care if everyone thinks i'm crazy. but, folks, i think this IS in our heads ... it's NOT mental - it's a physiological breakdown somewhere - drugs mask it - i want to SOLVE it!
thanks for your patience - pain freedom is a Human Right!!
-b