diamondmaker

Wow spiny, that is spot on! Making it harder than it has to be, getting stuck... tying up in knots. And the driving family nuts, ya an unfortunate side effect.

Too Cool 8-)

Great replies... I figure I might get close to the same responses in any population though. If my thinking about the beast is correct, then he does show up in our lives in different ways other than the pain. The thing is, what I have identified in my life shows in the above discussion... but depending on sensitivity to/or degree affected, it it may be simply disregarded as a personality quirk by some... or diagnosed as a mental illness for those really bothered by it... or anything in between. In some it may just be undetectable for them because of other things going on... Just wanted to throw it out there. I really feel the knot tying all the time.

As usual we get back to not really knowing anything. Too "dynamic", data all over the place. I do like the statement "the results suggest that the disease is more likely to be caused by a network dysfunction rather than by a single malfunctioning structure". I find this useful... "The experience of pain has a powerful influence on psychology. It is common sense that receptive or permanent painful stimuli have major impact on mood and anxiety. The comorbidity of headache, depression and anxiety is well investigated (Mercante et al., 2011; Antonaci et al., 2011; Breslau et al., 2003; Mitsikostas and Thomas, 1999; Juang et al., 2000) and probably shares common central processing pathways (Milham et al., 2005; Radua et al., 2010; Yoo et al., 2005)." So, if it is common sense, then why does my neuro and my shrink both look at me cross-eyed when I say I have PTSD caused by my CH. The neuro thinks it is impossible for a neurological condition to be in any way related to a "mental illness". And, the shrink thinks it's all caused by a normal mental illness aggravated by the drugs I take... oh, and have a bucket of SSRIs.

Ahhh yes, the good old days... commodore 64... would spend hours just to be able to send and receive simple text messages. (wow CHF 256K ram, you must have been rolling in the dough to afford that! ;D)

Let me start by saying I do not have any direct experience with ulcers... but it seems to me if you strain the seed shells out so you just have a clear liquid... it shouldn't be a problem. Did you normally have stomach issues when taking the seeds?

I would go back to the bastards who are making you wait for oxygen and tell them they need to write you a medical excuse from work if they will not give you the treatments you need! Maybe that will light a fire under their asses!

Hi Ted, welcome. See you have gotten good advise so far... Welding oxygen is the same as medical, just don't tell the supplier you are going to use it for medical purposes.. you are a welder right? Also, get the ClusterO2 Kit (mask) here... http://www.clusterheadaches.com/khxc/ This mask makes a big difference. You can use your welding regulator... just adjust it so the reservoir bag on the mask fills fully with oxygen while you are exhaling. Regardless of mask choice, the idea is to breath 100% O2, and some have even rigged up a garbage bag to work. I have the same problem waking up fully engulfed in pain... try the oxygen, it works to abort my wake up attacks in 10 minutes... as fast as trex.

I think checking the door 10 times is the compulsive part to OCD, I don't get much of that. I always described myself as analytical (anal), and would have been offended to be called obsessive... but it really is the same.

How many CHers out there have what they might consider obsessive thoughts (perfectionist perhaps), find themselves feeling edgy when idle time arrives, always needs to move... do something, can't sleep at night... mind will not shut off. I am trying to identify things that may be common.

In 40 years of CH I have moved many times... sometimes to very different environments at long distance. The CH stayed the same every time. I went chronic slowly over 5 years, and moved 4 times during those years. I was in a different house for each of my super-clusters (episodes lasting 6 months+), and in yet another house when I finally went chronic. Environmental = triggers only... not cause. If you want my number one outside force that made me worse... pharma from the docs... specifically triptans.

I used to drink out of cycle... heard of the beer test? Tests whether you are completely out of cycle or not. Not out of cycle, always hit bad. Out of cycle far enough... didn't get the shadows. Shadows were how I gauged if I was out of cycle first. That's just me.

I used benedryl at night for years... motivated by the same notion of "histamine headache". This information is very old, and I believe research has since shown CHers have normal histamine function/levels generally. If you drink, which I did quite often back then, or have other issues to cause excessive histamine, then there might be reason to need anti-histamines. My drinking, and my need for anything that helps me to sleep, were the reasons I chose to take it. I took it long before melatonin, then both together for a while. I didn't notice any help with the CH, just continued it for the sleep aid part (and figured it wasn't hurting either).

I love it! Fits that CH may be caused by overloaded, or under-connected brain function... and that's why psilo works to relieve it. Lube for the circuits!

None for me. I personally feel CH is basically a birth defect. No reason why, no cause, just happened (sh!t happens). Lots of stuff makes it worse, some makes it better. I have had to accept it that way after running myself in circles trying to explain it... for 40 years now. I still instinctively jump on the blame something bandwagon... almost subconsciously... it just seems like a natural direction to go... I do hope you find something to help us... you sure are tenacious enough to get it done!Â

Just makes you more miserable.

There may be different kinds of addictive behavior... but what I believe is happening with me is... there seems to be a deeper motivation, a level of consciousness I don't necessarily see, that is desperately trying to self medicate at the root of the CH. That level is very aware of the effect CH is having on me, even when not under attack. It is an animal, instinctual level, not easily defined or controlled. And, I believe we are permanently altered by our CH 24/7. Still need to finish that "Pain... the tip of the iceberg" paper I am writing... so many points.

The need to keep moving, the brain that won't shut off, the insomnia, all part of CH to me.

Franx, Do you ever bust for preventative purposes, or is your method purely micro-dosing as an abortive?

That would be DMT. Although a powerful psychedelic, I do not remember anyone who tried it recommending it for CH (very intense trip, and short without the MAOI). I have tried it, but not really "busted" with it, so I can't rate it for CH. I think ricardo might be able to weigh in on this one. My basic opinion on the long intense experiences like ayahuasca and Ibogaine are good psychological healing and spiritual exploration tools but do not lend themselves well to being used as regular medicine. Although, I would like to try Ibogaine, only because it is a psychedelic that is also an NMDA antagonist like ketamine... most likely why it is so successful in treating addictions etc. If I were designing a psychedelic for medical use, that would be the profile I would go for.

I find sitting in silence to be useless... my mind is too loud. In line with what CHF has said, I recommend Hindu Mantras. If you can get your hands on this CD I would, it has calmed and healed me in the worst times. "Love Is Space" by Deva Premal Our busting materials tend to help clear the mind and sort through stuff (play music and meditate while busting). I also find playing an instrument to be a good meditation exercise. Don't worry about playing a "song", just use it as a tool to express the energy you are feeling. Wishing you some good unwinding... 8-) Edit: I enjoy the longer instrumental ragas at times for relaxing or drifting off to sleep... my highly recommended CD/Artist for that... "Healing Ragas" by Mandala (or any of their three CDs really, "Healing Ragas II" and "Moonlight Ragas").

It is surprising how little we tend to look at stress, and it looks like pretty much every CH'er who gets tested is off the charts. I guess this is because we all think we are fine... until we have a melt-down from PTSD. I do not see stress as a cause, more of a symptom... or something integral to CH. In any case, something to deal with or pay the price!

hmmmm... maybe I should stop peeling my mushrooms.

All based on an assumption " we have concluded that cluster headaches are the result of inadequate amounts of oxygen reaching the brain"... I don't buy it.

Have to add my two cents... I have always contemplated how my CH episodes changed from 2-4 weeks to 2 months by the introduction of oxygen, the first med to work for me in any way. It appears to me that I went chronic in a cloud of triptan use... the second med to ever work for me. And I still think the triptans had something to do with it. I have classified drugs into two classes. Blockers and lubricators. I look at it as a certain amount of current must flow, eventually, and blockers just prolong and aggravate the situation. I put steroids and triptans in this category, can't comment on others because they never affected my CH. Lubricant is what is needed, something to help the current flow without overheating. I put psilocybin and ketamine in this category. This is obviously a layman's description of what I see, but I think it has application in the search for a new paradigm. I do not find the idea of a psychological basis for our problems to be inconsistent with what I see. In fact I have experienced a runaway fight or flight response. I feel my wiring overloaded and the system went haywire. For years before the psychedelics I was experiencing the "panic button" going off for no reason what so ever. At the worst, when I went chronic, I was getting adrenaline pumps every couple of minutes... very hard to deal with. I know it is the psilo and ketamine that are responsible for making that right again. Lube for the circuits. :