Hi,
I am an engineer from Mexico. CH started when I was in high school, though they were fewer and a lot less painful then. CH got really bad in 2014, since then they have been coming every year and lasting from September - November. Before I share my last cycle experience. I want to make it clear that it was hell, pain would put me on my knees and make me lie down on the floor, I would hit the floor/walls with my fist, some times with my head, I cried, I screamed, I even ended a long term relationship because of it. It was a very dark time for me. She left on august, CH hit me the first week of September, it was bad.
I'm not trying to be negative and bring you down, I just wanted to make clear that CH for me is as bad as it is for every one else, and since I kind of came up with a solution (I hope) I didn't want you guys to think that maybe it worked for me because my problem is not CH and may be a migraine or something else less severe than CH. I was diagnosed during university. Diagnose was confirmed by a neurologist back in 2013 when it become a problem because of the severity of pain. I could not attend early classes at graduate school because of CH.
Since 2013 I've tried different drugs (medicine), oxygen, everything legal and prescribed by a neurologist. And the results were not very promising, you know how it is. Drugs kind of help, but the result (at least in my case) is far from solving the problem. 2017's cycle was 3-6 episodes a day, sometimes 8. And oxygen would only delay the 10 level pain (I rank it from 1-10, 10 being wanting to.. you know). As I said, it was hell.
During 2017's cycle I noticed that doing pull-ups would abort almost immediately the pain, but the attack would come again later. So during work if I felt it was coming I went to do pull-ups and it worked 100%. The problem was that after 3-4 attack attempts I was exhausted and would just let the next one hit. Then I would use the oxygen. So the attacks were inevitable. The pull-ups (push-ups and running too) helped me to abort attacks but I had to face them at the end.
The cycle was over and I became curious about the pull-ups, so I did a little research. I don't want to make this a long letter, so I will be straight and tell you some medical findings and facts.
What is the mechanism that causes CH?
*The pain from CH is caused by the dilation, or widening, of the blood vessels that supply blood to your brain and face. This dilation applies pressure to the trigeminal nerve, which transmits sensations from the face to the brain. It is unknown why this dilation occurs.
Sugar
*Glucose, a form of sugar, is the primary source of energy for every cell in the body. Because the brain is so rich in nerve cells, or neurons, it is the most energy-demanding organ, using one-half of all the sugar energy in the body.
*Sugar may trigger hormonal changes, particularly in the hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine. These hormonal shifts change the way blood vessels in the brain behave, potentially triggering a headache.
*Elevated blood glucose harms blood vessels
Testosterone and serotonin levels on CH sufferers
*It was found that testosterone levels are lower than they should during cycles. For some reason, our testosterone levels drop during cycles/episodes.
*Serotonin releases get out of control during episodes.
What did I do?
So basically I tried to restore to normal whatever hormones were low, avoid sugar and processed foods because of all the chemicals they have which might act as neurotransmitters or get mine all jerky and bad.
Sugar
NO SUGAR: On January 1st 20018 I cut sugar 100% from my diet. I have not had a single snickers/milky way (oh how I loved those!) in a year. Now don't get confused, sugar is not fructose. I mean I kept eating fruits, but quit refined sugar.
Testosterone and serotonin levels
As I said, I tried to restore to normal hormones levels. Did you know that ketogenic diet has helped treat CH? Guess what diet helps you get testosterone levels up? A protein rich diet. Guess what's in the ketogenic diet: lots of protein. Guess what else helps you with testosterone? lifting weights. I had never been a gym guy, but this time it was worth a try so I bought some weights and was very disciplined about it.
Thas it, it worked 100%. I will edit and continue the post telling you how I know it worked but It's almost 2 am so I'm going to bed. I hope this helps you and gives you hope.
Best wishes for 2019!
J. Pablo