Hi Jon
There is so much information and suggestions on the net and on various forums , I really don''t know which to believe or not, also lots of conflicting information. I decided to try and go the Herbal way and see if I can find something that might work for me. I got myself some cayenne pepper capsules that contains capsaicin which is known for helping with headaches ,that in itself did not work but it did make it much less painful, I took two grandpa headache powders one day and it immediately gave me relieve , So whatever the combination of the two is doing, it helps me with this awfull headaches .
I now started to drink Ginger tea also, Ginger is known to have the same effect as sumatriptan.
So I decided to keep my system basically saturated with Cayenne Pepper ( 3 to 4 capsules of 500 mg per day ) and at least 4 big mugs of ginger tea during the day. I still get one attack a day but it is very mild and then I take one of those Grandpa powders and it disappear as fast as it started. I am almost trough my 3rd week without having a serious attack or headache .
Like I said before, this might not work for everyone or for nobody at all, but I merely telling what is working for me and like Siegfried said, If it can only help one person out there, then it is a victory.
As for caffeine, There is also plenty of different views about that also, you mentioned that it might be good for headaches , My neurologist told me to avoid caffeine because that is one of the triggers. I only have one cup of coffee in the morning and for the rest of the day I am drinking ginger tea. I still think that there is no certain way or remedy for cluster headaches and I also believe what triggers it for one , might not necessarily triggers it for another person. I really think everybody is trying anything to beat this beast on his own way, I decided as a last resort to try the herbal way because of all the long term and negative effects with prescribed medicine . Touch wood it looks like I am on the right track for now, at least for myself.
Attached is the information given to me by my neurologist and it clearly says that '' lots '' of caffeine is a trigger, that is why I avoid all energy drinks and only have one cup of coffee in the morning, Like I said before, I don't really know what and who to believe and I just trying to beat this on my own like everybody else . I don't want anybody to do what I do but this is merely my experience that I have with clusters .
For now I am staying away from any caffeine except for my one cup in the morning, I drink my Cayenne pepper capsules and ginger tea during the day and one grandpa powder if needed. works for me right now and I am and feel a different person than a month ago.