Craigo

Greetings all, It’s been a hot minute since I last thought about the intersection of personality profiles and CH but a recent literature dive brought it back into focus, unintentionally I might add. I don’t know if you’ve come across a tool called Harzing’s Publish or Perish, it makes searching the scientific literature super easy. Using it I stumbled upon a 2016 paper that struck a chord over the past couple days and I wanted to share it here. I want to say before you read further there was an element of reading this study that was triggering / confronting so I just wanted to make that disclosure - this can be a challenging topic to navigate. Personality traits in patients with cluster headache: a comparison with migraine patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4791411/ According to the Salamanca screening test, personality traits included in cluster A (odd or eccentric disorders) are more prevalent in CH patients than in a population of migraineurs. Larger studies are needed to determine whether certain personality traits are related to CH. The study compared 80 CH sufferers (mostly male, average age 43) with 164 migraine patients (mostly female, average age 36). Using the Salamanca screening test, they found the most common traits in the CH group were: Anancastic (52.5%) Anxious (47.5%) Histrionic (45%) Schizoid (42.5%) Impulsive (32.5%) Paranoid (30%) Compared to migraineurs, paranoid and schizoid traits were significantly more common in CH sufferers. According to this screening tool, Cluster A traits (odd or eccentric personalities) appear more common in CH patients than in migraine patients. I was curious enough to simulate the Salamanca test using a language model and, no surprise, I scored highly on the same cluster: anancastic/OCPD, anxiety-related and schizoid traits. I did not score highly in the histrionic traits. Here’s a brief overview of what the 2 of these personality patterns look like that were pertinent for me, starting with anancastic (also known as Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder, which is distinct from OCD). Anancastic was a new term for me, I hadn't heard of it before: Anancastic Traits (OCPD) Preoccupied with rules, structure, and control Perfectionism that interferes with task completion Rigid thinking, especially around morality Workaholic tendencies at the expense of relationships Difficulty delegating due to high standards Hoarding or excessive saving Stubbornness and resistance to change I score fairly solid on that one, lol. I look at the list and recognize a number of things that I consider work-on's in my life, balance between work and social relationships being one of them; real estate is not a great choice for that I must say. Definitely rigid in my thinking around morality, I wish I was an excessive saver(!!!) and I like tradition, I am not fond of change. And then there’s schizoid which frankly the word has a certain connotation to it but putting that aside: Schizoid Traits Strong preference for solitude Emotionally flat or detached Disinterest in close relationships, including family Limited enjoyment from most activities Unmoved by praise or criticism Few or no close friends or confidants The last time I had really delved into the above traits was to explore one of the other topics of my podcast, fatherlessness - Freud wrote about some of these qualities in Mourning and Melancholia. I was surprised to see some of those traits appear in this study. I have often wondered what bearing early parental loss had in the context of my CH, again difficult to explore because the discussion is contextual, there's no hard and fast with such abstract subjects albeit I have little doubt that early life adversity played a part in my journey with CH. Alas, if you’ve ever felt a bit “wired differently” or found it hard to relate to the social world most people seem to navigate with ease, this study suggests you may not be alone. It’s fascinating and maybe even a little validating to see how certain personality traits appear more frequently among cluster headache sufferers. It raises further discussion points. Are these traits a product of the pain, isolation and the unpredictability of CH? Or is there a deeper neurological or biological predisposition at play? My wife also took the test and didn't score for these results. I could setup an anonymized poll via a Google sheet if there was interest - equally interested in your thoughts as always. Craigo.

Hi all, Sharing a study just published in Cephalalgia Reports titled "Clinical treatment of cluster headache with the serotonergic indoleamine psychedelics psilocybin and LSD and with ketamine: A case series". Abstract Background: Cluster headache is an excruciating condition for which standard treatments are usually insufficient. Evidence has accumulated that serotonergic psychedelic indoleamines including psilocybin and LSD can be effective in preventing attacks. Methods: In this case series, nine patients with episodic and chronic cluster headache that didn’t respond to conventional treatments were treated at a clinic with psilocybin or LSD, under compassionate use provisions, and in most cases separately with ketamine. Results: All patients responded positively to at least one of the treatments, and eight of nine responded positively to the treatment with the psychedelic indoleamines, in several cases with extended periods free of attacks. Conclusion: These clinical data, though of an exploratory nature, add to the existing pool of evidence for the usefulness of these substances for treating cluster headache, and further support the lowering of legal and regulatory barriers to medical access to the psychedelic indoleamines. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/25158163251345472 Fairly powerful findings albeit a small patient cohort. I don't know if ya'll have used Notebook LLM - but the attached audio "podcast" is an AI generated conversation discussing the findings of this article in podcast format. As with all AI - always be cautious but I checked it against the article as I listened and it's an accurate reflection of the article. Psychedelics and Ketamine for Cluster Headache Treatment.wav leighton-et-al-2025-clinical-treatment-of-cluster-headache-with-the-serotonergic-indoleamine-psychedelics-psilocybin.pdf

Whilst it sure does come in handy I’m glad you were joking about the WD-40!!! I had a chuckle reading that. I realize my reply maybe late but there is no contraindication between vitamin D3 and glutathione, I think you could add it to the regimen as a complement. I added NAC to the regimen before when I was on a liver detox buzz which contains the precursor to cysteine, one of the three amino acids that make glutathione, mostly in the liver for detoxification. A couple of the regimen cofactors are also cofactors for glutathione, magnesium and zinc and some of the B vitamins. I haven’t heard or read any reports in the community of it causing CH to flare. Take care and pain free healing vibes your way!

Dropping by to share a review article just published in The Journal of Headache and Pain which adds to the growing body of research suggesting microbial dysbiosis is implicated in migraine pathogenesis. It found migraine patients have less diverse gut microbiomes with elevated bacteroidetes, proteobacteria and firmicutes as well as reduced faecalibacterium, a butyrate producer known for its anti-inflammatory effects. This imbalance may increase gut permeability resulting in neuroinflammation impacting migraine onset and severity. Probiotics and synbiotics reduced migraine frequency, severity, and painkiller use (excluding triptans) in five randomized trials, though results varied by strain and population. Unravelling the gut-brain connection: a systematic review of migraine and the gut microbiome https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10194-025-02039-7 Could similar microbial mechanisms apply to CH? I suspect so. We know CH shares neuroinflammatory pathways with migraines and a couple of recent CH studies suggest there may be a systemic inflammatory component in CH as CH’ers, regardless of whether chronic or episodic (in or out of bout) were found to have elevated levels of oncostatin M and I believe it was the most recent paper that identified a distinct difference in inflammatory cytokine profiles between episodic and chronic CH sufferers. Elevated cytokine levels in the central nervous system of cluster headache patients in bout and in remission https://thejournalofheadacheandpain.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s10194-024-01829-9 Distinct Alterations of Inflammatory Biomarkers in Cluster Headache: A Case Control Study https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ana.27205 So what evidence is there that perhaps diet may be a key therapeutic target for CH? We have the 2018 Lorenzo study to refer, where 15 of 18 chronic CH patients had a therapeutic response with 11 of those achieving clinical remission on a ketogenic diet with the author stating “we observed for the first time that a 3-month ketogenesis ameliorates clinical features of CCH.” Is it reasonable then to ask might its efficacy lie in shifting the microbiome towards a less inflammatory profile? Efficacy of Modified Atkins Ketogenic Diet in Chronic Cluster Headache: An Open-Label, Single-Arm, Clinical Trial https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5816269/ If you read into the literature on vitamin D3, I think there is a strong case for the vitamin D3 regimens use as a preventative therapeutic option to have in the CH toolkit given it’s unique role in modulating the immune response – notably in a dose dependent manner, as shown in one of my all-time favourite vitamin D research papers, somewhat supporting the proposed 10,000iu per day dosage as per the regimen. Disassociation of Vitamin D’s Calcemic Activity and Non-calcemic Genomic Activity and Individual Responsiveness: A Randomized Controlled Double-Blind Clinical Trial https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-53864-1 The above paper was written by Professor Michael Holick, regarded as one of the pioneering vitamin D3 researchers, alongside others like Wagner and Hollis etc. He also wrote another paper showing that vitamin D3 modulates the human microbiome, increasing beneficial bacteria and decreasing pathogenic bacteria. The Effect of Various Doses of Oral Vitamin D3 Supplementation on Gut Microbiota in Healthy Adults: A Randomized, Double-blinded, Dose-response Study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31892611/ The emerging “psilocy-biome” research is nothing short of intriguing too. Psilocybin may alter gut microbiota, increasing beneficial bacteria and reducing inflammation. It could act via the gut-brain axis with microbes metabolizing psilocybin to influence serotonin pathways or dampen neuroinflammation though this needs more study there was a fantastic paper recently published exploring this subject. Further, if the anti-inflammatory effects of psilocybin are in part derived from the interaction with the microbiome, might this contribute to variation in therapeutic response to psilocybin for CH? Mind over matter: the microbial mindscapes of psychedelics and the gut-brain axis https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043661824002834 From my humble perspective it is an exciting time to be following the research. It is interesting as a sufferer to hypothesize where all this may converge in the context of CH. It is also tempting to speculate that a patient led vitamin D3 regimen dated as early as 2011 aligns nicely with what recent research is suggesting in respect of the underlying inflammatory component now suspected in CH, particularly given my personal success with the regimen since 2015. As always, anyone considering the regimen is encouraged to doing it under the care of a physician and the regular monitoring of labs for calcium, PTH and 25(OH)D vitamin D.

We are coming from New Zealand. We intend to do the same or after the conference. It sure would be good to hear of any must see things in Texas! Look forward to meeting ya’ll.

Sharing a new Podcast where I speak with Pete Batcheller, the retired Navy fighter pilot that came up with the Vitamin D Anti Inflammatory Regimen for Cluster & Migraine Headache. Available at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBD5UUj3d5E Pete treated his own cluster headache with this regimen and it has since helped many people, including myself as the host. Pete is a very knowledgeable man and in this Podcast I ask him about some of the synergies between monoclonal antibody medications (mAbs) such as Emgality, Aimovig & Ajovy used to treat cluster and migraine headache and his regimen, it turns out they both work with the neuro-peptide, calcitonin gene related peptide or CGRP - Pete explains a little more about this and the relationship to CGRP and vitamin D. Y ou may refer to our earliest podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SofbD... Pete Batcheller's full Vitamin D Anti Inflammatory Regimen is available for review at the Vitamin D Wiki. Vitamin D Wiki: https://bit.ly/3v3Pyxu Pete has prepared a neurologists handbook reference guide for the Vitamin D Anti Inflammatory Regimen, also hosted at the Vitamin D Wiki: https://bit.ly/3LeVQie

Hi all. Here is an interview explaining the Vitamin D Anti Inflammatory Regimen for cluster and migraine headache with Pete Batcheller, the cluster sufferer that came up with the regimen. (re-film of previous interview with new slides etc). If you've been thinking about trying Vitamin D3, have heard about it for overall good health or have questions about the regimen, i.e. how it works, what if it doesn't work, safety, testing, general supplementation questions etc. then this video will hopefully be of help to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SofbDDhmQUs As always, Batch - thank-you for your contributions. The Vitamin D Regimen for me personally has been absolutely amazing.