"Hey everyone,
I wanted to share my recent experience in case it helps anyone else, especially the ladies here.
I’m 37, and I’ve been a chronic episodic sufferer for 22 years. My cycles usually hit once a year (sometimes every 1.5 years) in the spring or fall and last about a month to six weeks. Up until now, I never really saw a connection between my clusters and my hormones.
That changed on February 20th. My cycle started right as I began taking phytoestrogens to manage low estrogen levels.
It was absolute hell. My daily attack count at least doubled, and the intensity jumped straight to an 8–10 on every single hit. I started reacting to a bunch of new external triggers, including food, which I never had issues with before. At the peak, I was hitting 5–7 attacks a day (my usual is max 3). On March 27th, I honestly thought I was dying—3 back-to-back attacks, 30 mins each, 10/10 pain, plus severe vomiting.
I immediately went cold turkey on the phytoestrogens and added 9mg of Melatonin to my routine. It was a total game-changer. Within 48 hours, I dropped to one attack a day, and the intensity leveled out at a 5–6. Then it went down to a 3–4, and as of today, April 2nd, I’m finally PF (pain-free) and heading into remission.
It’s honestly frustrating how little research there is on the hormonal link to clusters. We really need more focus on this, specifically for women.
Stay strong, everyone!"
