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cluster headaches and exercise


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Has anyone else tried exercise?  Seems to me so far on the days I go to the gym and exercise for 45 minutes to an hour I don't get headaches those days. I'm wondering if it has to do with the saratonum released in your brain when you exercise?  I will let you know what I experience further in the future as I am going to try to start going daily to the gym. ...let me know what you think

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Well, a very loved Ch'er swears by exercise. Her CH is very severe and she still busts, but now she is heavy into working out and competing. She looks amazing and feels terrific. This Lady would kick most anyone's butt in Cross-fit. Well, I think that is what you call it.

So, go with what works, as always.  :)  Some run at the start of a hit or work out at the start. It works for them. Even if it is not the serotonin, you are PF and that is what counts, right?

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THMH

We stay in touch via FB. She is doing great!!!! And so is her beautiful daughter.

You should see her workout!!!!!!!!! Buff does not do justice. Cross Fit is a helluva workout.  :o She is amazing and seems to be very happy and PF.  8-) Makes me really wish I was 30 something again watching what she does.

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That is awesome to hear about the Ting. :)

Super vigorous exercise at the onset of an attack is a known abortive for some of us (for me it can work, but not in high cycle).

For others exercise is a CH trigger, which is just the sort of added insult to injury only a beast could stoop to.  >:(

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Ran a mile and a half at the gym yesterday after work.  Felt great but still got hit at 1 am with a kip 3 lasted about 20 minutes was back in bed by 145 and slept all night with my cpap machine on ......just wished the beast would go away and leave me alone. ...when I was a kid 16 I was chronic those were rough. ...lasted about 4 years then when I was like 29 they dissappeared for about 10 years ....think the stress of divorce brought them back on cause I have been seasonal since 2010. Mm work for me but we have not seen any growth yet around here. ...just trying to buy time till it gets humid......ugh!

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To much strenuous activity is a trigger for me. If it doesn't cause a cluster, then a headache or migraine is sure to follow. Once got a really bad cluster attack after Yoga! it's the downward dog, can't stand that position, can't stand Yoga.

tangerinearmy, you mentioned not getting attacks at work when you were a plasterer. I don't get attacks at work, and I sit at a computer all day, or am up in front of a class teaching. I put it down to the slightly  heightened stress levels at work. Just knowing I'm at work and would be terrified of an attack there raises my stress to keep them away - or at least that's how I see it.

I get 99% of my attacks when I'm chilling out at home - relaxation is bad.

MG

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before cluster came i was always at the gym, i was boxing doing MMA, my dream was to be a fighter.. all doctors told me no more sports for me...

just this year before my cycle started i was training hard, ofcourse no hits just pumping muscle, runing.. after month cycle started earlear when ever... I am afraid it is a trigger for me... and trainig was most imortant thing for me...

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Rim', I wouldn't jump to that conclusion.  People with CH are constantly trying to connect events and see causes, but CH is so variable that you can very often be wrong in your guesses.  As you can see from the posts above, some people with CH do very vigorous training and believe it helps them; others believe it brings on attacks.  They could all be right.  When you have your CH stabilized, and you are doing the D3 reliably and maintenance dosing with seeds or truffles or whatever you have, I'd strongly recommend that you go back into training. 

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  • 1 year later...

Well, a very loved Ch'er swears by exercise. Her CH is very severe and she still busts, but now she is heavy into working out and competing. She looks amazing and feels terrific. This Lady would kick most anyone's butt in Cross-fit. Well, I think that is what you call it.

So, go with what works, as always.  :)  Some run at the start of a hit or work out at the start. It works for them. Even if it is not the serotonin, you are PF and that is what counts, right?

That's awesome. My wife is very into CrossFit. I do some of the elements, but my bad knees stop me from doing many of them. If she competes, I am curious who she is. When I would be in cycle I know I would get hit frequently after running.

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  • 5 months later...
  • 7 months later...
  • 3 years later...

I ,too, fall on the side of the fence where exercise can be a trigger. Not only that, but any repetitive movements on my left side (where I get attacks) can also set it off - things like bowling, sweeping, painting a wall etc. So it's not just a high-energy oxygen/ bloodflow thing going on as there's very little excursion happening. 

I also have Horner's syndrome on my left side, which always becomes more prominent (constricted pupil and droopy eyelid) during bouts. Horner's has a few causes which can be hard to pin down, but I did wonder if the nerve problems it indicates could be aggravated by exercise/repetition, and whether that in turn has a knock-on effect to the clusters. 

Over the years I have filled out many questionnaires (as I'm sure many here have), I wonder if anyone has produced a matrix of symptoms, conditions and triggers that compare these things? I've certainly not seen one but would be very interested in the results if they are available. This thread alone shows the strange variations we see between patients, it's all so frustrating. 

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I had ben pain free for two years and a half, but unfortunately started a new cycle two weeks ago. I like excercising a lot, swimming, running, hiking, biking...you name it. Yesterday, the pain woke me up during the night but I controlled it with zolmitriptan. Usually when I do that early, I'm pain free for pretty much the rest of the day, so I decided to leave home before I started working. I was hiking a steep route nearby and right at the toughest part I started feeling the pain coming back. I was close to the top so I decided to finish, even though I didn't have any "tool" with me to stop it and was about an hour away from home. I got to the top with my head exploding, but right when I started going down and my heart slowed down, the pain started to go away. 

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  • 4 weeks later...

@Tomas I've experienced something similar when running to abort attacks. If I stop running too soon, the attack will build and sometimes really fast. But if I run a full ~20-30 mins, it will pass.

This works best when I first feel the attack creeping in, it turns into "get up and go!"... I can't always bolt out the door, but it's good to have this "tool" available in certain situations.

Good luck

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  • 1 month later...
On 3/17/2015 at 2:56 PM, Rimantas said:

before cluster came i was always at the gym, i was boxing doing MMA, my dream was to be a fighter.. all doctors told me no more sports for me...

just this year before my cycle started i was training hard, ofcourse no hits just pumping muscle, runing.. after month cycle started earlear when ever... I am afraid it is a trigger for me... and trainig was most imortant thing for me...

I feel the same. it can be a trigger at times and when you work out hard the attacks are much more severe when they start. I felt at time that working out helps lessen the frequency but can say for sure it makes the CH episode much worse when it does happen..it also feels related to muscles tightness, especially around the neck.

my conclusion is that working out can benefit with CH but with low-medium intensity..hope this helps.

stay strong.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

First of all, have you read this;  https://www.vitaminexpress.org/uk/melatonin-supplements

I usually stick to yoga and low impact exercises (ie. post op, post-natal) that aren't too intense. I keep my sessions light and take breaks and focus on my breathing when I feel my head start to pick up. Melatonin has done little for me because nothing seems to stop me from waking up with the headaches and I'm fairly free for the day. I also tried diphenhydramine with no success. 

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