Juan Pablo Prieto Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Pablo Prieto Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hi Brain on fire, yes I will share the information and continue the post as soon as I have a chance. Best wishes. J. Pablo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoxieGirl Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 MG's first rule of clusters: No two cluster sufferers are the same, and just as soon as you figure yours out, it changes. Really glad you found a system that works for you. A lot of people report that physical exercise helps with clusters, and a good diet low in processed foods and sugars is always a good idea. I'm sure you'll find people who find this method works, and just as many that don't. As an example, for most cluster headaches, alcohol is a massive trigger. But not for me. In fact, I can use it to abort a migraine if I have to. We are all different. MG 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandownunder Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hi Juan Pablo Prieto is this the study you are referring to? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5816269/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Pablo Prieto Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 Hi to everyone! Bain on fire, I´m super sorry I havent posted! I will, I have been super busy with work, family and school. I will make time next weekend to post. Dandownunder, I found a different study, but also found the one you just posted, but in a youtube video. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGY6hLrQOLA Best wishes. J. Pablo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juan Pablo Prieto Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 MoxieGirl, I hope you are ok. I know, I my self struggled with that (thinking I had figuered it out and then getting worst). But I want to think that since the mechanism is the same for all of us (the machanism wich physically causes the pain) so is the way of avoiding it. I dont know, may be the key is that I did not took a diet low in processed foods and sugars, "low" being the key word.. I took a NO sugar and NO processed foods diet. Maybe it´s like a motor engine, there is no such amount as "a few drops of water" getting into the engine that will still be okay. As little watter as possible will result in a major failure of the engine. And since our brain as I have just learned recently is in fact all about chemical reactions.. have you seen what a super small amount of nitroglycerine can do? I really hope this helps everyone, may be it wont but I really hope it does. I´ve never been anxious about the next cycle. This time I am, so I can confirm this works at leas for me and hopefully for as many people as possible. Best wishes J. Pablo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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