Simple Technique to Abort Headaches Right at Onset!

[Freud]

Well thanks for finally changing the title. I still strongly suggest you read the 27 pages of “Cure”s in the search field before you make another post like this again. Elliot’s posts are a good place to start. You never know. He may still be looking for volunteers for his masterbation study. 

[Freud]

@potter was dead on as usual...

[manishkpratap]

@Freud Nope. The masterbation project doesn't seem to be going too well for you, so I'll pass. You can now stop cluttering this thread with more of your "strong suggestions" as they are irrelevant. You can always start a new thread to describe your experiences with other practices.

[Freud]

It wasn’t my masterbation project. Reading is fundamental. It was @Elliott‘s project.  But I’ll let you protect your thread. And I’ll file your cure with the rest of the “bullshit” as @Potter put it. You really come off as a caring helpful and most of all open minded guy. Looking forward to seeing more of you. 

[Freud]

 “And we can actually focus on the technique rather than getting lost in semantics.”

Not for nothing but, saying you found a “cure” for CH isn’t “semantics” when you haven’t cured yourself or others.   Unfortunately I reread your edit and the whole thread, may be you would have a better reception at http://Clusterheadachs.com

Do you even know what busting is or tried it? Back to your thread, what exactly does pushing on your arm pit do?  With a fist, a finger, there is a lot of territory under there. How long do we hold pressure for. Does tickling help too?  

Edit: let’s be clear tickling the arm pit.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Freud

[SHG]

Semantics are important. It makes a difference when you call CH a disorder instead of a disease, and it make huge difference if you think in terms of causes and cures instead of triggers and treatments. 

As for special abortive methods and Technics - I have quite a few of them myself. I had CH for over 20 years before I was properly diagnosed (in some point I already knew, but doctors had proved themselves so useless that I didn't even try to seek help with them). So I had a lot of time to come up with all kinds of methods, many of which I'm sure all veterans here already know. I also learned a lot about triggers, and managed to be PF for several years - but this always comes to an end sooner or later.

From my experience, most methods lose effectiveness with time. This can be explained in several ways, but it's a fact that many clusterheads report "cures" which do work for some time and than just don't. Other methods remain useful, but aren't enough when the CH gets worse, which it usually does.

Personally, I always try a few tricks before reaching for the Imitrex shot, and I abort over 90% of my attacks in 2-5 minutes. But in the long run, it's a good idea to concentrate more on prevention, and keep the abortives for breakthrough-attacks. It's best to realize that BEFORE you get to a point where you have 30-40 hits a week. 

[Freud]

@SHG do share how do you abort most of your hits in 2-5min other than oxygen or triptans?  I’m very curious. 

[SHG]

1 minute ago, Freud said:

@SHG do share how do you abort most of your hits in 2-5min other than oxygen or triptans?  I’m very curious. 

I don't. Of course I'm using Oxygen and Imitrex.

But when I used Oxygen alone I usually needed 10-15 minutes of 15lpm to abort an attack. Now it's usually 2-5min of 10lpm.
When I'm far from my O2 tank (or forget to replace it in time) I always have Imitrex on me, and it usually works fine.

But even the mighty Imitrex works better if you do a simple thing like putting pressure on your eye orbit, or gently pressure the maxilla area of the face (which inhibit parasympathetic activity to some degree). Or put a popsicle (because there's no ice pack in sight) on the base of your scull (just where they give you the GON shots to the greater occipital nerve). 

[manishkpratap]

For those interested, few research papers that discuss how pressure under axilla (armpit) changes breath flow.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/f47c/f0c9f3820eef41093d9815b9515cdb884eef.pdf

https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/jappl.1970.28.2.162

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/971d/f7658038c42ad218da06b9887217385e4a23.pdf

A more informal description of the technique - https://soranews24.com/2017/11/13/stuffy-nose-ruining-your-day-this-handy-japanese-lifehack-will-clear-your-sinuses-instantly/

I would say easier done than said in this case. Your can try it right away. Your nostril may not be blocked/runny right now, but still, on account of the normal nasal cycle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasal_cycle), one of the nostril will be "dominant". You can apply pressure under that armpit and notice a reversal in dominance. It happens in under a minute.

The best way would be to lie down on sideways if you can, say at home. That way you don't need to apply pressure the armpit. I suggested this alternate method for situations where you cannot. There are no hard and fast rules, the point is to pay attention to the affected nostril, ensure that it stays dominant, flow of breath isn't impaired. As soon as you sense it getting blocked/runny, do it again. Personally, I do it for about a minute every 5-10 minutes, till I am certain that the ache has fully subsided, which takes anywhere from 40-50 minutes.

[ThatHurtsMyHead]

manishkpratap,

I'm also in the camp of only sometimes I get a blocked nose or sinus.  It's also always after I'm hitting a Kipp 6 or higher, never before.  So I'd suspect the sinus inflammation is a result of the attack, not cause.  I can definitely appreciate your sharing what works for you.   On the other hand if the blocked nose or sinus was the cause of the attack.  Wouldn't it stand to reason that anytime we get a cold, flu etc, then we'd also get attacks when we're sick with a blocked sinus or nose?  Just thinking out loud.  Again, I think it's great that you found something that works for you.

Cheers,

J