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Alcohol as a "trigger"


CHfather
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  • 4 weeks later...
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  • 2 weeks later...

Alcohol is a hit or miss trigger for me.

I've learned to go with my gut feeling. If I "feel" as if indulging might give me a CH, I avoid it like the plague. Inexpensive or house liquor seems to be the worst.

Right now I just can't take a chance that having a few drinks might screw my head up even more.  No alcohol since June. 

   

 

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Alcohol f's me up. Rarely drink anymore.

Had the best november and desember in 2010 in many years.

Drank alcohol 26. and 31. desember.

This year I've been down with weekly attacks and shadows or migraine the rest of the time. I partly blame the alcohol.

But what can I expect when drinking solvent...

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  • 11 months later...

Ok First post.. So im starting with this thread.

My name is jon I live in maine im 54. first cluster 1976 Been on verapamil since 1992 Just had a chronic episode dec first of jan 10 days of prednisone 360 mils of verapamil

killed the cycle but im scared. Ive already lowered the virapamil back to 240 which was the amount since shadows started in aug of last year. Anyway I love alcohol but have learned to leave it alone as it starts my cycles every time. During the 80s i use to eat cafergot prior to drinking so I could drink.. works sometimes sometimes not.

a few other notes.. Have had 02 since 1992 have had all the imitrex ive needed for I dont know how long...

I just purchased cc seeds. Am going to buy some licorice and skullcap. (im gona try to get off the verapamil and go with this)

Oh here is what got me here! Channel flipping last sunday night at 946pm hit geo channel and could not believe my flipping eyes. saw the show totally by luck. I then found this site but have had a tough time reading or looking at stuff here as it mentally scares me.

jon

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Two sips of wine or beer (my personal favorite) and I am gone. Away from everybody for the rest of the night.

Potato Vodka: No response. Drink it with Tonic. That way I get my malaria medicine for restless leg syndrome. 8-)

BTW, why can't you buy or get a script for Quinine for RLS anymore? Used to take the pills and they worked great. Can't get them now - label says don't take for RLS!!! >:(

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Hey Jon -- Welcome!

Just to be clear -- You mean RC seeds? (You wrote "cc," and I just want to be sure.) 

Licorice root/skullcap have helped a lot of people.  But if you feel you need to get off the verap to try them, you might also consider trying the anti-inflammatory vitamin D3 regimen, in which you might be able to work around the verap while you're quitting it.  http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1314134804

Here's what it says there about verap.  >>>If you are presently taking verapamil as a cluster headache preventative or for a heart condition, studies have shown that after repetitive dosing with verapamil, the serum half-life can be in a range from 4.5 to 12 hours.  Other studies indicated calcium supplements interfere with calcium channel blockers like verapamil.  Calcium gluconate is also used to treat reactions to oral verapamil.  Accordingly, in order to minimize a possible interaction with calcium that may limit verapamil effectiveness, separate the verapamil and calcium doses by at least 8 hours.  Again, discus this regimen with your PCP, neurologist, or cardiologist to work out an optimum dosing schedule.<<<

We're glad you're here!!

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...have had a tough time reading or looking at stuff here as it mentally scares me.

Don't worry Jon, you'll get over that!  8-)

There are lotsa lotsa other CH'ers with a very similar history to yours here (me, I've "only" had CH since 1981-ish  so you beat me to the punch by a good 5 years - also I've been lucky enough not to go chronic).

I think of RC as especially being nothing to be concerned about the side effects with, since for myself and so many others, when taken right before bed, the main side effect is a better than usual night's sleep!

So one minute you're flippin' channels and you see the Nat Geo special, the next you're talking on this forum to the formerly chronic guy who also was on verap for a long time who was featured in it (Hipshot/Dan above). Pretty COOL!  :) 8-)

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...why can't you buy or get a script for Quinine for RLS anymore?

I don't know, but I believe the Hyland's homeopathic RLS formula has quinine in it.

Also, some of us find taking 3 or 4 magnesium gluconate  pills before bed prevents RLS. Potassium is supposed to be good for it too....

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Hi Jon,

Welcome. The more you read - even if at first you have to force yourself - the more comfortable you'll become in learning about and discussing the alternative methods of coping with CH that we talk about here. We're adventurous 'citizen scientists' (can't remember who coined that term) looking for and trying things, either intentionally or accidentally, in hopes of finding relief for this god-awful condition. The discovery that psychedelics can prevent cycles from even occurring was an accident. Many of the more 'natural' remedies were discovered when they provided relief while being taken for some other malady. Many, if not most, of these remedies aren't effective for everyone and some only provide relief for a few. Some work for a while and then lose effectiveness. While nothing appears to work for everyone, we've found that for almost everyone, something they find here does. We're glad you're here. Nobody's gonna shove anything down your throat. Read as much as you will and ask questions. Most of the information you're looking for, you'll find in the ClusterBuster Files: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?board=files. Here's an informative video of a talk given by our founder, Bob Wold:

Good luck,

Ron

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...I am pretty sure I need Potassium....I keep forgetting the Bananas!....

Yep them bananas sure do get a lotta acknowledgement of their potassium content.

But did ya know about these under represented foods just burstin' at  the seams with potassium?:

- Jeebs, the part time food geek who has been reading  "The Encyclopedia of Healing Foods" (recommended)

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Yes I did mean rc seeds, They arrived in the mail and yes Don that video was just dejavu. Thankyou so much for doing what you did. As far as my nurologist goes, his last question to me was "jon is there another drug we should try or be using?" from what I have read i feel lucky that for me verapamil has helped with minimal side effects, I just feel that If I do not taper off of it, it is going to quit working. At what age are people outgrowing ch?

For me times are a little tough ive got one child in an out of state college, got another going in two years but.. im gona talk to the wife, her and I are gona to go to the  vegas covention in the fall.

all thru the 80s and 90s every one told me Jon your head aches are due to stress... what BS.

and yes as a landscaper with a green thumb guess i gotta get growing.

I have not signed the patition yet but will and will most likley after doing so write my two senators

any body else on here from maine?

jon

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I didn't dare trying different alcohols so I don't know if there is one that wouldn't trigger. When in episode, just looking at a bottle sends a shiver and starts a shadow or increases it. And if I drink, it's a kip 10,5 within 10 minutes after the first sip, but maybe that changed IDK. As I say, I don't dare doing that anymore.

But in the last year, many times I had light shadows and was wondering if I was starting an episode... my friend who is a daily beer drinker... offers me one... I hesitate... then I took it as a confirmation I wasn't starting an episode since I had no probs.

Also, I often wondered if any episode was starting once my body had had too much alcohol in the previous weeks/months and because of that. But then again, that couldn't be, because I really started drinking at age 29, 11 years after my 1st CH.

all thru the 80s and 90s every one told me Jon your head aches are due to stress... what BS.

All these years, everyone, even doctors, were telling me: don't eat sugar, avoid chocolate, too much stress just relax, and what else... just last Saturday my friend asked: did you consider stopping cigarettes? Grrr! Is it my CH making me anti-social? I got mad and left right away... just me and my dog in my cave, me, my dog and the beast  ;)

At what age are people outgrowing ch?

Uhhhh IDK, is there an age for CH? I don't think so. My brother started at 42, me at 18. After reading a thread about testosterone on CH.com, and other threads, I am now convinced it's hormones related. Hormones unbalance can happen at any age and for different reasons. But I'm just a newbie on these forums, so that's just my 2 cents.

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