CHA - autoimmune? Or not?

[Sue mcdonald]

I am curious. Do the people on here see this phenomenon of CHA as being autoimmune? 

Or definitely not?

Just curious. Thanking you for your thoughts and views.

[jon019]

....before i knew a single thing about CH...including the long delayed diagnosis... it was my belief that there was (and is) a connection between these damn headaches and my decidedly compromised immune system. these included multiple autoimmune ailments along with constantly evolving food and environmental allergies/intolerances..

.... and though formerly known as "histamine headache",  i think CH it has got to be far beyond just histamine etiology...this proven to me in my own treatment over the years where the most powerful antihistamines (script and otc) had virtually zero effect on my CH. seems there is far more going on than a direct relationship between the two. that said, diphenhydramine has been most helpful for a number of clusterheads....but then, it has effects beyond antihistamine including sleep and probably anti inflammatory, et al...

....measures like the D3 regimen, that have a direct effect on the immune system as a whole, are helpful for many....

.... the keto diet and probiotics may be helpful in similar ways. i do not know enough about either, other than anecdotal reports of benefits...

[kat_92]

This is an interesting topic. I really do not know the reason for CH. I do not think there is any correlation between the 2. I also read that it is hereditary. No one in my family(literally no one) suffers from any kind of headaches. But then again, the D3 regimen works so well for some which is an over all immune builder. I am a very healthy 29 year old female, and I have chronic CH. the news hit me like a ton of bricks

[Juss]

I had to think about this, and for once I am stumped, at a loss, and strongly considering what all of you have stated. If it were linear, I have fibromyalgia and an exceptionally rare autoimmune condition that causes pernicious amnesia-and numerous other serious neurological conditions-called Stiff Person Syndrome.

Second, on the subject of Vitamin D, well, very basic, that targets inflammation, shuts it down. We understand that inflammation and autoimmune run hand-in-hand.

Why are none of us checking are a1c and glucose to determine insulin resistance? We all know about how big medicine expurgated all of the evidence of insulin resistance and fibromyalgia. I go on a pop (soda) bender and it turns into an all-nighter, disturbed sleep cycle, and worse pain all over for days.

Gut health is paramount, but prebiotics, probiotics, and fiber take time. You still need L-Glutamine. As a rule of thumb, when you stop buying Charmin, you're on the path to great gut health. Over 100 billion neurons, 80%, are in the gut. There is a connection. They don't understand how much, because they are just beginning to understand the symbiotic relationship on the most basic level.

If you have a hole in your gut, all those nutrients are not absorbed, and it is about useless. Leaky gut, dysbiosis is serious business, and in every major medical journal. Again, just how much of a connection is what is unknown.

Histamine is but a marker, I believe related to homocysteine and @jon019from what little I do know, it is far more than the 1980s histamine headache, or worse the once coined vascular headache. I'm just not smart enough to discern the latest research out there. That is for the MD/Ph.D. 

In sum, autoimmune? Damn, a good question. I will see what I can find and report; I will tag you so that you can be reminded of the update. This could take some time.

 

 

 

[spiny]

Just a small thing to add here. Most of our Serotonin is in our gut, not our head. And we do target Serotonin. So that seems to say that there is some connection between the head and gut. As do all the foods many exclude when in cycle. It appears that what goes on in our gut affects our head to some extent. Or vice versa. It is a very interesting topic.