Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        New Message Board Archives >> 2003 Posts >> don't forget the alcohol
        
(Message started by: thraal on Feb 26^th, 2003, 7:12am)

Title: don't forget the alcohol
Post by thraal on Feb 26^th, 2003, 7:12am

hi,

i wasn't a heavy drinker or anything, but didn't touch 1 drop in over 2 years - scared to trigger CH... :-/

have (periodic) CH for 6 years now, in the middle of a nasty one at this very moment >:(

i was wondering: after this cycle is over (in about 6 weeks) when would be a good time to start drinking some beer? even one glass would be heaven

i'm so afraid to trigger another cycle - on the other hand, i really would like a beer

how long should i wait, so i'm certain not to trigger anything nasty?

had a really heavy attack yesterday (kip9.5), passed out on the sofa afterwards - woke up this morning and hey! i discovered a new dimension of pain :) new levels of pain which i didn't think you could wake up with

isn't this a fun disease! makes you really feel alive and enjoy it! 8)

at least my left eye works again :o

thx,
t.

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by marty on Feb 26^th, 2003, 7:34am

on 02/26/03 at 07:12:21, thraal wrote:

isn't this a fun disease! makes you really feel alive and enjoy it!

Let's hope that you are being sarcastic..

As to start drinking alcohol again.. when the cycle is over it is over and there are no more "triggers" that are active so to speak. Give it a couple of days PF and try it - that's what I do :)

Marty

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by awbootrear on Feb 26^th, 2003, 8:03am

2 years is a long time.

I can drink regularly during my off periods but during episodes small amounts will trigger them for days if not make them worse (since I might get them anyway). Don't give in until you know they are over.

Having said that, one thing I'm learning to appreciate from this message board is how people respond so differently to treatments and preventative measures even though the symptoms are so specific.

Alistair

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by das on Feb 26^th, 2003, 8:13am

bottom line: You can't let CH consume your life. When you are not in a cycle... drink and be merry. Otherwise, you are constantly thinking about your next attack... not a good thing..

Besides, what is better than a frosty mug of beer ("mmmmmm beer" Homer J.) on a hot summer day? You can't deprive yourself of that.

When I am not cycling, I drink and eat anything I want and don't think about CHs.

BTW, I do not take any meds at all... even in a cycle, when all I need is a little oxygen...

Good Luck.

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by thraal on Feb 26^th, 2003, 9:45am

thanks guys

just what i was hoping to hear in fact

DAMN i should have come to this board earlier

seems i quit drinking for nothing :-/

i already look forward to it - i'll probably only need half a glass to get drunk anyway ;D

ok - it feels like me and my demon are going spend some quality time right now >:(

catch you later

t.

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by cootie on Feb 26^th, 2003, 10:12am

Brad also does whatever he wants once his cycle has ended....usually when his shadows stop he knows he is cool.....or purdy much is HOPEIN it is over.....then he drinks ta fergit the followin weekend and goes from there tryin ta get back to a normal lifestyle. Pam

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by JDH on Feb 26^th, 2003, 1:34pm

I'm also eposodic and I believe I'm FINALLY finished with this current cycle (been pf for over a week now) and I haven't had a drink since Sept. for fear of triggering a CH.
This weekend I'm gonna have a beer or three, (maybe even a hurricane) to celebrate Mardi Gras and see what happens...but you better believe I'll have my Imitrex auto injector in my pocket at all times, just in case ;)
Jim

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by thraal on Feb 27^th, 2003, 2:36am

hi jim

drink one for me too ;D

i'll be thinking about you

thanks for all the encouraging replies everyone

can't wait till this cycle is over - i'll be soo drunk... :P

t.
ps. pf morning this morning! first one in weeks!!!! :)

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by suzy617 on Feb 27^th, 2003, 5:48am

Thraal, Hey congrats on your first pf morning! Looks like happy times are coming soon.
Just wait for that beer though until all shadows have stopped and you feel completely back to normal again (as if any of us were completely normal to begin with ;D) I found I could never drink a beer in cycle but had no problem drinking vodka. I'm glad for that cause I look forward to the weekends to kick back with my friends and have a few.
Anyways, good luck and let us know when you get drunk, LOL.

suzy

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by thraal on Feb 28^th, 2003, 3:04am

thank you suzy

i'm having a 2nd pf morning right now - can't believe my luck :)

maybe the beast is slowly going away, who knows? - don't dare to hope...

i'll make sure to wait at least some weeks after my last attack to start drinking (a really serious amount of) beers

drinking vodka during a cycle sounds really cool 8) i'm too scared of the beast to try that one though ;D

i'll let you know how my first beer was; when i'll be finally sober and stop throwing up ;D ;D

hangovers don't scare me the least btw - if you can handle CHs, a hangover is like a little mosquito peeing in your face 8)

thx,
t.

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by SommelierCH on Feb 28^th, 2003, 8:37am

thraal,

Drink Non-alcoholic beers for one month after the shadows have left. Don’t take a chance.

PFDAN,
David J.

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by wally on Feb 28^th, 2003, 6:14pm

i usually do not have a drop of alcohol during a cycle for fear of it triggering and attack, however last year i went out and got wasted and wouldnt you know it, during the middle of the nite the beast woke me up after having some very bizzare nitemares..so now i wont even touch a drop until the cycle is over and for me it should be in about 1-2 weeks
peace
wally

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by das on Mar 1^st, 2003, 9:03am

In my early days of CH I stopped drinking beer and wine altogether. I also found, for the most part, that hard stuff (i.e. vodka, gin etc.) didn't have the same triggering effect that beer and wine did. Mind you in the later years... that theory kind died as I noticed any alcohol could trigger CH...That's what I love about CH... There's no continuity for more than a few years. How else can you explain meds that wotk at first and then don't after a while, or the fact that hard liquor didn't trigger at first but started to after a few years.. I think that CH is one of the most intelligent diseases. It can adapt to meds and other things...It just wants to mess with you and although it may take a few years, the beast seems to always find ways around things...Am I crazy, or does this thing have a life of its own...

Anyway, for this reason I believe meds are a short term solution to a very long term problem.. That's way I don't take em anymore. Why annoy my liver if I don't have to.

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by thraal on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 5:18am

on 03/01/03 at 09:03:43, das wrote:

That's what I love about CH... There's no continuity for more than a few years. How else can you explain meds that wotk at first and then don't after a while, or the fact that hard liquor didn't trigger at first but started to after a few years.. I think that CH is one of the most intelligent diseases. It can adapt to meds and other things...It just wants to mess with you and although it may take a few years, the beast seems to always find ways around things...Am I crazy, or does this thing have a life of its own...

you're absolutely right - the disease changes as i get older

i used to log the frequency and intensity of my attacks (i had my own 'kip' scale from 1 to 8), so i could "predict" when i was at the peak of my current cycle, how many weeks it would still last or how many attacks/day i would have

all this turned out the be useless - almost each cycle is different; this thing changes as it comes along each time

even the number of months in between cycles can vary wildly

depressing

t.

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by Robb on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 6:49am

Hi, This is my first post. ::) I came here because I want to be able to drink beer without the headache. I'm not sure if I get the headache as severely as you guys and gals. What happens to me is about ten to twenty minutes after only drinking one beer I get a pain from my left lower jaw to behind my left eye, my left eye goes bloodshot and my left eyelid droops slightly. The pain behind and slightly above my left eye can be come very intense. Lasting up to 20mins or so. I have been getting these headaches without beer as well...but beer will bring it on for sure.The strange thing is that it is always the left side of my head??.I went to the doc and insisted on a scan...it came back clear.....I have been searching the net for some kind of a cure....but not knowing whats wrong with me is half the battle....what do you think is wrong with me, headache wise that is?

Title: Re: don't forget the alcohol
Post by suzy617 on Mar 3^rd, 2003, 7:14am

Hi Robb and welcome. You should first take the cluster quiz in here then read all the medical info you can. CH almost always is a one sided HA but you should also insist that your Dr. refers you to a neuro so you can be properly diagnosed.

Good luck,
suzy