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        New Message Board Archives >> 2004 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> Triggers
        
(Message started by: love2bamommy on Nov 25^th, 2004, 10:10pm)

Title: Triggers
Post by love2bamommy on Nov 25^th, 2004, 10:10pm

So today when i was minding my own buisness, having a wonderful time at my Friend Terri's, the most interesting thing happened. She started smoking, and within mins the beast showed up for thanksgiving. Luckly, i caught it before it got to the point of me having to rock side to side. I was also having breathing problems (i don't think the 2 are related, but who knows) Sadly that makes today's total so far 3. Shadows are driving me insane, becuase when i get one, then i can't seem to figure out if this is it! Oh well, Practice makes perfect right? Does anyone know if that is a trigger?
I hope all of you had a PF Thanksgiving. I am Thankful that i have all of you supporting me! Thanks again guys
Cassandra

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by Redneck on Nov 25^th, 2004, 10:40pm

Practice don't make perfect. 22 years and I still wonder at each pain in my right temple if it's real or not. I just don't take anything for granted and treat each one as if it's the beginning of a headache.
I smoke so that doesnt trigger me. perfume, colonge, paint, glue, and assorted other odors kick my butt.
Good luck Cassandra, sorry the beast found you. Hugs
PF and hope your tukey day ended well.

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by nani on Nov 26^th, 2004, 1:12am

Smoking has been a trigger for some...I smoke more during an attack... :-/ I guess if the CH won't kill me maybe the cig will give me a heart attack...

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by thebbz on Nov 26^th, 2004, 12:41pm

I find it weird that I smoke, but during an episode I cant stand the smell and quit. Usually smoking less than one or two a day. Once the bastard demon leaves I'm right back to half a pack a day. ;)
BB

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by becky8 on Nov 26^th, 2004, 2:36pm

Smoke makes me crazy!!!! yes triggers me BIG TIME!!! guess thats the only good thing about CH, can't smoke or be around it

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by survivor13 on Nov 27^th, 2004, 6:32am

smoking during a shadow will cause a full attack for me, during an attack the pain will intensify. but strangely the first thing i want after a big hit is gone, is a smoke. kinda like sex.

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by unsolved1 on Nov 27^th, 2004, 9:34am

I can't smoke during an attack.
I can't eat during an attack.
I can't drink during an attack.
I can't sleep during an attack.
I can't do anything during an attack.

I can't, I can't, I can't

Unsolved

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by IndianaJohn on Nov 27^th, 2004, 6:13pm

I smoke like a fiend when I'm getting hit. It usually helps me. Nicotine is a known vascular constrictor so in combination with some caffiene, I can get through a moderate hit without taking meds.

fwiw,

John

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by Renee on Nov 29^th, 2004, 8:13am

Cigarette smoke is only a trigger for me if it is a menthol cigarette. Other triggers are barometric pressure changes, perfumes, cologne, eucalyptus, fresh cut flowers, paint, glue, gasoline/diesel and ammonia.

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by floridian on Nov 30^th, 2004, 3:56pm

on 11/25/04 at 22:10:59, love2bamommy wrote:

I was also having breathing problems (i don't think the 2 are related, but who knows) Cassandra

Oxygen aborts cluster headaches. Maybe as many 80% of clusterheads have sleep apnea, which can trigger. Lack of oxygen or breathing problems may not be "The Cause" but if someone is on the edge, low O2 may push them over.

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by toolong on Nov 30^th, 2004, 4:31pm

Smoke is always a trigger for me and has been for years.I have a hunting cabin that we only heat with wood.The friggin' hardwood smoke triggers a CH in just a few minutes,same with cigarette smoke.Worse trigger of all is purfume,walked thru department store with wife on Sunday doing a little Christmas shopping and hit the section where they sell the stinky stuff...WHAM!Started with a ear ache then into a full blown CH,been fighting it since then.O2 is all I can use and been hitting it like crazy just trying to keep it under some control.Triggers are different for everybody but some seem to pop up almost all the time.Good luck.PF days ahead. ;)David

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by Gator on Dec 2^nd, 2004, 12:42am

I used to smoke. Quit a couple years ago. My better half still smokes, though. Sometimes it bugs me - sometimes it don't. Bright lights, more specifically (I think) the glare from bright lights, barometric pressure changes, heat - especially humid heat, televisions and computer monitors are my main triggers.

As far as shadows go, I can usually tell when it is going to be a bad hit. It just feels different. Then there are times that it will start to ramp up fast and just stop at about a 3 or 4 and sit and simmer for a couple hours. The beast be a crafty devil. Always keeps you off balance.

Gator

Title: Re: Triggers
Post by allan_r on Dec 2^nd, 2004, 7:31am

I'm not a Doctor , nor do I play one on TV, just wondering though- once we get into a cycle, and we know that one of the symptoms is the dilation of an artery which supplies the blood to our eye and hence our nose -- is our recognition of these smoke and perfume odors or smells as "triggers" just a function of an increased or heightened awareness of the smell, and we are in a pre-headache stage when we notice them anyway. In my case, prior to diagnosis, I would be bothered significantly by perfumes and irritated at times by perfumes, and those damn azaleas next door, and then would have the headaches at night. But I would still have the headaches on time with or without noticing the perfume or the other noxious or offending smells.

in short- are these possible "triggers" merely possibly coincidental smells that we have noticed because we have heightened sense of smell prior to the onset of the headache due to the beginning of the dilation of the artery in our heads?

I am not discounting anyone's causal relations they have found -- I am posting this as I have been examing my experience with possible triggers as well and have found no correlation between any "smell" type trigger for me, especially when outside of cycles those smells are less intense and not as noticeable.

Did this make sense?

allan r