Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


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

        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Lavender
        
(Message started by: Asia on Nov 13^th, 2006, 12:54am)

Title: Lavender
Post by Asia on Nov 13^th, 2006, 12:54am

I posted on Friday about phobia and anxiety in returning to life, hoping that I'm heading towards being PF. I was going to go grocery shopping...I talked about being afraid to get into public, and that I could get caught with the beast before I could make it to the safety of home.

I realized that I left a very important aspect of my headaches out, especially because it dawned on me that I hear no mention of it in my reading thus far. In CH time, I am extremely sensitive to smells...perfumes, chemicals, air fresheners...anything strong...even fumes from cooking sometimes. The funny thing is, over the years I realize that I subconsciously began collecting perfume, loving to wear it during PF times. That hobby includes bath oils, incenses, candles, etc. Everything has to go during CH, so it is a luxury to be able to do something as simple as use bleach.

So, the deeper connection to leaving the house is about knowing that I've gone places and got "attacked" by random smells (a lady's horrible perfume, an oil/incense kiosk, etc) and immediately got a CH. Last time? A grocery store. (Check THIS self-psychoanalysis!)

Does anyone else have this prob? This is why, in the past, a doc thought it was sinuses. It isn't, however, by no means the only trigger.

Anyway, I made it through the grocery store. I got home, and felt good, even though I kept nervously drinking coffee...lol...

I wasn't ready to post about it yet, but I realize that tonight was actually the bigger test.

Tonight, I bathed in lavender.

It felt wonderful, and I just inhaled it for about 10 minutes. Not even a shadow.

I'm going to finish the Prednisone, try to figure what the taper should be since the doc that prescribed didn't instruct me in it, but I figure if I'm taking 20mg 2x a day, I should go to 1 one time a day and that'll be it. If anyone has been instructed otherwise, let me know.

So, tomorrow, maybe I will wear a bit from a cherished bottle of Chanel No. 5. Thank you, CH.com.

A

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by Giovanni on Nov 13^th, 2006, 3:41am

Hi Asia,

Glad you made it out of the house successfully! I find myself always taking a zomig or imitrex injections with me anywhere I go.....kindof a reassurance thing. Even out of cycle.

Yes, strong smells do trigger an attack during cycle...especially during the apex. Gasoline/solvents are another trigger along with alcohol (as in booze).

Be careful with you taper on Prednisone--I don't remember the taper formula--I'm sure that other will come along on this one. Another thing is that on a taper, I have always been blasted/whacked with the headaches. That is one of the reasons I don't use Prednisone anymore.

On the lavender thing--my brother had given me a lavender small mushie that is soothing. The smell relaxes me.

Best wishes for you...........pf

John

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by keithr1024 on Nov 13^th, 2006, 5:56am

i.m a house painter and aromas can trigger a hit for me so no oil based paints no perfumes even the smell of alcohol can trigger me i,ve also noticed that during cycle my senes of smell seems stronger almost wolf like i've often catch a whiff of something long before any one eles detects it

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by LeLimey on Nov 13^th, 2006, 6:06am

Petrol, Acetone, Engine degreaser my ex's workshop became a real no go area long before he did because the fumes from those thing swere an instant trigger. Strong perfume, bleach, paint, oh paint was awful! I have found thats changed for me now though, whether thats my head settling or meds I don't know. I am chrinic and I have a "cycle" every 5-6 weeks where I have a bad week with alot more hits and I still find that during that time those strong chemically sort of smells set it off terribly.

Its not just you, there are quite a few of us for whom smell can be a trigger some of the time if not all of the time! Be careful, what you get away with one day might hit you back the next. Just know that isn't just you, it happens to others here too.

I hope you have a Chanel#5 day with that said though!
Helen

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by Tata on Nov 13^th, 2006, 8:06am

Hi Asia-
My sense of smell has stopped me from going places at times, too. I've been afraid to go to the mall because of my senitive sniffer and being afraid the smells will trigger a hit. Once, I came home from work and smelled gas--I was running around like crazy trying to find where it was coming from. Couldn't find it inside or out and everyone told me I was crazy because they smelled nothing. Just to get away from the smell, I went to the gas station to get a pop and saw the fire dept and cops at a bar about a half mile from our house---the bar owner had hit the gas line while digging. Another time, I kept smelling this hideous smell that no one else smelled. It turned out that someone had died not far from where we lived and he wasn't discovered for a couple of weeks. My new career after my 2 youngest are in school will either be as a human blood-hound or some kind of side-show freak. If you like Chanel No. 5, try Design (if you haven't already)--it's just as good and I love it. Take care.......Roberta

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by georgej on Nov 13^th, 2006, 11:07am

Interesting on the smell thing.

I don't have any odors that are triggers for CH, but I've always had a strong sensitivity to smells. I'm the designated fish-sniffer in the family when we go to the supermarket--I can detect the freshness of the product to a "T". (Very fresh fish doesn't smell the least bit "fishy", and has a quality that is almost "thyme-y". ) I once smelled a match that was lit in a fireplace indoors when I was outdoors and fifty feet away. I'm always the first to detect a very distant skunk--mercaptans stick out like a sore thumb in the surrounding smell-o-verse.

I wonder whether this sensitivity to smells is a widespread clusterhead characteristic. Women, in general, have an increased sensitivity to scent, but I'm curious whether this extends to male CH'rs. After all--we have some odd stuff going on in our brains. Perhaps a bit of the oddity extends to the Rhinencephalon as well. Just speculating....

You might wish to read "Jacobson's Organ" by Lyall Watson, and "A Natural History of the Senses" by Diane Ackerman sometime if you are so inclined, for more on the sense (or senses--there may be two distinct ones) of smell. Both are well-written and very readable for a general reader. Fascinating stuff.

As far as the lavender goes, Asia--I think whatever helps you to relax can only be beneficial. Scent can be a powerful influence. Glad that it helps.

Best wishes,

George

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by vig on Nov 13^th, 2006, 6:15pm

I really, REALLY dislike scents and perfumes during an episode.

(actually, I don't like them the rest of the time either, but if it covers up B.O. then maybe it's the lesser of 2 evils.)
;;D

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by chewy on Nov 13^th, 2006, 6:35pm

Quote:

I once smelled a match that was lit in a fireplace indoors when I was outdoors and fifty feet away. I'm always the first to detect a very distant skunk--

Stay far far away from the bean factory.

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by georgej on Nov 13^th, 2006, 6:41pm

on 11/13/06 at 18:35:35, chewy wrote:

Stay far far away from the bean factory.

Would that include all of Boston? (Beantown) ;)

Best,

George

Title: Re: Lavender
Post by sandie99 on Nov 14^th, 2006, 7:40am

Asia,

I hope that you can take many, many lovely baths in future! :)

Some scents are triggers to me as well. My former landlady used to burn incense sticks, which triggered a hit. Luckily she didn't burn them that often.

Sanna