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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> Ginger Root
        
(Message started by: darth_malted on Feb 18^th, 2007, 11:45pm)

Title: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 18^th, 2007, 11:45pm

I've been suffering CH for about 11 years now. Five years ago I read about and started using Ginger to abort my CH. Raw ginger root has become one of my best friends. I keeps some, and a pocket knife with me at all times. As soon as I start to feel one lurking, I cut about 1/4 inch or more of fresh, raw Ginger root. I start chewing it to a pulp so I my stomach will absorb the juice more quickly. This took some getting used to as that much raw ginger is really spicy. The small discomfort of chewing on raw ginger is nothing compared to 3-4 hours of CH.
This really has worked for me. The effectiveness has been around 80% successful which is no worse than when I was taking meds like MIDRIN and there are no side effects.

Has anyone else tried this?

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by pattik on Feb 19^th, 2007, 9:54am

I'm glad to hear you get results from ginger. Lots of folks have posted about using it with varying degrees of success. I think you're the first I've seen who just chews on it as is. There has also been quite a bit of research on ginger's capacity to decrease nerve pain. Here is one link with some general information from a recent OUCH newsletter:
http://www.ouch-us.org/newsletters/06-2006/06-2006-07.htm
Do you use anything else to abort your headaches? Oxygen (link on the left) is another very successful method.

patk

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Lobster on Feb 19^th, 2007, 12:07pm

Mmmm... ginger.
I love ginger in any form.
The cubed glazed ginger pieces are delicious.
If ginger is a treatment, then I welcome it.

That said, I am picky about abortives. If I am not saying 'ahhh' in 5 minutes, chances are I would not go with it.

/allergic to intense pain
//o2 and Imitrex injection sleeper

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by vietvet2tours on Feb 19^th, 2007, 1:52pm

Bettin one post and out

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Gator on Feb 19^th, 2007, 3:02pm

on 02/19/07 at 13:52:26, vietvet2tours wrote:

Bettin one post and out

And posts like this could be why. You know, people will show their true colors (for good or for bad) all on their own. Why provoke someone, who might really be trying to pass along what s/he thinks is valid information, into a defensive posture right off the bat? I really believe in some cases we create the monsters we fight.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by E-Double on Feb 19^th, 2007, 3:29pm

Quite a few people use ginger to abort shadows.
I haven't heard of it being used for full blown attacks but that is not to say it is not possible.

Good luck and glad you found some relief.

E

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by starlight on Feb 19^th, 2007, 10:27pm

Interesting. I have never heard of that for CH but I would try it. It is good for digestion, and I know I get a lot of weird digestive problems (IBS) very bad when I have CH, don't know why but always have so maybe helping digestion helps the headaches somewhat. Glad it works for you--it is yummy I will try it.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Linda_Howell on Feb 19^th, 2007, 10:52pm

Quote:

chewing on raw ginger is nothing compared to 3-4 hours of CH.

I think I'm more concerned that she is getting 3 to 4 hours of CH. Is this a real time frame for you Darth?

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by LeLimey on Feb 20^th, 2007, 4:37am

I know alot of people who swear by ginger tea (literally a spoon of ginger in hot water) as an EARLY abortive. I haven't tried it myself but it seems as successful for them as red bull is for me however -

Info you all should know

GINGER

Contraindications

Gallstones
Ginger supplements should be discontinued at least 2 weeks prior to surgery or dental extractions to prevent excessive bleeding

Interactions with medications

Use caution when combining with other anticoagulant herbs and medications including ginkgo, garlic, aspirin, ibuprofen and other NSAIDS
Do not combine ginger with prescription anticoagulants like warfarin (10)

Taken from http://www.eclecticphysician.com/herbs/ginger.shtml

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Melissa on Feb 20^th, 2007, 8:18am

If I drink it soon enough, ginger tea works just as well as coffee for me in getting rid of shadows. Not only that, it doesn't leave me wide awake and jittery.

Glad it works for you!

:)mel

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 21^st, 2007, 9:54pm

I haven't tried crystalized ginger or mixing powdered ginger with water.

Melissa, What kind of ginger tea do you use? Do you have it already brewed up and on hand?

A year ago I started using Red Bull as well and that seems to work. At this point if a Red Bull is available I'll take both at the first sign.

I just ordered some pepper spray. Has anyone tried it yet?

-ted

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by vietvet2tours on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 1:45pm

on 02/21/07 at 21:54:59, darth_malted wrote:

Pepper spray works real good on tacos.Maytbe ya ought to do a little reading here.Try oxygen it might work for you.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by vietvet2tours on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 1:46pm

on 02/19/07 at 15:02:20, Gator wrote:

Hey did I get it right this time?

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Gator on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 6:36pm

on 02/22/07 at 13:45:18, vietvet2tours wrote:

Pepper spray works real good on tacos.Maytbe ya ought to do a little reading here.Try oxygen it might work for you.

on 02/22/07 at 13:46:03, vietvet2tours wrote:

Hey did I get it right this time?

Considering the validation his first post received from numerous sources, it looks like he's not the only one who stand to read a bit.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by vietvet2tours on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 6:41pm

on 02/22/07 at 18:36:15, Gator wrote:

Considering the validation his first post received from numerous sources, it looks like he's not the only one who stand to read a bit.

I have no idea what crawled up your ass gator but you should learn to spell if you are going to fuck with me.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Gator on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 7:35pm

LOL That's funny. How about you point out the word spelled incorrectly in my last post?

As far as what's crawled up my ass - it's people who go out of their way to give newbies a hard time because they've posted something the trouble makers never heard of. This "if I never heard of it or it don't work for me, therefore anyone who mentions it is wrong" crap gets old.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by nani on Feb 22^nd, 2007, 8:48pm

on 02/21/07 at 21:54:59, darth_malted wrote:

I just ordered some pepper spray. Has anyone tried it yet?

-ted

Hi ted. Are you the same ted who likes to come here every once in a long while and post stuff that'll make people fight? Good to see you back if you are. ;)

If you're not... pepper spray probably isn't going to help.

pf wishes, nani

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by vietvet2tours on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 10:45am

on 02/22/07 at 18:36:15, Gator wrote:

Considering the validation his first post received from numerous sources, it looks like he's not the only one who stand to read a bit.

That would be stands not stand.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 3:04pm

on 02/19/07 at 13:52:26, vietvet2tours wrote:

Bettin one post and out

You're right. I don't know how you saw through my ruse but you did. I'm a modern day snake-oil salesman.

I work for the powerful Ginger industry. For the past six months, my company, a subsidiary of Halliburton, has had me trolling message boards, trying to coerce people into buying more ginger.
Did you know, besides helping with clusters, ginger can lower your debt, pick an oscar winner, channel the dead and even increase your high score on Galaga! ;;D

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 3:22pm

Seriously though, I thought this was supposed to be a POSITIVE support community. I've read this message board for over a year now and received a lot of good advice. Since I haven't read any posts here about ginger I decided to relay my experience. I've had really postive results and it would be selfish not to let others know of other possible options. I've read most of the threads here and the only conclusive thing I've noticed is that:

A. Nothing works 100%. If it did, we all would be using it.

B. Not everything works for everybody.

This being said we all need as many tricks in our bag as possible. When one thing stops working or we run out of our current strategy, it's good to know that other possiblities exist.

Yesterday I aborted 4 CH with ginger and red bull and 1 with 2 teaspoons of powdered ginger in a glass of water. I lost 1 battle this morning since I didn't wake up in time. I beat down antother CH this afternoon with raw ginger root. This last one kept trying for about 15 minutes but eventually expired.

Peace and PFD

--ted--

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 3:27pm

on 02/22/07 at 13:45:18, vietvet2tours wrote:

Pepper spray works real good on tacos.Maytbe ya ought to do a little reading here.Try oxygen it might work for you.

BTW. MAYBE you should spell-check your posts before calling the grammer police. ;)

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Guiseppi on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 4:53pm

Hey Darth welcome to the board. I used to let myself get fired up and get into blasting contests but Linda H. has made me sworn to stay out of the gutter fights! That being said:

I get a little worked up over how harshly some people respond to posts. I understand the need to keep out trolls, they have hurt and continue to hurt a lot of people. But it scares me to think of how many people like you, who I don't think is a troll, get disgusted with the harsh attacks and never come back. How cruel to deprive someone of the info on this board.

My point?? As my wife would claim, I rarely have one! Take the good info on the boards and ignore any personal attacks. There will always be people who are bored with life and always looking for a fight. Don't let them blind you to the rest of us on the board that hurt with you and appreciate your posts. the reponses to your post were 10-1 good to bad so, nuff said????

Wishing you some pain free times. I'll keep reading your posts with an open mind!
;;D

Guiseppi

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Gator on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 10:08pm

Sorry folks last time in this thread, I promise.

on 02/22/07 at 17:36:15, Gator wrote:

Quote:

Considering the validation his first post received from numerous sources, it looks like he's not the only one who stand to read a bit.

on 02/23/07 at 10:45:17, vietvet2tours wrote:

That would be stands not stand.

Actually what I meant to say was "...who could stand to read a bit."

I figured you'd reread your post and realize how stupid you looked correcting my spelling when you use words like "Maytbe" (let's not even talk about spaces between sentences) and drop it. Guess not. What was that, something about pointing out a splinter in my eye with a tree in yours? Whatever. But hey, if it gives you something to do, my grammer's not always the best either. You want to chase me around the message board pointing out errors, knock your socks off!

Okay, I'm done with that.

-ted, thanks for your contribution. Looks like there are several people who have either heard of or used ginger for their ch in some form or fashion.

As for pepper spray, lots of people here have tried it and most found it didn't work as an abortive. There are studies which indicate it might be more useful (even if only moderately so) when used as a preventative.

Here is a 1993 report of using capsaicin, the active ingredient in peppers, in cluster headache.

http://www.ouch-us.org/medications/capsaicin.htm

Capsaicin is also the primary agent in an experimental drug called Civimide. Here is one study, from 2002, on the effectiveness of civimide as an preventative for episodics. Apparently, it doesn't work as well in Chronics.

http://www.ouch-us.org/medications/civamide.htm

Best thing you can do, especially since you have already ordered it, is give it a whirl. Keep a headache journal so you can accurately track success or failure and let us know how it goes.

Welcome to the meat grinder.

Mike

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by BlueMeanie on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 10:40pm

80% success rate. Ginger root juice must be some good stuff. Would someone else please jump on the Ginger root bandwagon for beta-testing ? I would, but not in cycle.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by kcopelin on Feb 23^rd, 2007, 11:47pm

Well, I'm chronic....but would be willing to try ginger-need more info as all I've used is dried ginger. You get the ginger root-which I know looks pretty funky-and then what?

kathy (willing to be a guinea pig if it will get this thread back on track)

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by BB on Feb 24^th, 2007, 12:27am

Would crystalised ginger work just the same ? Or does it have to be fresh roots ?

Has anyone tried crystalised ginger ?

Ginger tea didnt do much for Daniel, maybe it was too weak ?

Annette

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 24^th, 2007, 1:06am

on 02/23/07 at 23:47:51, kcopelin wrote:

When you buy ginger root you'll notice it looks like a bunch of oblong bulbs branched together. I break off a bulb so it's easier to work with. I remove about 1/2 inch off one end and cut myself a 1/4 inch slice from the remaining piece. You can cut off the skin if you want but it is not neccessary. I bite off one small piece at time and chew it until I've turned it into pulp. This can be a little intense at first.:o Swallow the juice and the pulp. I want the compounds in the ginger to get into my system as soon as possible to abort the attack.

The bulb size will vary but a 1/4 inch slice from an average size bulb (1.5 inch diameter) is usually sufficient. I will take a second piece sometimes when I feel an especially strong attack coming.

The non-used piece of ginger will seal itself where you cut it and can be kept at room temperature for a couple of weeks.

Good Luck,

--ted---

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 24^th, 2007, 1:09am

Hey Mike,
Thanks for the support. Anyone quoting Tom Robbins is A-OK by me.

--ted---

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Melissa on Feb 24^th, 2007, 9:53am

on 02/21/07 at 21:54:59, darth_malted wrote:

Melissa, What kind of ginger tea do you use? Do you have it already brewed up and on hand?

I actually had some gingerbread tea on hand, had enough ginger in it to ward off shadows, but that's all. Ginger capsules worked too, but have never tried to abort with straight ginger root.

If you do a Google search on Ginger tea, you'll find you can order it.

I would usually pop some water in the micro. for 2 min, then put the tea bag in and let it steep a bit before drinking it. I think the hotness of the water kicked in before the ginger tho. I wonder if anyone has tried to just drink hot water (not scalding!) to see if even that would take away shadows?

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by swimchica623 on Feb 26^th, 2007, 4:40pm

I've never eaten ginger root before but I've had crystalized ginger a lot just cuz I like it (never tried it for clusters though) and I admit when I saw this post I was a little skeptic but when I got thinking I could see how it just miiiiight work a little bit, for shadows anyway.....if anyone wanted to experiement with crystalized ginger what I would do is chew it up really quickly. When I'm enjoying mine, I eat it really slowly cuz it is pretty strong stuff...that along makes my sinuses clearer and airways too a bit, thats why I like to keep it around (and I've become attached to the flavor!)
But......I could see how maybe if you had such a strong herb going that could be a bit of a shock to your system, maybe? At the very least the ginger could help clear up the stuffiness even if it didn't touch the pain, I'd give it a try just for that maybe after a hit or during a shadow, you got my curiousity now! I've never heard of this before and anything that is NOT MEDICINE is good news. :-) (espiecally if its tasty and I got some in the kitchen already!)
I don't see tea being strong enough though...just my thoughts...
Lisa

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Gator on Feb 27^th, 2007, 2:15am

on 02/26/07 at 16:40:18, swimchica623 wrote:

anything that is NOT MEDICINE is good news.

Not meaning to single you out, here, but I see this a lot in various wordings and it is a very dangerous premise.

Natural/Herbal does not automatically = safe. Many herbal treatments have strong effects on the body and the mind and side effect potentials just as bad as prescription medications. They can also interact with each other and with prescription medications in ways that can be dangerous. Maybe more so than prescription drugs, because "supplements" are not regulated or studied very closely as opposed to prescription meds. You should study the effects, side effects and interactions of herbal treatments just as closely as with any prescription drug.

Please don't take this as a personal attack. I have nothing against herbal treatments. I have tried some of them myself. I just want people to be careful and informed.

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by JohnM on Feb 27^th, 2007, 3:29am

I wonder if Ginger Beer would work?

Regarding ginger- my wife is a very bad sailor :P We were sailing in the mediteranean a good few years back and my wife was feeling very queasy and seasick. She was given a slice of root ginger to chew on and keep in her mouth. Despite her hating the taste it fixed her seasickness inside 15 minutes. She has always put a piece of ginger in her mouth every time we have sailed since then and has never been once seasick.

It is also supposed to be an excellent anti-inflamatory.

John

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by swimchica623 on Feb 27^th, 2007, 5:09am

on 02/27/07 at 02:15:24, Gator wrote:

Not meaning to single you out, here, but I see this a lot in various wordings and it is a very dangerous premise.

Please don't take this as a personal attack. I have nothing against herbal treatments. I have tried some of them myself. I just want people to be careful and informed.

Good point, good point. Perhaps I should have said "anything I originally bought as candy over Christmas and can be used to maybe make some part of CH a little better=good news." :)

Because you are right, its important to always tell your dr about herbal supplements and use them correctly! No offense taken. :)

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Lobster on Feb 27^th, 2007, 4:29pm

on 02/24/07 at 00:27:13, BB wrote:

Has anyone tried crystalised ginger ?

Heh heh... I have not snacked on crystallized ginger for perhaps 4 or 5 years.

I just ordered 2 pounds of it off Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Wholespice-Ginger-Crystallized/dp/B000MRLNXO/sr=1-9/qid=1172611730/ref=sr_1_9/002-8273024-4371209?ie=UTF8&s=gourmet-food

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by darth_malted on Feb 27^th, 2007, 11:21pm

My window of opportunity for aborting a headache is usually pretty small. For me, a tea would take to long to brew and drink.

I fought the beast numerous times this weekend and won every time with the one-two punch of red bull and ginger. Sunday morning the beast caught me sleeping and hit me hard for 3 hours. My head was sore for all of sunday and monday.

On sunday afternoon I started using the Sinus Buster pepper spray. I used it 4 times on sunday and 4 times on monday to try to alleviate some of the residual soreness from Sunday's defeat. It does have quite a bite to it but that only lasts for a few seconds. It's kind of like the effect of wasabi or chinese mustard, hot and quick. I felt a little bit of relief but this wore off quickly.
Whether or not this will work is still to be determined. Besides the sore head I was cluster free for the rest of sunday and all day monday. I was getting optimistic that this pepper stuff might be doing the trick. Today (tuesday) the beast was back again, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Ginger and red bull aborted both attacks.

---ted-----

Title: Re: Ginger Root
Post by Barry_T_Coles on Feb 28^th, 2007, 9:24pm

on 02/27/07 at 03:29:14, JohnM wrote:

I wonder if Ginger Beer would work?
John

That’s interesting; when I got my second lot of clusters back in 2005 & twigged that beers was my main trigger I for some reason had a craving for ginger beer & would drink about 3 litres a night to replace not having a beer.
Wether it was my body crying out for something or just the word beer I’ll never know I suppose.

Cheers
Barry