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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> the use of caffeine
        
(Message started by: fivepointnine on May 25^th, 2004, 10:31am)

Title: the use of caffeine
Post by fivepointnine on May 25^th, 2004, 10:31am

i have had ch's since i was 14 and i am now 25. i have tried a lot of stuff. recently i have been in a cluster phase and they have been pretty aggressive so i would do anything to halt them, well i know that caffeine is supposed to constrict your blood vessels. i tried red bull to get some caffeine quick and it seemed to work i have only tried it 3 times so far but every time i did it it has worked .i was about an hour into my ch and i drank 2 redbulls fast and in no time it had gone away. not sure if there is a link but for $2 a can i will continue to give it a try. (o2 and imitrex is so expensive)if anyone knows any thing else about this please reply

Title: Re: the use of caffeine
Post by floridian on May 25^th, 2004, 1:09pm

Caffeine is well know and loved here. Other beneficial effects might come from the coldness of the beverage (many like cold compresses, or full blast AC when they are hit). Also, there is some possibility that the B vitamins or other supplements have an effect - not sure offhand what they put in Red Bull.

If you have an insurance gap, check out the threads on magnesium and melatonin. Many people report they help, but nothing seems to help everyone. A months worth of Mg and Melatonin (M&M) is under $10.

Title: Re: the use of caffeine
Post by fivepointnine on May 26^th, 2004, 6:29am

thank you for the reply i have been all alone trying to figure out this whole crazy mess all on my own till i found this site if you have any more ideas PLEASE feel free to share them!!

Title: Re: the use of caffeine
Post by Bob_Johnson on May 27^th, 2004, 7:13am

Rather than start your journey with CH by getting bits and pieces, get either the second or third book. You get a systematic presentation about treatment.
-----

HANDBOOK OF HEADACHE MANAGEMENT, 2nd ed., Au. Joel Saper, MD, 1999, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. A highly condensed volume for doctors but good for "advanced" clusterheads who have a grasp of medical terminology and medications. Covers all types of headache with the section on cluster being brief. Sections on general considerations in treatment and on medications are important.

MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $49 at Amazon.Com. This volume is better organized and easier to read for nonprofessionals compared to Saper's book. It covers all types of headache and is primarily focused on medications. While the two chapters on CH total 42-pages, the actual relevant material is longer because of multiple references to material in chapters on migraine, reflecting the overlap in drugs used to treat. I'd suggest reading the chapters on migraine for three reasons: he makes references to CH & medications which are not in the index; there are "clinical pearls" about how to approach the treatment of headache; and, you gain better perspective on the nature of headache, in general, and the complexities of treatment (which need to be considered when we create expectations about what is possible). Finally, women will appreciate & benefit from his running information on hormones/menstrual cycles as they affect headache. Chapter on headache following head trauma, also. Obviously, I'm impressed with Robbins' work (even if the book needs the touch of a good editor!) (Somewhat longer review/content statement at 3/22/00, "Good book....")

HEADACHE HELP, Revised edition, 2000; Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, $15. Written for a nonprofessional audience, it contains almost all the material in the preceding volume but it's much easier reading. Highly recommended.

Title: Re: the use of caffeine
Post by fivepointnine on May 27^th, 2004, 4:27pm

Thank you Bob Johnson this will give me some insite on some facts and general info. i woke up last night at 3:30 am with a bad one, tried the o2 for twice the recomended dosage(30 min) no relief took an imitrex pill, no relief after an hour, at 5 i took a snort of imitrex inhaler and got in the shower... no relief. i left the house for work at 5:30 and was still in pain. i went to the gas station and bought two red bull drinks, drank one down quickly and by the time i got to work 10 minutes later had no pain. whether it was all the medicine working or not i dont know but i have tried the red bull 4 times now and it has not let me down yet. i truely wanted to think that it was a strange coincidance but all 4 times now is proof that it is working for me now (for the time being)i am interested if any one else has tried this and if it works for them. i have on order that sinus buster stuff that someone had recommended in high hopes that it works too but i dont have too much expectations if anyone was dooped to try that either let me know if it works thanx erik rissner ;;D

Title: Re: the use of caffeine
Post by MaxPayne on May 30^th, 2004, 6:56am

Hey!

I have had CH since I turned 30 (I am now 35), and I only recently found out about the caffeine thing. I started my cycle this year on 30th of Mars. Had to get an emergency presciption for Imigran (Imitrex) and got 6 nasal sprays. I have, however, only used 4 of them so far. Reason being I started drinking coffee. What I do actually is whenever I feel shadows, I immediatly make or buy strong coffee. Usually it takes about 2 cups and the cluster is gone. I have also discovered that there is a certain kind of beer I can drink during cycle, that won't trigger an attack (I can drink as much as I want ;;D). A danish brand called Tuborg. I would be very interested to know if anybody have a clue to why this is. All other brands are a sure CH trigger.

Max

Title: Tuborg not a trigger??
Post by floridian on May 30^th, 2004, 8:15am

Tuborg doesn't trigger clusters but all other beers and alcohol do?? Interesting.

Theory 1: Tuborg is not beer. :) This theory is supported by the reviews at: http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/Beer/Beer-Ratings.asp?BeerID=17296&FanOfID=3677
But 4.6% alcohol doesn't sound like water to me.

Theory 2: the hops. One person on the board claims hops stopped or reduced their clusters. Hops actually can reduce nitric oxide, which is elevated in clusters, and used to transmit pain. One problem with hops is that they vary from type to type. Maybe the hops in Tuborg are of exactly the right type to block clusters.

Theory 3: the secret additive (methyl-ethyl 1,3-something-O_r-other. This brain-altering drug is a serotonin modifier. It is put in by Carlsberg to make people drink more beer, and it stops clusters.

Theory 4: One person claimed that one or two drinks will trigger a cluster, but getting drunk won't. This person became an alcoholic by their own admission. Not a good medicine for clusters. Did you sip, or did you get plastered?

Theory 5: Vinmonopol does something to the beer. All those Norski's that think they are getting drunk are suffering from the placebo effect. Tuborg really is beer, until it gets to the monopoly stores in Norway.

Is it only the Tuborg green, or is the red ok to drink?? Was it in bottles, cans or on-tap?? I had a friend who swore that keg beer would trigger headaches (she was a migraneur, not a cluster head), but that bottled beer wouldn't.

Disclaimer: I don't recommend anyone drink beer when they are in cycle.

Quote:

Biol Pharm Bull. 2003 Jan;26(1):61-5. Related Articles, Links

Inhibitors of nitric oxide production from hops (Humulus lupulus L.).

Zhao F, Nozawa H, Daikonnya A, Kondo K, Kitanaka S.

Central Laboratories for Key Technology, Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd., 1-13-5 Fukuura, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-004, Japan.

Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in many inflammatory responses and is also involved in carcinogenesis. In the present study, we investigated the inhibitory effect of extracts from Humulus lupulus L. on both the production of NO and the expression of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) in mouse macrophage RAW 264.7 cells. The production of NO was induced by a combination of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and IFN-gamma, and determined by Griess assay. The expression of iNOS was detected by Western blotting. The LPS/IFN-gamma-induced production of NO and expression of iNOS were significantly inhibited by the ethyl acetate soluble fraction of Humulus lupulus L. Through bioactivity guided fractionation, humulene, five chalcones, 2,2-di-(3-methyl-2-butyleyl)-4,5-dihydoxy-cyclopent-4-en-1,3-dione, lupulone and three of its derivatives were isolated from the ethyl acetate soluble fraction. The chalcones, including xanthohumol, significantly inhibited the production of NO by suppressing the expression of iNOS.

Title: Re: the use of caffeine
Post by fivepointnine on May 30^th, 2004, 10:02am

well if there is such a wonderful product that does not trigger ch then i am definately gonna look in to this. i thank evey last one of you that have given me info on this beast. i do have to say that i think that my phase is about over. it has been one of the stronger ones i have gone through, and your support has been very incouraging thank you

erik rissner

Title: Re: the use of caffeine
Post by notseinfeld on May 30^th, 2004, 12:41pm

Great write-up Floridian! Your input is always nice to see.

Title: Re: Floridian
Post by MaxPayne on May 31^st, 2004, 11:45am

Hey!

I haven't tried the red Tuborg, I've only had the green one, and it came in glass bottles. I don't have to go to the Vinmonopolet to get it. They sell it in the stores. The Vinmonopolet thing only applies for really strong beer (over 5.5%), wine and booze. I agree it's not the best beer in the world, and I'll probably go nuts in the beershelves when my cluster ends. I haven't gotten drunk on it, just had a 6 pack or two, and it really lifts the cycle for me (as I usually have it late spring/early summer) when it's nice and sunny outside like today ;)

Totally agree on your disclaimer though... SKÅL ;;D