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New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> Waisting my time???
(Message started by: gusher on Sep 7th, 2004, 1:36pm)

Title: Waisting my time???
Post by gusher on Sep 7th, 2004, 1:36pm
Ladies and Gents,

I get a daily CH when I play basketball while in cycle.  I play from 12:00 - 1:00 and will have a headache at 1:30 - 1:40 every day I play.  My Dr., with a consult of a Neurologist, has me trying 550mg Naproxen Sodium 1/2 hour prior to playing to prevent the headache.  Wondering if anyone has tried this and if it helped.  Seems like he's got me taking Alieve for a CH which kinda seems like trying to kill a Grizzly with a butter knife.

Be well,
Greg...

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by unsolved1 on Sep 7th, 2004, 2:04pm
If they could give me something (anything) to prevent the headache ... my clusters wouldn't be a problem (I'd have a cure). So far, nothing has worked like that for me. Hope you find better results !!

Unsolved

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by vig on Sep 7th, 2004, 2:56pm
Since they normally come at the same time of day for most clusterpeople anyway, why blame the basketball?
Try playing at a different time, does the HA come an hour later?  Or did it still hit at 1:30?

and you're right, the naproxen probably won't do diddly...

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by gusher on Sep 7th, 2004, 3:22pm
vig,

I've played an hour later and gotten the headache an hour later.  If I don't play, I don't get a headache.  If I do, I do.  Many times, if I don't paly basketball, I get a CH at 12:30 at night...kinda like the devil is mad because I didn't give it a chance so it's gonna rear it's ugly head when I'm trying to sleep.

If I have one beer when in cycle, I get a CH.  

The Naproxen Sodium did nothing...I got a CH after I played today.  Back to the drawing board.....

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by Superpain on Sep 7th, 2004, 3:52pm
Naproxyn will kill your kidneys before it kills a ch...

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 7th, 2004, 4:15pm
Are you sure it is CH and not an exercise induced exertional headache of some sort?  It only  lasts for 10 minutes?  I used to get pretty bad headaches while exercising, so my doc had me try taking indomethacin about 45 minutes before exercise.  I've heard of that used...but not naproxen used before exercise.  I guess it could happen!  I have since not been able to continue exercising, but maybe someday...I'll have to try the indocin again when I do!

Lizzie :)

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by gusher on Sep 7th, 2004, 4:26pm
Lizzie,

Lasts about an hour if I don't treat with O2 or Imitrex.  I get 'em at 12:30 in the a.m. too so it's not exercise induced.  Dr. says CH and it seems to fit.  I just don't get the basketball connection.

Thanks,
Greg...

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by Lizzie2 on Sep 7th, 2004, 4:41pm
Oh I'm not saying you don't suffer from CH, but it seems to me that if you get the headache when you play basketball, no matter when you play...then there is probably some sort of exercise component.  I suffer from CH, but when I work out...I don't get CH headaches.  I do...however...get very bad headaches.  Just not CH.  A lot of us seem to find that an immediate work out or burst of energy will help to curb a cluster...I've actually had some improve by going out for a run.  Sounds nuts, but it has happened in the past!!  Sooooo it would seem nutty that exercising would trigger one, but who knows??

Good luck!
Lizzie :)

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by Rock_Lobster on Sep 7th, 2004, 5:21pm

on 09/07/04 at 13:36:42, gusher wrote:
... Seems like he's got me taking Alieve for a CH which kinda seems like trying to kill a Grizzly with a butter knife


Not really.  With a butter knife there is a slim chance of killing the bear.

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by FZfan on Sep 7th, 2004, 6:12pm

on 09/07/04 at 16:26:31, gusher wrote:
I just don't get the basketball connection.


This is just a guess and I might be completely off base but, is it possible the strenuous exercise is dialating the blood vessels in the brain bringing on the attack?

Only thing I can think of.

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by pubgirl on Sep 7th, 2004, 6:22pm
One of the many weirdy things about CH: probably for every person I have spoken to for whom vigorous exercise is a trigger or worsens the attack, there is one for whom it aborts.

Can't explain that [smiley=huh.gif]

I tried it before I had an abortive that worked, and it just made the pain worse and made me feel sick




Wendy

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by Biker on Sep 7th, 2004, 6:25pm
Often during cycle, I will get an attack within an hour after quitting time.  I am a carpenter, and work pretty hard.  Seems like when I get a bit of a rest, I can feel a headache comming on.  The only thing I can do during the day is to keep working as hard as I can.  Trouble is, I end up getting an attack on the way home.  I will have an attack anytime, but mostly after working/playing pretty hard, then resting, and of course, while sleeping. I think Im pretty lucky.  Verapamil works, imitrex works, and oxygen works.  

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by Ueli on Sep 7th, 2004, 6:27pm
Gusher, my advice would be to stop playing basketball, it's anyway a waste of time and energy.  ;;D

But seriously, there have been reports about cluster attacks that are triggered by the end of strenuous exercise.
Some improvement could be gotten by not stopping running around with the final whistle, try to slow down over an extended period. Drinking some cold water afterwards might help too.

As a possible a short term preventative any of the triptan pill might help, but certainly not an ordinary pain killer.  

PFNADs, Ueli                 [smiley=smokin.gif]


Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by Kris_in_SJ on Sep 7th, 2004, 8:08pm
Hi Greg,

Maybe it's possible that your CH comes on after an hour of basketball because you get overheated and maybe a little dehydrated?

My huge passion is gardening, but I don't do it in pretty little shoes and a big sun hat - I get down & dirty - yanking, raking, hoeing, etc.  I had to give it up totally during this last cycle.  1 hour of exerting myself in the heat and the beast came to visit.  Just a thought - maybe you could skip the Naprosyn and drink a gallon of water just prior to play.

Kris

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by nani on Sep 7th, 2004, 9:11pm
If I forget to squat and bend over at my waist, I can feel the blood rushing to my head and then BAM - cluster pain.  :o My kids are now keeping a lot of crap under their beds because I can't get down there and check...

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by don on Sep 7th, 2004, 10:02pm

Quote:
I get a daily CH when I play basketball while in cycle.


Dont play basketball while in cycle.

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by eyes_afire on Sep 7th, 2004, 10:19pm
Hi Greg,

My exercise experience was similar to yours.  About 60 minutes after a vigorous cardiovascular workout, I would get hit.  Weight-lifting was no problem.  Cardio workout = bad.

Vig does bring up a good point that I never got to put to the test.

--- Steve

Title: Stop Waisting my time!!!
Post by Mr. Happy on Sep 7th, 2004, 10:39pm
Yup. Don't play basketball and don't drink beer. This is pretty much what you call a _No Brainer_ in civilized societies. Naproxen can be great stuff, but it's a joke in this scenario. If the HA is bad enough to yap about, then it's easy enough to avoid.

Just say no.......
RJ

http://drfeller.com/despair/stupidity.jpeg


Steve. Quit buttin in line. I was after Don.
Edited for no reason at all.

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by don on Sep 7th, 2004, 10:44pm
LMMFAO!

I love that poster.

Where can I buy one?

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by BobG on Sep 8th, 2004, 5:16am

Quote:
My kids are now keeping a lot of crap under their beds because I can't get down there and check...

nani, you have some smart kids. Sneaky too.  ;;D

Attacks after exercise, work, etc. Hmmmm...........


Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by gusher on Sep 8th, 2004, 11:57am
Folks,

Thanks for all of the posts, ideas, and comments.  I have quit playing basketball save for once a week to see if I'm out of cycle or still in.  The problem is my Doc and I would like me to play basketball because my BP is around 120 over 70, my resting pulse is less than 60 and my weight is around 225 which compares to borderline high BP, resting pulse close to 90, and a terminal weight of 267.  Taking the Depakote scares the hell out of me because of the possible weight gain.  So, I feel like I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place.  

Again, thanks for the posts...I do understand the idea of a no-brainer but it's more complicated than that.

Thanks and be well,
Greg...

Title: Re: Waisting my time???
Post by seannap on Sep 9th, 2004, 12:24pm
Exercise is a wierd one for me.... it can be a trigger if I am too extreme - or if I allow myself to get to hot.

BUT I also use it as an abortive sometimes... if I start exercising near the climax or downslope of my pain - more often than not, I am PF almost abruptly - with little to no shadow.  If I start exersising to early (or with a strong shadow), it seems to accentuate and prolong the pain.  It seems to only work for the ones that wake me up in the middle of the night - it rarely works for the ones during the day.




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