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        Supporter's Corner >> Supporter's Corner >> Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
        
(Message started by: oscar on Jul 16^th, 2002, 3:03am)

Title: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by oscar on Jul 16^th, 2002, 3:03am

Hello everybody!, it's 3:40 am, my three angels are sleeping and so is my hubby....Today is my birthday :).
Well lets go to my question!, all this days we've been reading and reading, and I realize that a lot of CH sufferers drinks alcohol or used to, I am not saying alcoholics, but social drinkers, or like to have dinner with wine, or something like that, for example my hubby liked to drink sometimes 4 to 5 beers for relaxation after a hard day at work ( not everyday) , but some fridays nights family got together and he used to drink something more than 4 beers... and THEN those strange headaches with the presure in the eye made their appearance for one or two days.... UNTIL one day like 3 1/2 months ago they didn't go away, but started to be more and more severe, with all the tipical symptoms of CH, and the neuro diagnosed him with it. of course NO DRINKS AT ALL since then, NO CIGARRETES until 4 days ago , since he is feeling better (thank GOD), it seems CH is going away finally, not to strong, not to long, mostly a sensation....anyways, I was thinking, that maybe CH sufferes have a some kind of sensibility to alcohol, that with time if they don't take care of themselves, they end up developing CH.
Like some people smoke all their lives and nothing happens, while others don't smoke that much but get cancer on their lungs. I would like to know if there is somebody that has CH and doesn't drink or used to drink at all.....Oh! now that I'm thinking again there are children with CH, so in those cases of course alcohol has nothing to do with it...we were so sure that alcohol was the guilty here.... now I don't know, well I'll let him keep thinking it was that cause a hate when drinks too much, hate the smell!!! LOL.
Thanks so much, for reading. BYE

Ursula :)

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Svenn on Jul 16^th, 2002, 4:56am

Alcohol is a well known trigger when you are in cycle"specially red wine",so you better stay away from that under those conditions.When you`re out of your clustercycle you can live as normal as you can.
when it comes to your cigarett,just use that.Why take away the only and best medication to calm us down.
Some say thats a trigger to,and some say not.My neuro say that cigaretts is not a trigger,but its not good for your health.And that we know.
I think all doc`s are programmed to tell us that about the cigaretts.
Just keep up your life as normal friend

btw

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TOO

Your friend in Norway

Svenn

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by oscar on Jul 17^th, 2002, 1:31am

Thanks for the wishes Svenn, about the cigarretes, I guess you are right, I just hope he stays in no more than five a day, he used to smoke like two packs a day before and that more than killing stress, is killing yourself, don't you think?, thanks again

URSULA :)

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Svenn on Jul 17^th, 2002, 3:34pm

Hi Ursula

You sounds just like my cardio after my heartattack.He also said no more than 5 a day.After a loooooooooooooong discussion with him he agreed to let me smoke 5+ a day.From 20+ down to 5+ is a great job and very hard.
But i have managed that also.
Just don`t be to hard on him ;)

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by oscar on Jul 18^th, 2002, 1:37am

Hi Svenn!!!
So sorry about your heart attack, I'm glad your OK now but just to remind you again of your cardio, You shouldn't be smoking AT ALL!!! Mmmm? :),.... I promise I won't be hard on my husband as long as he doesn't go farther than five a day, then if he does.... I'll try not to be so hard on him., >:(...is just that I love him so much I don't want anything bad happen to him, and our children need daddy strong for them, we have a 10,and 8 years old and a 3 months baby.

Take care

Ursula

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by oscar on Jul 18^th, 2002, 1:42am

Oh! Svenn, I almost forgot, I know how hard is to quit smoking so congratulations on your big effort of going down in the amount you smoke!keep working hard.

Ursula ;)

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Donna on Jul 18^th, 2002, 10:15am

You're probably right in your discovery that alcohol does not create CH. Mine started when I was a new bride and a total non-drinker. We quit smoking when we were married about 1-1/2 years and this lifestyle continued until 19 years later when we divorced and I started smoking again.

It never made a difference in the CH's.

Nagging a person to quit smoking doesn't work. It sometimes even makes it worse. You need to know the physiological problems of a smoker. It's easy for docs to say "quit smoking" but I don't see them doing much advising on how to quit an addictive habit and chemical dependency either. It just creates feelings of guilt on the part of the smoker and creates disharmony between you and him.

We smokers would all be better off in many ways if we would quit smoking. We all know that. Quitting is another matter.

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by oscar on Jul 19^th, 2002, 2:03am

Thanks Donna, your information is so important to us, and regarding smoking, you are totally right, the only person that can make a change is themselves you have to really want to do something to really do it, or find a good reason, but when you love someone is hard to shut your mouth and pretend you don't care or ignore the situation....Bye and thanks again

Ursula

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Svenn on Jul 19^th, 2002, 6:42am

Donna

I did not say that alcohol create cluster,but i said that it was a well known trigger specially when you are in cycle.
I think thats a difference there. :) :) :) :) ;D ;D ;D ;D

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Donna on Jul 19^th, 2002, 9:05pm

Hey Svenn..............I didn't mean to imply that you meant that........I was just addressing the title of this thread. Sorry if that's what it sounded like.

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Inoscynt_Knight on Jul 25^th, 2002, 8:14am

Hey guys...

Alcohol like you say IS a trigger of the headaches. Charlie was advised to stop drinking alcohol altogether since he's cycles were a little more unpredictable then most. As stated in other posts, he didn't care and drank anyway because beer was his life.

I've been reading through more posts and I'm a little confused quite frankly. The medications you mention can only be taken 2 or 3 times a day, but Charlie's "emergency" medication for the "Bad ones" was takeable every 4 hours = 6 times a day. The coroner said he died because he overdosed on his medication. Did the doctor over perscribe? :( :-/

I can't check on the medication names until I get back to school because it's stored on my home computer ICQ logs. If the doctor killed him I'm gonna be pissed. But as you all seem to quip, doctors in general know very little about this ailment.

I'm going to try to post in the medications forum as well, but any input you have it greatly appreciated. Sorry I don't have more information... It's been a year since I investigated this problem.

Thanks again for your support. :)

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Margi on Jul 25^th, 2002, 10:58am

Hi Again,

Yes, we'd really have to know the name of the med in order to answer your question intelligently. ANY med taken to excess can cause a disaster. Some of the meds prescribed for clusters CAN cause other problems if too much is taken - for sure!

Was it pills? Injections? Nasal Spray? Was it Imitrex? Imitrex comes in all three forms and can cause heart attack or stroke, but he was pretty young...Imitrex is commonly prescribed to abort individual attacks. But, so is Stadol and it comes in nasal spray/pills as well.

And, one other thing - even though a doc says a clusterhead can only take something so many times in the course of one day, these guys and gals get to such a point of desparation in wanting the pain to stop it's sure not uncommon to hear that they've exceeded the daily maximum of anything.

Combining meds with alcohol can also be a lethal mix. So, let us know if you can what he was taking, ok?

And, one other thing I noticed from your post yesterday (but was too lazy to sign in and comment) was that you thought he was purposely staying awake to avoid attacks. That's very possible but it's also a commonality amongst sufferers to experience insomnia naturally too. It all goes to the imbalance in seratonin - that stuff regulates sleep and it's quick often out of balance when someone is in a cluster cycle. So maybe he just COULDN'T sleep.

Title: Re: Wondering if sensitivity to alcohol = CH???
Post by Inoscynt_Knight on Jul 26^th, 2002, 11:37am

Thanks for the response Margi,

Unfortunately, it will be a month before I can find the name of the medication if at all. He was in the Netherland's health system at the time of his demise. He expressly said they were his "emergency PILLS" and he never mentioned sprays or injections.

If you think of it in a strange twisted way, we supporters suffer just as much as our friends because our pain is spread out over time as our hearts break for those we love and only limitedly help.

I will continue my searching, because it's the only way I can rid myself of my continuing grief.

~Inos