Okay, so I'm trying some new things to attempt slaying what may be CH morphing to chronic (may not, let's hope). One of those things is that I've started slowly incorporating running as exercise. I live in the muggy, humid, always stormy Richmond, VA however, and my big triggers are heat, humidity, and especially pressure changes.

Are there any other CHers in a similar predicament? How do you manage running or similar exercise without triggering your HAs? I came really close today. I was thinking if I had some kind of cooling cap or could rig one up, might have helped. I don't want to give up the exercise because I think in the long run (ha!) it might help. I can't afford a gym at the moment, and I work two jobs so accessing even a free place could be out of bounds.

Any suggestions are welcome.

Isolate the smallest part of your house that you can and crank up the air-con beyond full, then you can exercise your little head off.

Lancet. 1999 Sep 18;354(9183):1001-2.
Comment in:
Lancet. 2000 Jan 8;355(9198):147.

A new cluster headache precipitant: increased body heat.

Blau JN, Engel HO.

Exercise, a hot bath, or elevated environmental temperature provoked cluster headaches, within 1 h, in 75 out of 200 patients. This new observation accords with recognised precipitants--alcohol, histamine, and gyceryl trinitrate--perhaps via generalised vasodilatation or hypothalamic activation.

Publication Types:
Letter

PMID: 10501368 [PubMed]
=====================

Some of us have been able to block an attack by using one, 2mgSL, ergotamine, about 1-hr prior to exercise.

Problem is: I don' know whether it's available: ask your druggist.

Hey everyone...I am in the same situation, I want to start running again but I am concerned it will make my CH's more painful. 

AussieBrian, that would be my second-floor apartment bedroom, and my downstairs neighbors would kill me! I wouldn't have very far to run, either. LOL
[smiley=shore.gif]

Bob, I will look into that. And I do make a distinction between my pharmacist (as in the younger guy who works at Walgreen's and dispenses the newer medicines) and my "druggist" who works at the old-school compounding pharmacy. If the medicine has ever existed, he will know if it's still made or can be made.

Do what I do when I want to avoid CH while running.

Avoid running. ;)

But dangit Brew, running is so annoyingly virtuous and healthy!

AppleNutClusters wrote on Aug 10^th, 2012 at 12:11pm:

But dangit Brew, running is so annoyingly virtuous and healthy!

I was afraid you'd say that.

I tried being a dork and stuffing icy gel packs under my hat. Also chugging Monsters before and after a run. So far so good. I also take a "Vanquish" pill (Acetaminophen 194 mg, Aspirin 227 mg, Caffeine 33 mg) right after running along with 64 oz of water. I keep sumatriptan SQ 4 mq as a stand-by. And of course, my buddy Oxygen.

Swim

Watch videos of other people running. So much easier.

I'm currently training for a 10k so I'm running every other day outside in TX heat!  My neuro suggested I take one indomethacin (50mg) prior.

I can't wait to hear other suggestions!  Not running isn't an option for me. It's my time away from my 3 kids :D

Ran today, weather was in the high 80s, low 90's with plenty of humidity. I hydrated before going (1 hour fast walk/run intervals), took some caffeine and ibuprofen ahead of time. And got b*tch-slapped with a post-run CH. Luckily the O2+Imitrex punched it down within 20 mins, but it happened.

I'm thinking it may be dehydration-related in this case, though. I didn't sweat very much despite working hard and having hydrated beforehand. I felt dizzy too, and I wasn't pushing it. Perhaps the lithium I just started is playing a hand in this too. More water!

I think this is going to vary from individual to individual. I have had some situations where I was working out pretty hard when the cluster came and I managed to work through it. It would peak at about a K5 or so, then die back down. I had to be working at near max level for that to happen though.

I've also had success with sit-ups and abdominal workouts, for some strange reason. They are good at clearing shadows out of my head.

Certainly explains the deep urge I've always had to go running as fast as possible to "outrun" the cluster, before I knew about proper abortives. I think it's just the brain's sneaky way of getting to hyperventilate oxygen without a prescription. Of course, it gets hard to explain a frantic, eye-dripping, barely-coherent 3 am run to a passing cop or neighbor.  ::)

Keep running.  It can't hurt you.  If you're going to have attacks anyway, at least you'll look good in the process.  I'm in RVA, as well so I sympathize with the heat and humidity.  You could always run down on Belle's Isle or Brown's Island and just jump in the river when you get too hot :).  It may help you in the long run.  I've run pretty much every other other day for the last two years and believe more each day it's what is keeping the beast at bay for me.  The last 2 years have been a cakewalk compared to the 11 before that.

That's what I hoping too, jlcabre. Short term = clusters, but hopefully long-term it will help. And hey, I didn't know there was another RVAer here! If you ever want to meet up for coffee or whatever, I'm usually not too far from the Apple Store at Short Pump.  :) I'm currently just risking my life running down the road I live on (Lauderdale Drive, yikes!) but for a weekend hike, the river would be great.
---ADDED---
Just got back from a run today (8/16), 2 miles in about 25 minutes (I'm slow). I started to feel the CH come on, so I immediately jumped into the cold shower when I got home, hit the 02 & Monster, and avoided the attack. Ha!  [smiley=thumbup.gif]

Another update, for the runners. I think my CH while running is mostly triggered by overheating or dehydration. For the last week or so, we've had cooler temps in VA. And I've also been hydrating like crazy before a run. So with the cooler weather and water drinking, I've been able to avoid a running-induced CH the last three times I tried! Bottom line for me, at least, is: run during cooler weather and HYDRATE! And don't push too hard, which leads to overheating, which leads to an attack. (Have 02, Imitrex, and a COLD shower at the ready after every run, too.)

For me, this works. Hope it helps someone else.

ive tried some ridiculous things to try to avoid cluster headaches due to heat.  most of them i would not suggest because i see how it could possibly be good for you. 

so far as running though, until i was diagnosed i would feel one coming on and go for a full sprint until i collapsed.  eventually i got to the point where i would sprint half a mile in about two minutes.  sometimes i would pass out, most times i would puke, but it usually worked. 

it did seem to help in the long run.

oh, and since i have been on lithium, i have noticed that i have to drink a lot more water to stay hydrated.

May be uncomfortable while running, but ice pack around the neck cools you down quick (some big arteries running through there).

AubanBird wrote on Aug 27^th, 2012 at 2:07pm:

so far as running though, until i was diagnosed i would feel one coming on and go for a full sprint until i collapsed. ... oh, and since i have been on lithium, i have noticed that i have to drink a lot more water to stay hydrated.

That's actually how I got the idea to go running long-term... one desperate night I did just what you did, and just ran full-out. And discovered after maybe 10 minutes the headache was gone! I figured if I could get my fitness up by running regularly, it might increase my response to 02. Maybe?

Good reminder about the lithium which I just started, albeit in a tiny 150 mg dose.

ttnolan wrote on Aug 27^th, 2012 at 4:00pm:

May be uncomfortable while running, but ice pack around the neck cools you down quick (some big arteries running through there).

I did try an icepack (small kid-size gel pack) under a baseball cap once. Seemed like it might have been effective, only it was too small to stay cold long enough. There are also these things: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE I used one in New Mexico once. It might be too humid here to work as well, and it's not so much icy as just cool.

Ya gots ta get yerself a bigger hat.

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Ice helmet?

I've run 2 marathons. I run in the heat and cold. My suggestion is this. For the heat, buy a camelbak, fill it with as many ice cubes as you can, then the rest water, and drink enough of the icy water, and keep a head wrap on and keep it wet with the icy water. Works for me, plus the icy water on your back keeps you cooler as well. Get the 100oz camelbak, as it's fairly large and will stay cold much longer. Even on the hottest days it lasts quite a while.

Mike

That's a great idea, Mike. I hadn't thought about using a Camelbak. I'll have to save my pennies and try that.

Try Amazon for good prices. New models just came out so the old models will be discounted and usually free shipping over $25.

Good advice (re: Amazon discounts!), so thanks! I had to take a week's break from running. I stupidly decided to try a full run in my new "barefoot-style" running shoes--needless to say, instant pain and blood blisters! Stupid me. I'll be needing a bit of recovery before trying my run again.  LOL.    ::)

Neuro and vascular stimulation is a trigger for me.
YMMV
tachead

Tachead, not sure what you mean. Neuro stimulation to me just means anything that affects your nervous system--as in, everything! Can you be more specific?

Neuro stimulation to me = sensory input from environmental factors resulting in emotional or physical response creating neurochemical or endocrine activity that in turn triggers an attack. Sudden fear, fatigue, ect. Physical activity triggers an attack...this has happened to me anyway.
Like this only with natural stimulation not electrically induced;
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Hope that clears it up for you. ;)tachead

Yeah, that clears it up somewhat. I knew that by starting running, I might trigger CH via exertion, heat, dehydration, or god-knows-what. And that was true for a while. But overall, the running has helped so far. Yes, I might trigger CH by running. But in the long term, running exerts me enough to help with sleep, which in turn may help with CH. It's all related. Somehow.  ::)

In a nutshell. If I did something that caused me extreme pain, then I'd stop doing that.

seaworthy wrote on Sep 15^th, 2012 at 12:03pm:

In a nutshell. If I did something that caused me extreme pain, then I'd stop doing that.

But what if you had spent a year trying many different drugs, vitamins, oxygen, supplements, and treatments? Would you be willing to try something "crazy" like getting more exercise? It does cause me pain sometimes, but that's often part of any medical treatment. It hurts to get stitches, but in the long run, it heals the wound.

But when you started this thread, you gave no indication that you were trying to run as a treatment for CH.

I'm confused. Running has its benefits, I guess, but your question about "...try(ing) something 'crazy' like getting more exercise" to treat your condition doesn't fit with your original goal of trying to avoid CH while running.

Some people say they can abort attacks by engaging in vigorous exercise at the onset. I never tried it, so I don't have any first-hand experience.

I think I mentioned more than once that I was hoping exercise would help with the clusters and insomnia? Yes, running is causing CH attacks in the short-term. My hope is that it will help with treatment of the condition over time as I improve my overall fitness. And it's just a hope, not like I have any medical basis for this experiment. I feel it is better than doing nothing.

Then I hope it works for you.

Thanks man, I hope so too. And I will be the first to come back and admit if it doesn't.  ::)

Getting in top shape is a good idea. It did not treat my CH, but my overall feeling of well being was improved, making it easier to tuff out the CH. Bounce back quicker, feel better... why not?

Exactly, ttnolan. Plus as I've gotten better at running, it's feeling more and more like flying. And after a year of daily CH, that's a feeling I'm starting to really cherish. On a more concrete note, I'm also wondering if running will increase my V02 max and make me more efficient at huffing oxygen.

Apple, yes it will. When I was nearing my max level of fitness preparing for both the Philly and the San Diego marathons, I noticed that, while my HAs were still present, I had the most noticible reduction in them and fastest ability by running, mostly due to my fitness level and ability to take in oxygen. The key is being able to process oxygen quickly to get it to your brain and ease the pain.