I appologize in advance if this topic has been previously discussed, but i am  a newbie, so here it goes anyway. I assume we are all aware of the phrase "brainfreeze", or sometimes its called "ice-cream headache", you know, that intense 3 seconds of pain you get when eating or drinking a milkshake too fast? or something REALLY cold? I was just wonderind if All of us clusterheads get that? i do know some people that say they NEVER get that.  I was also wondering if anyone has ever purposely given themselves "brain-freeze" to try to stop a hit, or perhaps bust a cycle? I must admit i have not tryed it during a hit, and am too big of a wuss to try it to bust a cycle in case it CAUSES a hit!          By the way, I have, on more than one occasion, while discussing "brain freeze" with others have heard people say,"Oh God, it hurts SOO bad, thank God it only lasts about 3 seconds or you just couldnt survive!"  I just smile and say,,, uhmm... no, you could survive,,, its just a REAL BI@#H  !!!!!!!!!  PF days to all!   Tuck  

Here's a (semi-serious) account of a randomized trial at a middle school that shows the differential rate of induced ice cream headache in a (presumably normal)  group of youngsters:

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...and a definition of "ice cream headache" from Johns Hopkins:

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I do know that some here, especially those who report that they get a "cluster lump" on the roof of the mouth (a swollen nerve ganglion associated with a CH attack that may also appear at the sphenopalatine ganglion, or at C5 or C7 at the back of the neck) indicate that they may get some temporary relief during an attack by laying an ice cube or a popsicle against the roof of the mouth.  Whether this merely provides a distraction, or actually does something to mitigate an attack, (shrinking dilated blood vessels, etc.) I do not know. 

So I can see where putting a cold substance against the roof of ones mouth might provide some temporary relief during an attack. 

I seriously doubt whether it could break a cycle--that smacks a bit of homeopathy.  Since everything returns to baseline within a minute or two of an "ice cream headache", I'd guess that any effect would be transient.  But I'm only guessing.



Best,

George

Yeah, I see that, Pegg.

Hm.  Can't seem to fix it to make the second link work, either. 

Anyway, in the part where it says (B...), take that out and type in (Brain_Freeze) .  That works.

Some mystical glitch in the pasting process, I suppose.

Best,

George

I have gotten brain freezes but never tried them, to break a cycle!  I have found myself telling folks that is the only thing that I describe to someone about our pain.  I ask if they ever had a brain freeze and If they say yea, I say having a ch, is like a having the worst brain freeze that you could possibly imagine but without the reassurance that the pain will retreat in a few seconds!

Dave