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haylz CH.com Newbie Offline I Love CH.com! Posts: 24 liverpool Gender:	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #25 - Mar 15^th, 2010 at 1:02pm My neuro told me that smoking can cause clusters but once you get them even if you stop smoking this cant help. if you get what i mean. Its like getting cancer and saying well ill stop smoking, its not necessarily going to get rid of the cancer because the damage is already done.
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anthony g

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Re: Are we in denial about smoking?
Reply #26 - Mar 15^th, 2010 at 1:06pm

SET•ME•FREE wrote on Mar 15^th, 2010 at 12:09pm:

As a smoker and a sufferer of chronic cluster headaches i will agree with this. Smoking restricts the flow of oxygen to the brain. I've researched all this, but my memory is not what it used to be.

When we have headaches (i think it the hypathalimis gland) or veins in the brain are basically pinched, like a hose and the blood is trying to flow through, thus producing pain/headache. Oxygen is such a great treatment because it opens those "pinched" hoses thus releaving the pressure/headache/pain.

I wish i never smoked. I feel this was a big reason why i have these. I used to think it was the red in my tattoos.

I don't know i can quit smoking. Its a release from the hell.

funny u should say "the red in your tattoos" a nutritionist mentioned that to me maybe having something to do with interfering with clusters! interesting

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Chad

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Re: Are we in denial about smoking?
Reply #27 - Mar 15^th, 2010 at 3:32pm

haylz wrote on Mar 15^th, 2010 at 1:02pm:

My neuro told me that smoking can cause clusters but once you get them even if you stop smoking this cant help. if you get what i mean. Its like getting cancer and saying well ill stop smoking, its not necessarily going to get rid of the cancer because the damage is already done.

It's kind of like that, however cancer will kill you where clusters won't.

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Brew

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Re: Are we in denial about smoking?
Reply #28 - Mar 15^th, 2010 at 4:46pm

haylz wrote on Mar 15^th, 2010 at 1:02pm:

My neuro told me that smoking can cause clusters but once you get them even if you stop smoking this cant help. if you get what i mean. Its like getting cancer and saying well ill stop smoking, its not necessarily going to get rid of the cancer because the damage is already done.

Does your neuro know something that nobody else does?

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Callico CH.com Hall of Famer Offline Author of "Stranded at Romson's Lodge Posts: 4916 Aurora IL Gender:	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #29 - Mar 15^th, 2010 at 5:31pm I don't smoke, never have, and I've been chronic for over 7 years and episodic for over 20 before that. I'm not a Dr, nor a scientist, but I don't see what lighting up has to do with the hypothalmus and causing CH. If it did I'd start just so I could quit. Jerry
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QnHeartMM CH.com Sponsor Offline I AM a Phoenix! Posts: 1783 San Diego, CA Gender:	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #30 - Mar 15^th, 2010 at 6:14pm Joe has never smoked either.
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Chad CH.com Hall of Famer Offline Posts: 738 Emmaus, PA Gender:	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #31 - Mar 16^th, 2010 at 8:25am Smoke effects everybody differently I guess. Gosh, I could be by burning leaves and BAM, here comes the cluster. I'm the same way with bystander smoke. Out of cycle, none of this effects me at all. Matter of a fact, there is nothing better than smelling a wood fire in the winter, out of cycle of course.
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Wayne

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Re: Are we in denial about smoking?
Reply #32 - Mar 17^th, 2010 at 2:25am

[

Most reports implicating “first hand”, “second hand”, and most recently “third hand” smoke (smoke that lingers in furniture, on walls, etc., etc.) as plagues on society's health aren't worth the paper they are written on – let alone the billions of public and private dollars that funded them. In our current morass, smoking has been implicated as the cause of everything from excessive body hair to pimples on your derriere. It's a challenge to research a medical condition that doesn't include smoking as a “potential cause”. Isn't it simple..... ban smoking and society's health issues will vanish, the economy will soar, IQ scores will increase, and the nation's impoverished will be saved.

In this culture, truth and fact are overshadowed by the B.S. Credibility is sacrificed in the pursuit of sociopolitical, “anti-something” agendas.

burnt-toast
(Tom) [/quote]

I agree wholeheartedly Tom, I found the following pearls of wisdom in the comercial waffle from a company attemting to induce me to purchase a book.

"In 90% of the cases of chronic cluster headache, the person first experienced episodic cluster headaches which, over time, failed to achieve remission. This condition is known as secondary chronic cluster headache. This may occur under the following circumstances:

Onset of cluster headache later in life
Frequent episodic cluster headache with very brief periods of remission
Heavy smoker
High alcohol intake
Head trauma "

Followed by

"While the specific risk factors for developing cluster headache is presently unknown, there are some common traits among many patients who have cluster headache, though a direct cause and effect has not been established. These include:

Smoking - there is a very high association between smoking and cluster headache. Many physicians feel that you almost have to be a cigarette smoker to develop cluster headache, since up to 85% of patients with cluster headache are cigarette smokers. Unfortunately, cessation of smoking has no beneficial effects for those already suffering from cluster headache.
Alcohol consumption - cluster headache has also been strongly tied to a history of alcohol consumption."

These statements don't appear to correlate at all with the results of the survey

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chewbaccamonkeylunch CH.com Junior Offline I love YaBB 1G - SP1! Posts: 25 Weatherford, TX Gender:	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #33 - Apr 27^th, 2010 at 4:21pm Skyhawk5 wrote on Mar 13^th, 2010 at 10:37pm: The "cluster survey" in the links on the left side of the screen shows out of 12,026 sufferers that took the survey, 48% DON'T smoke. ?? Don 48% are not telling the truth
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Brew CH.com Sponsor CH.com Alumnus Offline Posts: 14163	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #34 - Apr 27^th, 2010 at 4:36pm chewbaccamonkeylunch wrote on Apr 27^th, 2010 at 4:21pm: 48% are not telling the truth Bullshit.
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ClusterHK

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Re: Are we in denial about smoking?
Reply #35 - May 14^th, 2010 at 12:48pm

Interestingly, I got my first cluster of regular high-kippers when I managed to quit smoking for a couple of years as well.

I also have a history of rather heavy alcohol usage (though was never addicted) and I'd like to mention a history of depression also.

Since serotonin levels are linked to depression and are suspected to be linked to CH, I've always thought that depression-like symptoms and CH are highly related.

Mood is one of the reasons why some people smoke and drink a lot, which I feel is a plausible explanation for the seemingly high correlation between smoking, alcohol usage and CH.

Then again, I'm no doctor - just a guy who thinks too much sometimes. Wink

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Now trying a beer test - fingers crossed.

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BobG CH.com Hall of Famer Offline Posts: 6422 St. George, UT Gender:	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #36 - May 14^th, 2010 at 1:19pm Bob P is right. Your hypothalamus has a lot to do with addictions, habits, blood vessel/veins constricting/dilating, body temperature, circadian rhythms and more. Cluster sufferers have a broken hypothalamus.
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monty

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Re: Are we in denial about smoking?
Reply #37 - May 17^th, 2010 at 2:20pm

Quote:

I don't smoke, never have, and I've been chronic for over 7 years and episodic for over 20 before that. I'm not a Dr, nor a scientist, but I don't see what lighting up has to do with the hypothalmus and causing CH. If it did I'd start just so I could quit.

Quote:

Joe has never smoked either.

Right, and 10% of people who get lung cancer never smoked. But the fact that 90% of the people who get lung cancer are smokers tells us that smoking can cause lung cancer. It is not the only cause, but it is an important one.

Nicotine affects serotonin. While the idea that clusterheads have a defective hypothalamus that makes them more susceptible to addictions is a real possibility, so is the alternative explanation: smoking changes brain chemistry in a way that increases the risk of cluster headaches.

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« Last Edit: May 17^th, 2010 at 2:45pm by monty »

The outer boundary of what we currently believe is feasible is far short of what we actually must do.

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gsxraddict CH.com Newbie Offline I Love CH.com! Posts: 4	Re: Are we in denial about smoking? Reply #38 - May 19^th, 2010 at 6:35pm I smoked 1-2 packs a day for 10 years. One of the two reasons I stopped was clusters, and the other was money. I've been smoke free for 4 months now, and seen absolutely no difference in headache intensity or frequency. To my disappointment, it didn't give me any help except in my wallet.
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LasVegas

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Re: Are we in denial about smoking?
Reply #39 - May 19^th, 2010 at 6:53pm

Some have reported smoking as a trigger to an attack and/or trigger to a cycle. Some report that smoking has absolutely no trigger affect at all and remain in remission when they do smoke.

On the other hand, many have claimed that they have never smoked and suffer as an episodic sufferer; and many have pointed out that they have never smoked and have been chronic.

My opinion is that smoking probably does have something to do with the oxygen flow in terms of vaso-constricting and vaso-dilation of the hypothalamus gland and/or trigeminal nerve.

Guess it is safe to write that everybody has unique circumstances and what affects some, may not affect others. Roll Eyes

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