Normal? Not a word we typically use with CH! The beasts abiity to morph is legendary. Just as you begin to feel you have a handle on when your cycle will start, how long it will run, what kind of attacks you get, the beast will radically change the playing field.

It's not unusual to see radical changes in cycle lenths, remission lengths, attack characteristis, or KIP levels. Meds that have always worked will stop working. After over 35 years of the beast I've given up trying to figure cause and effect.

Have you checked out the Batch regimen? It's the Vitamin D-3 routine so many of us are talking about. It's had me off cycle for coming up on 3 years now, and my experience is hardly unique. Worth a look see! Hoping you get a handle on this cycle soon.

Joe

Mine can be all over the place.  I can have them in Dec then skip two years then have them show up in July skip time and have them show up again in Feb.  There is no rhyme or reason as to why and when they will show up.  What I have narrowed down was two things.

Yes, an extremely stressful event will trigger me.  Long story short.  I was at the shore on a 4th of July weekend and at that time my sons ages were 5 and 11.  I sat close to the water so that I could watch my son fill his bucket with water and run it up to the sand and dump it in the whole he dug.  The Shore was packed so getting a parking spot was hard and my husband had dropped us off to get a spot.

His Mother and Father had also met up with us and other family members.  When my MIL asked me if my husband had found a parking spot yet I turned and answered her no.  That fast I couldn't find my son.  I felt my heart sink and I was becoming almost hysterica.  Other people saw what was going on and soon everyone was on alert.  The lifeguards came and everyone was looking.  I thought I would pass out.  This all took place in about 15 minutes.  I knew my son wouldn't go in the water so I feared someone took him, it was that crowded. 

The beach is very small and a lot of the locals go there so many knew us.

Well here comes my son walking up the beach with his bucket filled with his water with not a care in the world.  When he turned around he walked up the beach instead of walking back to the umbrella.  He was fine and in fact didn't even realize that there was a problem. 

Why I'm telling you this is that within hours I was hit with a kip 9 and it brought me out of a 5 yr remission.  That was one of my worse cycles I had in years with almost all my hits reaching 9-10's. I had not heard of O2 back then so I came very close to losing my mind and ending it. That was in 2001. I can't remember if I was hit with another cycle between that one and the 2007 which was in Feb and the 2011 that started in Dec (again stress hubby being operated on and lost his job after 28 yrs.)

As of now I was getting hits for about a week (kip 1-2) but they stopped and I'm doing OK with mild shadows.  So to answer your questions for me Stress and OTC feel good meds (5http) that play with Serotonin will trigger me.  I have had a cycle triggered with strobe lights also one time. Not sure if they were on there way anyway or not but the lights triggered it within minutes)

I feel that as soon as you add meds to the mix your cycle will jump around.  When I went without meds early on (for ten years) my cycle was every year May - Sept one hit a day.  Like clock work.  As soon as meds were added into the mix (by Neuro) my cycle shortened to 6-8 weeks but I never knew when they were coming and if I skipped years then I would get more hits per day.  Almost like you have to pay your dues to the beast.

I'm so sorry for your lost.  Wishing you the best. If I can help at all please feel free to PM me or ask here.  This group has gotten me through some really tough times.