Posted by Richard S (38.30.253.59) on July 07, 2001 at 10:06:24:
It's still working.
Background. (Not all details will be strictly accurate, since I didn't keep a log.) A little over a week ago I had four attacks in one day raging from about Kip 8 to 10. Feeling that something had
to be done, I decided to shock the system into maybe changing the brain chemistry or something, so I went on a 24 hour fast, drinking lots of water.
During this time I had a couple of attacks, but not too awfully bad. When I then ate a regular meal, I got a pretty bad one within a couple hours. So I fasted for another 24 hours and ate
something easy to digest - yogurt. No attack. Since then I have been adding more easily digestible foods, such as fruit, and
have had no more major attacks. Only an annoying shadow at times and an occasional Kip 4 or 5, usually at night, which can
be treated with OTC analgesics.
I don't know why it works this way, but I have a little theory. Maybe the brain sends out a distress signal, "Gimme more
oxygen," whether it really needs it or not. (Maybe the brain is a little f**ked up in a clusterhead.) During sleep, when the
breathing is shallow, or (in my case) during digestion (when the circulation concentrates on the digestive process), the brain
sends out this signal. In an attempt to get more oxygen to the brain, the arteries and vessels expand in an attempt to increase
the blood flow to the brain, causing the pain.
Oh well, whatever the mechanism, it's damn nice to be in control again, and I feel great. The small amount of food intake
together with a vitamin supplement seem to be supplying my nutritional needs, at least for the time being.
I don't expect anyone else to try this, but I thought it might be worth sharing anyway. (As a fringe benefit, I'm almost down to my ideal weight.)