Posted by RR on July 02, 1998 at 22:49:53:
In Reply to: Cant handle it anymore posted by dan on July 02, 1998 at 17:56:07:
Try this:
Do you have 20-30 lb dumbbell? When you feel a CH coming on, lift it above your head with one arm ten times, inhaling deeply, then exhaling as you lift. Then take 10 deep, forceful breaths. Then switch to the other arm and do 10 more lifts. Then take 10 more deep breaths, and keep this cycle up for 5-10 minutes. If your shoulders or triceps start to get tired, reduce the weight and/or continue with a different lift. Shoulder laterals (holding 5-10 lb dumbbells in each hand with your arms hanging down and then lifting outwards to the sides until your arms are parallel to the floor) is a particularly good one. Or try push-ups, sit-ups, crunches or whatever combination of exercises you feel comfortable with. (You really don’t need dumbbells if you prefer other things.) Remember, lift/exert for 10 counts with deep breathing, then breathe deeply for 10 counts, and repeat. I’ve found that cluster headaches disappear pretty quickly, somewhere between 100 and 300 total counts. This really isn’t very difficult, you do not need to strain yourself at all, and 5 minutes of this sure beats having a cluster headache.
Let me know how this works. If it does, please let others know, so they can try it too.