Posted by John R (209.240.200.122) on December 09, 1999 at 03:15:14:
In Reply to: Here's an off the wall one. posted by Bob P on December 08, 1999 at 22:00:06:
I used strenuous exercise at onset of headaches also. I would jump as if jumping rope. Worked quite well during years when oxygen quit working very well. Often used it while breathing oxygen. Never tried squats. Sounds like it might work even quicker. Would take 5-20 minutes of jumping for as long as I could--maybe a minute or two--then rest for as long I had to--then jumping again--sometimes a pattern like a minute of jumping; 30 seconds resting or whatever... (I've never been in very good shape, but after a lot of this jumping had very muscular calves; be sure and do calf stretches up against a wall after jumping to avoid some of the sore muscles).
Also, last year read on this site about cold air. Used it successfully while jumping rope in cold night air when struck by headaches when camping in northern Arizona. Used home and auto air conditioning when home in Phoenix. Just breathed in the cold air. It also seemed to help to force myself to keep my eyes open and look into the air vent (my clusters are very light sensetive, so this is hard when it's bad).
But even before I knew about the cold air, I used the jumping (rope) technique when caught away from oxygen or when it didn't work. Was especially usefull when at the movies or out to eat when stricken. Lord knows what people would think when they would me dressed for an evening out jumping up and down to exhaustion in some parking lot or alley behind a theater or restaurant.
I didn't notice that the jumping worked a lot better in cold air until after I found out about the cold air technique and thought back on all the times I'd used jumping. When I was doing the jumping outside on a hot Phoenix day, it seemed to keep the headache from blossoming, but wouldn't stop it. But if I was inside air conditioning the jumping would knock it out pretty darn quick.
Just now I'm on Sansert, Pamelor, and just started another round of prednisone to give the Sansert a chance to work (just switched from a Depakote