Posted by Ken Hubner (199.224.105.120) on June 15, 2000 at 07:46:15:
In Reply to: Alcohol and Cluster Headaches posted by Pat on June 14, 2000 at 20:23:58:
Hi Pat,
I think your question is an important and essential one, and very ticky and sensitive, as well.
I enjoy my two (or three) drinks before dinner. I'm "of a certain age" and they are part of my ritual and have been for many years. I don't think I abuse alcohol, although in my younger days, I certainly did.
Alcohol is an instant trigger for me, and since I've just had a long, ten month bout of HAs, I of course stopped drinking completely for those ten months. I didn't like it, but I just stopped, and felt somewhat deprived of a pleasure, a social routine, that I truly enjoyed. Recently, my HAs slowly diminished, and I'm back to my two drinks a night, so far with no ill effects. However, I do feel in my gut that I should not be doing this. I think that the drinking will, in fact, bring on a cycle earlier than if I wasn't drinking at all. I have absolutely no proof of this -- it's just a feeling.
I also have a feeling that smoking -- another controversial subject -- is in some way contributing to an overall condition that provides a more welcoming environment for HAs. Can't prove it -- it's just a feeling.
So my own personal thought on this is that given my "condition" I shouldn't be drinking at all, ever, and that in some way the alcohol will, indeed, quicken the frequency of attacks, and maybe even the intensity.
Or, if you want a more succient answer to this, read again BobP's message.
Hope this helps, but I know it doesn't. It's just my response to what I think is (or should be) a troubling question for many of us.
Ken