Posted by Q (198.64.206.92) on June 15, 2000 at 20:23:28:
In Reply to: Alcohol and Cluster Headaches posted by Pat on June 14, 2000 at 20:23:58:
... goes that again it is the mind that reacts to the first small quantities of alcohol that trigger the CH attack.
It goes like this... Alcohol is well known to loosen one's inhibitions. This creates the window of opportunity for the conscious mind to see into the subconscious. The child-brain doesn't like this and triggers the pain process as a diversion to keep the conscious mind from the course it is on. That "sweet-spot" that comes from the first one or two drinks is the reason most ordinary people drink in the first place. In the CH-mind, this sets up a terrifying situation for the child-brain and it reacts with the most effective defense it can muster, that being the triggering of the pure pain process we call a CH-attack.
That is also why you can drink-through a CH attack. Once the conscious mind is drunk-enough to be completely drunk, the child brain can relax as the conscious mind is muddled enough with the drink that the child-brain no longer needs the distraction of the pain process.
But this is only my opinion. This means that CH is a psychological matter and not a pure biological one. I am not responsible for what that means to anyone. Sorry if you don't like it.