Posted by gary g on January 23, 1999 at 11:52:53:
Just a bit more that might help (I hope!!!)
it turns out that an effect of high o2 levels, is to increase seratonin product at hypothalmus level of activity - seratonin & melatonin have some sequential relationships, i THINK - will try to get back to my earlier source of that line of info
if there is anything to the neural-hypothalmus-seratonin cause theory, this WOULD EXPLAIN why extreme levels of O2 work, but low levels (as for respiratory maintenance therapy)don't do any good - the low levels might bring us up to "normal" blood o2, which would bring relief if it were a simple circulatory problem - - but perhaps not enough to trigger a relief effect if it's actually neurally rooted- maybe we need an actual o2 "overdose" to antagonize the relief effect ???
another just-remembered "coincidence" -
I started donating blood about age 18 -
went every blood drive, no problem
sometime in my very early 20s I started getting turned down - (the glob didn't float, or sink - whichever it is in the little pretest) after a few rejections I quit going;
about the same time CH started .....
15 years later i tried it again a couple times & still didn't pass - then the nurse told me it was because I smoked - that smoking interfered with the o2 content in the blood, which was what the pretest was actually checking - -
so - I'd been finding out I had low blood oxygen levels - but never connected it with the CH until this go-round
I quit smoking about 6 years ago and STILL have cluster headaches - guess I'll get my butt in ASAP and have some blood work done, as a baseline on o2
extension:
the respiratory therapist told me that there are some people who are "oxygen retainers" - and for them, 8 liters/min would be dangerous, but otherwise it would be OK for the 10 - 20 minute periods I was talking
so - if there are oxygen retainers, are there people who are the opposite ?
"Oh Yes - some people don't naturally hold up to a normal level of o2"
Hmmmmmmmm ??????????????????????????????
connect that with statements by MDs on this msg bd, and on several of the clinical headache web sites, that CH patients rarely if ever have negative side-effects from too much o2
If we have low blood ox problems - it would figure we wouldn't have overdose problems (that oxy Retainers would have)
re:latitude -
again, any of these things have to be looked at quite broadly
if it's purely environmental, then one would HAVE to live in high latitude to get CH
BUT - since it is so rare, there HAS to be some sort of predisposition
that leads us into the world of genetics
(remember - the human genome project is still way down in single digits percentage, as far as mapping DNA, etc)
so - "rough" genetics (as in "family history", which most MDs only take back to grandparents) probably isn't detailed enough to pick it up
BUT - is it possible this is a "high latitude type" affliction COMBINED with environmental (light & atmospheric o2)factors ?
as far as Jerry being in South Africa -
check your globe for the latitude of southern South Africa !!!!!!!
(high latitude refers to distance from equator - in both directions)
re: exercise triggers:
several of us observe a correlation of cluster start with increased exercise level -
"what if" the start of jogging, extra strenuous work schedule, whatever starts driving BETTER o2 floduring the exercise, from rapid respiration - then when we let off & respiration drops, the CHANGE is a trigger.....JUST LIKE malfunctioning hypothalmic reaction to spring/fall circadian cycle acceleration