Posted by pinksharkmark (196.3.74.234) on September 02, 2000 at 10:43:48:
In Reply to: Secondary smoking posted by Asa on September 01, 2000 at 15:58:05:
...and in the opinion of most CH researchers.
They (the researchers) feel that the imbalance in our brain chemistry which causes the pain also makes us more prone than the average person to nicotine addiction.
CH is a SYNDROME... a whole package of symptoms that defines a particular disorder. While it is the staggering pain that receives the most attention, a host of other symptoms, both physical and psychological, are associated with that pain. Flushing, sweating, red and teary eyeball, stopped up sinus, digestive changes, lowered serum magnesium levels, sleep disorders, depression... the list goes on.
A tendency to become heavily addicted to nicotine is another symptom, as is the fact that statistically speaking clusterheads tend to be heavy social drinkers... although not necessarily alcoholics.
One of the most reliable signs that I am heading into a cycle is a craving for chocolate. I almost NEVER eat chocolate, yet at the onset of a cycle I'll often eat two chocolate bars a day. For a while I thought that the chocolate was what triggered my cycles, as is often the case with migraineurs, but my neuro explained that the chocolate intake was not a cause, but a RESULT of the changing brain chemistry that accompanies the cycle.
He says the same is true of smoking... our higher than normal craving for nicotine is directly analogous to my higher than normal craving for chocolate. Problem is, chocolate is nowhere near as addictive as nicotine. When I want to, I can stop eating chocolate. I've been struggling to quit smoking for almost twenty years now.
pinky