Posted by lc bob on March 29, 1999 at 19:25:15:
In Reply to: still working posted by John Davis on March 28, 1999 at 18:53:06:
John, i agree with you. i don't meditate as formally as you, but i had 2 pain free days this past weekend ... it was either:
1. my chiropractor visit saturday (unlikely - i felt ok before i went, too)
2. i'm ending my cluster/cycle (how does one know when this happens? it's been posted that they stop abruptly, gradually, hit & miss, by intensity change, by period change ... how does one know?? ... anyway, i still get the shadows - and this cycle has gone unabated since august ... thought i was chronic ... what is UP?!)
3. it finally didn't rain for a weekend in SFBay area (that serotonin thing - light, weather, ambient temp change? i doubt it)
4. my stress level is reduced (hardly)
5. my arrogance; i left the house against my better judgment instead of staying home and waiting for the bastard to consume me - got pissed and decided to challenge "him" (tempting, and relates to the 'self-demon' theories, marches to the "this is all in your head" song - and that's hard to believe)
6. 1.5 to 2 gallons of water a day is beating the devil (a contributing factor, i think)
7. results of concentration on relaxation of shoulder/neck muscles has been effective (most likely, i think)
although not as structured as meditation, what i do is a simple compare. i have 2 sides. one is ok, the other is possessed. when the 'feeling' starts, i ... well, notice ... how my upper torso 'is' (no, that's not a cap on the president - i know what 'is' is this works almost every time. once in 6 or 7 tries, it doesn't - i think because i let it go too long before i notice the muscle strain. as i said, i don't notice it until i try to release it. then i have to resort to the rolling/manipulation of the neck and shoulders to diss the strain 'n pain. i know how this must sound to folks who aren't getting the same results. it can't be that easy. it can't be that explainable. it can't be that correctable. it can't be that mental. you guys must think John and i are blowing smoke, have created an illusion for ourselves, never had CH in the first place, or at best are trying one of those 'it only works for me' cures. i don't think this can be accomplished overnight. i feel like i ... 'trained' myself, sort of, over the past month or so to be conscious of the tightness, the location of the strain, and the method to relax it. it took a while. i also shut my eyes to visualize what i want to happen back there. it's close to meditation. i'm also drinking water throughout the day and in earnest during/beginning a potential attack. i honestly believe there's something solid here, though. although the mechanism of relief is very (not totally) mental, the 'fix' is physical (relaxing that neck/head/back muscle). i want to have the convention now more than ever because i think sharing this would be so much more effective in person - like in a workshop, where you could SEE it happen - than it ever will in these disconnected posts. Gawd, i wanna share this. if nothing else - it's the ONLY thing that addresses the one-sidedness factor. i want to show you all how i lay on my side (CH side first, then the other side) with my head propped on my hand to stretch my neck/shoulders out and how good it feels (still hurts - but it's a good hurt - like i can tell i'm affecting the headache) - sometimes my cheek/temple/ear hurts and makes it hard to keep my hand against the CH side - but i grit my teeth and in a few minutes the CH begins to fade.) i acknowledge (and this procedure does NOT explain) the seasonal nature or the circadian effect. i cannot yet explain them with regard to a back/neck musculature cause ... but it's there - i KNOW it. i have speculated that this neck muscle is in close proximity to the pituitary gland and that might produce some circadian rhythms - but not the seasonal ones. some anger appeared in some recent posts over the stress relationship to CH. i believe it's not just the stress, but how we assimilate the stress - or what our reaction to stress is. i believe we react differently to stress at different times. again, as i've said before, it could be as simple as a pulled muscle. sometimes you run (stress) and you don't pull a muscle. sometimes you run and you do. what's the difference? so why do some drugs work for some people? and why are they so random effectually? there is more going on here than one thing. i think the muscle pull/strain starts it. but by itself, it's not enough to produce CH. something else is either causing the muscle pull or making the pulled muscle become CH - some body product or invader (maybe the proposed virus? the suspected hormone? lyme disease? even a latent gene? all possibilities) but it's more than one thing. that's why we're having trouble finding "it" (a cause). at this point, i'd guess "it" is more likely "them". but i really really believe the muscle thing is common ... a prerequisite for the CH, not the cause - but the enabler. all that said, i think John is absolutely right. maybe the word meditation goes down wrong. think of it as concentration or imagination or biofeedback - whatever label you give it, it's working. for me, too. i also wonder about how many ppl there may be who have figured these suckers out but don't have computers or a reason to look up CH anymore. now that's scary. the answer is out there. now i sound like fox mulder. damn, this is way longer than i meant for it to be. just wanted to support John here, and to encourage some others to try it - probably against their better judgement - give it the benefit of the doubt. it is very difficult to do. there're no doctors or pharmacists or scientists to blame if it doesn't work. blame me. try it. when you're not CHing, sit quietly, back straight, eyes closed, relaxed, breathe deeply. imagine the muscles in your shoulders, back and neck (serially - not all at once). as you 'think through' them, relax them. let your shoulder/arm fall to the floor. let your head roll back when your neck muscles release. clear your head. think of whatever makes you smile. in fact, smile. make sure both sides of your body feel the same (CH side not more tense than the other side). notice at the beginning if that is not the case. feel the difference when it is. when you get caught in the 'rise', when you feel the CH coming on ... get into a self realization again. see if that tightness hasn't returned to the CH side. relax it again ... get rid of it ... get back into symmetry - both sides relaxed. sense the body. eliminate muscle strain. and the whole time - drink that water!! oh yea, when you drink ... breathe. through your nose between gulps. head back, small mouthfuls, think of washing the back of your throat while you swallow. relax. look at that APS thing (electrical nodes on muscles of neck) - appears promising. look at the exercise (pushups to sex - it's worked for many). look at the dehydration/oxygen deprivation effects on muscles (cramping), look at an anatomy chart of nerves - specifically the superior cervical ganglion - and where those nerves go (in relation to where your pain starts); that ganglion sits right beneath this neck muscle. if that doesn't convince you that John's on the right track ... imagine how great it'd be if dad or mom or sweetie was having a headache and meditating to dump it instead of screaming like a disemboweled subhuman trying to crush his/her skull in a vise to relieve the pain. i apologize - this was long. but if this isn't it, folks, it's definitely some of it. i believe this brings us all closer to the day we can all collectively flip this bastard off with a final, enraged middle finger ... never to dog our lives again. pain freedom is a human right ... damn it!
-lcb