Posted by sim (65.25.217.209) on July 06, 2001 at 18:32:05:
I have no full certainty that this is a cure for everyone, but since it works for me I thought I should post it, because they hurt like hell and if I can help, well....
Each early summer I start getting them. Two or three a day - feels like a hatchet fully immersed in my head. If I do nothing about it, it will last 1-2 hours.
Reading this site one day last year I noticed one minor entry about exercize. I figured, what the hell do I have to lose? So I went out and sprinted about a mile. My head felt like it was going to explode - it did not let up. My heart was pounding - I was breathing like crazy, the pain was enormous. when I could literally go no further I stopped, and slowly walked back home. To my astonishment, I felt the throbbing begin to abate - within about 7-9 minutes it was gone and I felt almost euphoric. Iknew I had licked it for the time being.
Sure enough - another attack came several hours later, but I was ready to give it another try. I hopped on my treadmill and again sprinted about a mile. Exhausted, I got off, sat in a chair as the pain pounded through me, and then, about ten minutes later, it was gone. Hoo-ah.
Since they are clusters, you can always tell they are there ready to strike in full force, sure as shit, right over the left eye, arching over the top of the head, always on the left side. There it will sit for about 6 weeks every early summer and you never know what will trigger it (though a gin martini is a pretty safe bet. But now I know how to kill them. No pill has EVER worked. No aspirin, Maxalt, Immitrix, antihistimine, nada, nothing, nichts...
Nothing but the "running cure". And by the way, if you are pretty certain one is coming on and you can get sprinting before it is in full force, you can ward it off before it is too painful. And another by the way - after 6 weeks of this, you're in pretty good shape.
So.... I thought I ought to share this with you all. It is not a pleasant way or an easy way to deal with it, but when it means the difference between 15 more minutes of pain and 2 hours, I'll take the former. I simply don't have the time or the patience to deal with these suckers every year.
I'd be interested to know responses to this. Good luck fellow clusterheads.
sim