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Topic: am I a wimp? (Read 446 times) |
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Skylark
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am I a wimp?
« on: Dec 24th, 2004, 7:19pm » |
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“So you had tearing of the right eye..” said the doctor in the ER last night and I see a light go on in his mind. “..and you get this when you sleep and it comes on just like that and goes again after a few hours?” I was still feeling like a wimp: “What sort of man goes to the ER for sinus headache?” I was wondering and what does this doctor think of me.
Then he tells me about cluster headaches and gives me some information on to read. I must say I was a bit relieved when the fists sentence was: “This is probably on of the most severe forms of head pain know to man..” This means I am not just a wimp, I am a wimp but with reason 
This really happened last night, two days before Christmas; however I have been woken up 4 times in the last two weeks with this double-edged-white-hot-knife in the right side of my head. It’s sinus I kept telling myself and took a few sinus pills. Sleep was nowhere to be found and out of pure desperation I would go running, as long as I was running it was bearable, but a man can only run so much at 4 am in December in Seattle 
Yesterday I finished work early and was really beat from the lack of sleep lately and took an afternoon nap (How was I supposed to know any better?) Well you guessed it; I woke at 5pm with the big bang happening in slow motion in my head. I kept coming and going until at 10 pm I was shaking like a man possessed and my wife took me to the ER. That is where I was lucky enough to encounter the doctor I mention above and he diagnosed it within 10 min. He gave me 15 Vicodin tables and the name of a neurologist.
Thinking back now I realize I have had this a few times before but that was years ago and not as bad as now. I am really healthy, I have not been to a family doctor in years and haven’t taken ANY antibiotic medicine for 10 years plus. I go to a chiropractor for back pain and to acupuncture when I sometimes get the mussels in my foot infected from having flat feet (Don’t laugh!)
My wife and I moved to Seattle in February this year from England where we lived for 4 years. We are originally from South Africa, but we like to move it seems and while we do that we also see the world.
Talking about world, I am very glad to have found this site and really look forward to finding out as much as I can about this and how to prevent “?” or at least cope with it. I am not sure how severe or when the next session will be but I pray it is not as bad as last night.
My immediate questions are: Will this Vicodin help? Any other advice will be appreciated. Oh yes one more, has anyone tried acupuncture for this?
Glad to have met you all and hope to year from you soon.
“STOP BANGING”
Henry
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nani
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #1 on: Dec 24th, 2004, 7:38pm » |
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Welcome, skylark. YOU ARE NOT A WIMP! You have found a place to get support, information and most importantly, understanding. Look around the message boards here and look at the OUCH site also. Post any questions you may have. Make your appointment with a neurologist and gather info in the mean time. Many doctors (even neurologists) do not understnad cluster headaches. Info is your best defense. These can be treated, but unfortunately, not with vicodin. Pain meds will not help. Your best chance to abort a HA is with oxygen or one of the triptan meds. (Imitrex, maxalt, etc.) Look at the oxygen info button on the left. There are also preventative meds, like verapamil, lithium, topamax... Melatonin is an OTC supplement which many here find help stop those night time hits.
You have a lot of reading to do. Good luck, pain free wishes and Merry Christmas.
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john_d
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Welcome, funny how a clusterhead is so instantly recognizable. You, my friend, are a clusterhead.
on Dec 24th, 2004, 7:19pm, Skylark wrote:
My immediate questions are: Will this Vicodin help? Any other advice will be appreciated. Oh yes one more, has anyone tried acupuncture for this?
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As Nani mentioned, Vicodin won't help but other things will to a degree. Never heard of acupuncture helping but there are alot of people have different things that they do. But the meds are the most reliable.
Welcome aboard this Christmas Eve.
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yikes-another-one
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #3 on: Dec 25th, 2004, 4:03pm » |
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welcome aboard, and look to the left.
Water, Meditation and deep breathing....
May not "cure us" but can give us a measure of
"sanity"
Happy holidays, hope the pain moster
find it's way to the South pole for a while,
and lets you enjoy the days....
and nights.
TJ
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kissmyglass
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #4 on: Dec 25th, 2004, 5:11pm » |
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hey Henry,
glad your er doc at least knew what clusters are, sorry he didn't know how to treat them.
As they told you, vicodin is worthless for us.
try to get to that neuro appt. ASAP & keep reading here...read, read read...the word oxygen will take on a new meaning...ya wimp
Kev
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Skylark
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #5 on: Dec 26th, 2004, 9:49pm » |
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HI All. Thanks for the welcome. I have been reading lots and dirking water like a French Foreign Legion Escapee and have only had minor attacks since then but nothing that made me hate my life.
I am have decided that I am a wimp, reading about what some of you through makes me realize that I am just a small cluster-head and I really feel for you.
I hope this water thing is going to keep working for me. I do have one question:
What do they mean when they say sensitivity to alcohol?
Skylark
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nani
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #6 on: Dec 26th, 2004, 9:56pm » |
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Quote:What do they mean when they say sensitivity to alcohol?
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I'm not sure where that is...but I'm guessing it means that many of us find alcohol to be a trigger for CH. I'm gald you are trying the water, but I still encourage you to see a neurologist and get some prevents and abortives. I will tell you again...you are not a wimp. Some get hit harder than others, but our pain is our pain ... and this is a great place to vent about it. I know what you mean though...it's kinda like survivor guilt. I mostly have a relatively easy time of it, too. PF wishes.
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Filbert
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #7 on: Dec 26th, 2004, 10:00pm » |
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Skylark
YOU ARE NOT A WIMP! The pain of CH is recognised as being one of the worst known to humankind!
Alcohol triggers an attack for many people with CH-not all but many so lots of people avoid it like the plague whan in cycle.
All the best Filbert.
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Mr. Happy
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #8 on: Dec 26th, 2004, 11:42pm » |
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on Dec 26th, 2004, 9:49pm, Skylark wrote:| I am have decided that I am a wimp |
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So you're a wimp. Big deal. Me too.
Pay attention to what you're hearing. Pearls are being cast. Enough of this Ultimate Pain crap.
Paper cuts piss me off,
RJ
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Bill-G
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #9 on: Dec 28th, 2004, 1:00am » |
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If you fear the next attack and that makes you a wimp I'm a member of Wimps R Us.
As a general rule, pain killers won't help. I tried Vicodine, percocet..2 with 4 advil chewed to a paste...nothing!
It looks like Verapamil is a good place to start for a preventative. Melatonin is often mentioned here along with a few others. Imetrex is a good abortive as is Oxygen. It seems different things work for different people. Talk to your neurologist about them.
Indocin can also be used as an abortive but its slow, not long lasting and can't be taken more than 3 os so times a day. It can also cause a wicked rebound headache. There is some great info on this site on medications, all or any of which should be discussed with your neurologist.
hope you find the right answer for you.
Take care
Bill
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Had heard about CH and wondered if anything could posiiblly be all that bad. Seriously thinking of having idiot tatoo done on my forehead now
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TxBasslady
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Re: am I a wimp?
« Reply #10 on: Dec 28th, 2004, 2:51am » |
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Welcome to the board, Henry.
Alot of episodic CH'ers can tell when they are out of a CH cycle by drinking beer. If their cycle is not over..the beer sends them the message. LOL
Unfortunately, our physical condition is irrelevant as far as CH goes.
Yep....naps are not an option for me either. Hell, I'm scared to go to sleep at night, there ain't no way I'm gonna give the beast another shot at me during the day. 
You might try the Melatonin for those hits that wake you. You can buy it at Walmart....3mg. tablets. It's actually a sleep aid. However, it keeps us out of the REM phase of sleep, which is normally when the beast likes to attack. I started with 6mg. and have adjusted that dosage as needed. Sometimes, I can take 3mg., other times, like now, I have to take 9mg. I also take Magnesium each morning. You might read the posts about these 2, and decide if you want to try it. There's alot of us here that take it, and most have had good results.
Keep in mind that not all meds and remedies work for everyone. Even tho we all have CH, it's not a guarantee that what works for one will work for all.
Definitely get in to see a good doc. It's sometimes difficult to find one who really understands CH and how to treat it.
Good luck, Henry. Let us know how you're doing.
PF vibes,
Jean
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