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plazticsoul
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what brought this on....
« on: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:34am » |
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I think we all, as sufferers, have pondered what might have caused that first initial trigger of a cluster headache. For me I think it might have been the ADD medication Adderall. I was diagnosed with ADD at 7 years of age, was taking Ritalin, switched to Dexadrine, then Adderall at 12, which seemed to work really well for me without consequence. I excelled at everything I set out to do. At the time of h.s. graduation, I did not want to go to college. I partied too much, and dropped out. They stopped prescribing me the meds because I was over 18 and no longer in school. I learned to cope with ADD for 6 years, and in 2004 I decided I wanted to earn computer technical certifications. There was a major problem with self-studying, however. I just could not get myself to pick up a book. I was scared of books, because to me, it was a waste of my time. What's the point of reading the same paragraph 4 times just to catch one sentence?
Yeah. It's pretty bad.
Well once I started taking Adderall in 2004, it was like a shock to my brain. Suddenly I could comprehend everything, it was so clear. At the same time, I attempted to give up smoking, take up running, and deal with a bitter breakup with an ex-gf. So those are some pretty big changes in lifestyle right there. After a month of being back on it I started getting extreme anxiety, and was too paranoid to even go to the store sometimes. These side effects were not as severe as I remembered, and I honestly believe my brain chemistry might have changed. Another month later, the cluster headaches started. I woke up with it one day, and it's been chronic ever since April 2004. I can go a few hours without pain, but not a whole 24 hours.
Frightened that Adderall might have caused this, I stopped taking it. However, this seemed to do nothing to reverse the symptoms of CH. And like many of you, I made other dramatic lifestyle and diet changes to see if there is some rhyme or reason to this condition, and there isn't. No difference whatsoever.
I'm back on Adderall. Been taking it for a month now to pursue a technical certification with Microsoft. Fortunately, and oddly enough, the ONLY prescription medication that relieves my CH (Xanax... I know... it's not commonly prescribed for that, but it works) also counteracts the side effects of Adderall. So it's not so bad now.
My question to be pondered now is, if a drug changed your brain chemistry and unleashed something, and you stop taking the drug and it seems to make no difference, is it harmful to continue take the drug? Once it's been done, it can't seem to be undone. The only thing that can happen is it can get worse. And so far, Adderall has not done that. Should I still be worried?
P.S. for those who do not know, Adderall is a stimulant medication... a combination of amphetamine salts. So in many ways, it can be like cocaine or meth. CH has been linked to addiction and/or stress, in many cases.
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| « Last Edit: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:42am by plazticsoul » |
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nani
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #1 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:42am » |
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The ADD meds probably didn't cause your CH, but they could have an effect on it. Basically CH is caused by an abnormal hypothalamus. Have you considered trying Strattera for ADD? It's a non-stimulant med, with fewer side effects. I've actually heard of a couple of cases of Ritalin aborting a CH. I also take Concerta, and find it can be a trigger sometimes. (Funny, I had a bad reaction to Strattera  ) So, I don't take my Concerta everyday and consequently, I operate within a wide range of "functionality".
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| « Last Edit: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:43am by nani » |
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plazticsoul
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #2 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:52am » |
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Yes but Adderall can wreak havoc on the central nervous system. Side effects can include lack of sleep, social anxiety, occasional "tics" (or twitches... involuntary movements), irrational behavior and depression. A lot of people have associated panic attacks with CH, though it's not always clear on what-caused-what. But panic attacks also seem to be caused by a malfunction of the CNS. I think anytime we talk about the CNS we can also talk about neurological disorders.
I haven't been willing to try Straterra based on many users' reports and based on the way I "think" I'll react to it. Concerta, which I think is basically the same thing as Ritalin, I had a problem with daily headaches. Not CH's mind you but they were still very annoying.
I do agree with what you say about what Concerta does for you... it's good to miss a day or two. It helps even out the side effects due to its long half-life.
One very strange thing I should note is that while ON Adderall, I don't seem to have as many instances of CH. And Xanax eases the comedown from it. It was a true coincidence that after useless prescription after useless prescription, someone offered me a Xanax, and it magically seemed to rid CH's for me.
I guess it evens out, though I shouldn't have to rely on 2 counteracting narcotics just to be normal.
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| « Last Edit: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:56am by plazticsoul » |
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Jasmyn
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #3 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 3:19am » |
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I think like Nani said, it does not seem likely that the ADD meds caused the CH but might have been a trigger.
My opinion on your question is that, many brain chemicals are released by the pineal gland in the hypothalamus. Because we as CHers are born with an abnormal/defective hypothalamus, at some point in life our brain chemistry changes due to hormonal or outside factors (meds/accidents/etc.) which triggers a chemical reaction or mutation.
I hope that the neoro's will some day discover the seat of this problem, until then we can merely speculate.
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Jazz
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plazticsoul
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #4 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 8:36am » |
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So what you're saying is we are all predisposed to having this condition. Adderall may have just been what happened to bring mine out.
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marlinsfan
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #5 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 8:46am » |
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Right! And to take Jasmyn's speculation one step further, lots of us believe (speculate?) that the cause of CH is a damaged hypothalamus.
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Dragnlance
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #6 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 8:58am » |
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Quote:| ...that the cause of CH is a damaged hypothalamus |
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I dont think "damaged" is the correct term here. Altered, mutated, abnormal, even defective. Damaged indicates brain damage. While some of us may have indeed damaged our brains in our younger years
I dont think we are all able to damage only one section of our brains and it be the same section for all of us.
Dragnlance
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djpaynesr
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #7 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:11pm » |
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Hiya Plastic,
I also have adult ADD and take Adderall. I haven't found it to have caused my CHs, I started getting them spontaneously in 1991, or increased/decreased their frequency, duration or intensity.
As Jasmyn, Marlin and Dragon have pointed out we have a malfunctioning Hypothalamus for whatever reason. I have searched in vain for a cause for these things. No one knows.
However, have you tried Melatonin? I am a skeptical person by nature so I was leary of trying some "Homeopathic" treatment but after one week of 9mg per night my CHs have all but disappeared after a one year chronic episode. I still have shadows but they don't seem to bloom into full blown HAs or a short 5-10 min shot of O2 cures them completely. I am also sleeping through the night for the first time in almost a year.  Prior to this the only thing that offered complete relief was Imitrex.
BTW, GO FOR THE CERTIFICATIONS!!! I've been in IT for 8 years and getting my certs (MCSE: Security, CCNA) was the best thing I have ever done. It's exremely hard but well worth it. I got laid off from a job the day before last Thanksgiving and as my wife puts it, "Not even the Devil hires between Thanksgiving and New Years." So I took the time and studied for my MCSE. Within the first two weeks after New Years I had an interview every day. Sometimes two a day and started a new job, at great money, by January 30th.
Wishing you PFDA
Dave
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plazticsoul
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #8 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:25pm » |
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on Feb 15th, 2006, 12:11pm, djpaynesr wrote:
BTW, GO FOR THE CERTIFICATIONS!!! I've been in IT for 8 years and getting my certs (MCSE: Security, CCNA) was the best thing I have ever done. It's exremely hard but well worth it. I got laid off from a job the day before last Thanksgiving and as my wife puts it, "Not even the Devil hires between Thanksgiving and New Years." So I took the time and studied for my MCSE. Within the first two weeks after New Years I had an interview every day. Sometimes two a day and started a new job, at great money, by January 30th.
Wishing you PFDA
Dave |
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Wow! Small world! Yeah, what got me studying in 2004 was A+ and Network+. I started studying NetWare but decided not to pursue Novell cert. and instead looked at Microsoft. Right now I'm taking the 70-290 exam on March 3rd, and it's mistakenly my first (probably should have started with the 270 exam but oh well). Only been working with the 2003 OS since New Year's but I hope to pass! About how long did it take you to get your MCSE and are I/T jobs in plentiful supply where you live? I'm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and we don't have a big demand here. might consider relocating to Dallas or Austin, TX or Atlanta, GA. Drop me an e-mail sometime so we don't turn this off-topic, hehe... plazticsoul (at) yahoo (dot) com. Impressive... congrats!!!
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Chonas
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #9 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:29pm » |
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Yes, Melatonin, that's good stuff, it allows me to sleep like a log.
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djpaynesr
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Re: what brought this on....
« Reply #10 on: Feb 15th, 2006, 12:43pm » |
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The 70-290 and 70-291 exams are the WORST. OMFG I hated them. The scenarios and questions are ridiculously hard and often very vague. Everytime I got discouraged, I had to take the 70-290 and 70-291 twice, I had to remind myself that this is why the MCSE cert is so well respected. Just keep going, remember the questions and if you fail study what you missed.
I've been involved with computers since 1985, Commodore 64, and worked with them mostly as a hobby until 1997 when I realized how much IT people made and started working for MCI. IT Project Managment is my specialty now and I love it.
Novell is on its way out so that was a smart decision. My last project was migrating a large government agency from Novell to Microsoft. Everything they were paying Novell for was built-in to Microsoft so it was a no-brainer.
I live in Maryland just outside of DC so IT jobs here are extremely plentiful. Not to mention that we have a 2.5% unemployment rate in general.
All those years of being an UBERGEEK are paying off for both of us.
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