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vv
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afraid im developing CH
« on: Jan 22nd, 2008, 4:52pm » |
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Hi, im a 22 year old male and last night i expierenced what id describe as my 3rd cluster headach, allthough so early on i cant quite say they are clusters.
About 4-6 months ago i was awoke @ my grandparents house around 2am with blinding sharp stabbing pains in my right eye, they got worse and worse over time, my right nostril was running, my right eye was tearing, red, and swollen. it was the worst pain ever. i woke up my mother and told her what was happening to me, i was pretty hysterical at the time, i eventually pleaded for her to take me to the ER as i couldn't take the pain and wanted to kill myself. I decided to stick it out for a little bit longer, it had been about 40 mins. a little while longer the stabbing slowed down and got less intense, and was gone . The entire episode lasted about 60 mins, i was so exhausted afterwards i fell asleep.
The next morning i was telling my grandparents what happened that evening, i was very scared thinking i had a tumor or something. My Grandpa told me it was a cluster headache and he had experienced them when he was younger. BTW my mom was adopted and he is not a blood relative. I looked them up in his medical texts and indeed, what i had experienced fit CHs to a T. I was very frightened that i would be getting them subsequent nights, but as it happened i didn't get another one for some time.
Two evenings ago i woke up @ 3am sleeping w/ my gf, i had an intense stabbing pain behind and a little above my right eye. my right nostril was runny and i thought it was a severe sinus headache as ive had a cold. I was back asleep 45 mins after waking up. At that point i thought of it as a severe sinus headache due to infection.
Last night at 3am, i awake again, this time the pain starts as bad as the climax of the previous evenings pain. It only gets worse, my right eye is assaulted with stabbing. The stabbing gets more and more frequent and painfull, lasting a good hour. During this time my girlfriend was there and tried to console me. I completely broke down, was bawling, whimpering, tearing at my hair ect. ect., i paced from my bathroom back to my room several times, had my gf talk to my brother about possibly taking me to the emergency room, in short i was insane with pain.
I thought i had experienced the cusp of pain during my 1st random cluster headache... the descriptions of "pain worse then child birth" seemed fitting for what i had felt (not that ill ever be able to experience child birth and back that claim). Last nights episode deff surpassed the pain of the 1st random encounter months ago.
This has all left me very scared about what is in store for me tonight. I thought i dodged the bullet after my 1st random CH a while back, that i was someone who just got a random one or very few and not "clusters". This may be the case, but the previous 2 evenings obv. have me thinking otherwise.
A little more info on my situation, as i've been quite worried about this and obsessing over it. I don't have health insurance. I use recreational psychedelics fairly often, is it possible this has prevented more frequent CHs? i have read LSD, and psilocibin among others is a treatment option, maybe this is why ive only had 3 since my 1st.
Really, id like to hear about the onset of symptoms as experienced by this boards members. what was it like when you developed them?
thanks to any and all input, this has all got me pretty freaked out, i'm not used to being reduced to a suicidal mess randomly in the middle of the night.
oh, and if this is a rambling mess... please forgive me, i was up early for work today and not well rested as you could expect.
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vv
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #1 on: Jan 22nd, 2008, 5:03pm » |
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also, tons of sympathy to all you clusterheads. i don't want to think about how bad it must be. Be strong!
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Stinger
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #2 on: Jan 22nd, 2008, 5:59pm » |
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Besides the pain itself, the biggest problem I have faced during my cycles (4-5 months) is the fear of the next headache. If it keeps happening everyday, then you may have CH. Hang in there. The only thing that has gotten me through them is knowing that each headache will end in an hour or so. Then you live in fear of the next one.
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imfareware
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #3 on: Jan 22nd, 2008, 6:00pm » |
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Ever try Oxygen?
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Pain is temporary, Love is Permanent
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maryo
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #4 on: Jan 22nd, 2008, 6:03pm » |
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Hi vv,
That sucks. Well I'm a little fuzzy about how mine started. I do know I was 28. I think it was during the summer. I had this boyfriend who was New Age +++. I was afraid to admit I was having a problem lest he Rolf me or make me eat seaweed. I would awake at dawn with this killer headache on the right side and quietly slip downstairs and chug a couple of Dristan Sinus tabs, which haven't been made for years, but I think they had aspirin, caffeine and an antihistamine. Worked good. It was a couple of years before a definite pattern set in. However, over the years the devil likes to change things up just to keep things interesting. This is my worst year EVER. Lots of Rx in my house. Plus O2.
There were three things in your story that shouted CLUSTER! Pacing, suicidal and right-sided. You were lucky to have your GF there and knowledgeable to get you on the right track.
There are a number of non-Rx things you can do. Start researching. BTW I tried the clusterbuster shroom deal and not only freaked out (but later laughed my head off at an old Tarzan movie), I had more and worse headaches that night.
Do check out the survey for more info, plus the OUCH site (see menu on left).
Check back in, well ya?
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George_J
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #5 on: Jan 22nd, 2008, 6:11pm » |
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Well, it certainly sounds like it could be, but you really need to get to a doctor--insurance or no insurance.
In the meantime, try ice, or a bag of frozen vegetables on your forehead. It can kick the pain down a notch or two in the midst of an attack.
Melatonin--an over-the-counter supplement--taken 1/2 hour to 1 hour before bedtime can reduce or eliminate nighttime attacks. We normally take between 6 and 12 mg. at a time, but some folks find that they need more to achieve the desired effect.
If you live anywhere near a fire station, you might ask your girlfriend to take you there during an attack. The paramedics are often willing to let you use their oxygen--which can abort an attack. You'll need a flow of 15 liters per minute with a non-rebreather mask, or with a demand regulator. If oxygen helps, that's valuable information--then you can look at getting your own setup. Oxygen is a potent abortive for about 70 percent of us.
Finally--I know how difficult it is, but try not to panic during an attack. Panic can make the pain, or at least the perception of pain, more intense. Relax as much as possible, remain calm. Breathe deeply. It WILL pass.
Others will be along with more specific suggestions, but for now, let's at least try to get you started.
All the best,
George
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Ah! The foreigners put on such airs
Wearing the tangerine suits
And their harlequin eyes.
The pain they inspire
Draws in harmonica melodies
And the feathers of birds
Which flame up at their touch.
It all comes to light in the sheer
Debonair.
(Ellen)
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Bob_Johnson
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #7 on: Jan 24th, 2008, 6:56am » |
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Self-diagnosis and treatment is not the best route. Find a good doc first.
1. Search the OUCH site (button on left) for a list of recommended M.D.s.
2. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.
3. Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.
4. http://www.achenet.org On-line screen to find a physician.
5. http://www.headaches.org/consumer/index.html Call 1-800-643-5552; they will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder" which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.
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Start reading/educating ourself. Explore the buttons on the left and the OUCH site.
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MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $50 at Amazon.Com. It covers all types of headache and is primarily focused on medications. While the two chapters on CH total 42-pages, the actual relevant material is longer because of multiple references to material in chapters on migraine, reflecting the overlap in drugs used to treat. I'd suggest reading the chapters on migraine for three reasons: he makes references to CH & medications which are not in the index; there are "clinical pearls" about how to approach the treatment of headache; and, you gain better perspective on the nature of headache, in general, and the complexities of treatment (which need to be considered when we create expectations about what is possible). Finally, women will appreciate & benefit from his running information on hormones/menstrual cycles as they affect headache. Chapter on headache following head trauma, also. Obviously, I'm impressed with Robbins' work (even if the book needs the touch of a good editor!) (Somewhat longer review/content statement at 3/22/00, "Good book...."
HEADACHE HELP, Revised edition, 2000; Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, $15. Written for a nonprofessional audience, it contains almost all the material in the preceding volume but it's much easier reading. Highly recommended.
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Bob Johnson
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vv
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #8 on: Jan 24th, 2008, 4:44pm » |
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hey all, thanks for the info and kind words, havnt had any more CHs since the last time. it seems as though im not having them in "clusters" but there is no doubt in my mind that what i went through were cluster headaches. i have not read anything about random single CHs, so im wondering if there are any other people out there with infrequent single episodes.
i am working on finding a dr to see about this, and i havnt tried oxygen. thanks again for your responses!
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mummymac
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Re: afraid im developing CH
« Reply #9 on: Jan 24th, 2008, 5:08pm » |
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Hello VV, welcome to Clusterville.
I have had many many single and double attacks over the years.
I started of at 17 with full cycles, then had many years remission . I call it that as I did not have long cycles of frequent attacks.
I would get a lone attack or just a day or three of them then they would be gone for a long time.
I used to think I stopped them by mind over matter, as when I could feel one coming I used a mantra of its not going to happen its not going to happen and the odd once that did get through I thought was a failing on my part.
But three years a go that stopped working and I was back to an 11 week cycle and just coming out of a 10/11 week cycle now.
When I discovered this site I realised I had just been bloody lucky compared with most in not to have had a full blown cycle for so long.
CH works in mystrious ways.
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Tanya
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