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Topic: Another Newspaper MD on CH/CH triggers (Read 398 times) |
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thomas
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Re: Another Newspaper MD on CH/CH triggers
« Reply #1 on: Jul 28th, 2004, 4:06pm » |
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on Jul 28th, 2004, 3:34pm, Major_Headcase wrote: I wish these newspaper MD's would refer folks to this site more ...
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hmmmmmmmmmm probably not a good idea.
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Major_Headcase
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Re: Another Newspaper MD on CH/CH triggers
« Reply #2 on: Jul 29th, 2004, 10:11am » |
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Thomas,
Since this site is one of the best sites for CH info (if not THE best), I'm curious why you wouldn't want more CH sufferers to know about it? What am I missing?
-John
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| « Last Edit: Jul 29th, 2004, 10:11am by Major_Headcase » |
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thomas
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Re: Another Newspaper MD on CH/CH triggers
« Reply #3 on: Jul 30th, 2004, 1:19pm » |
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Just that if a doctor in his/her office can not diagnose ch correctly, how in the hell do you expect some one to do it via a letter?
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Major_Headcase
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Re: Another Newspaper MD on CH/CH triggers
« Reply #4 on: Jul 30th, 2004, 1:46pm » |
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LOL, good point!
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UN_SOLVED
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I need a fully-automatic Imitrex injector !!
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Re: Another Newspaper MD on CH/CH triggers
« Reply #5 on: Jul 30th, 2004, 3:29pm » |
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I can't see it 
HTTP Status 500 -
------------------------------------------------------------------------ --------
type Exception report
message
description The server encountered an internal error () that prevented it from fulfilling this request.
Oh well ... maybe next time 
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I'm STILL alive ?
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Major_Headcase
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Re: Another Newspaper MD on CH/CH triggers
« Reply #6 on: Jul 30th, 2004, 4:57pm » |
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Un Solved,
I got the same message, I think it just moved to some other place in their archives ... here's the story copied below:
THE FAMILY DOCTOR
For release 7/28/04
triggers are key to cluster headaches
By Allen Douma, M.D.
Tribune Media Services
DEAR DR. DOUMA: I've had headaches off and on for years, and for a time got hooked on codeine for pain. A year ago I was told I have cluster headaches, but have been treated by several doctors without much success. What's your advice? - M.N., Corvallis, Ore.
ANSWER: Cluster headaches can be excruciating -- so much so that they prevent one from functioning well. Although opiate-based pain pills such as codeine can effectively treat some chronic pain without developing addiction, it is trickier to do so with cluster headaches.
Cluster headaches are defined as multiple, recurrent attacks of severe, usually unilateral (one side of the head) pain. It occurs most often in middle-aged men but can occur in anyone.
Cluster headache attacks begin suddenly and usually end within an hour or two. Symptoms can begin with itching and watery discharge from one nostril and proceed to intense, often incapacitating pain on one side of the head and around the eye.
Attacks come in clusters that range from several per day to one or two per week. These episodes last for up to eight weeks and then just go away for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, also for no apparent reason, they start up again weeks or even many months later.
By contrast, migraine headaches are of moderate to severe intensity, and are often accompanied by nausea and increased sensitivity to light and sound. Tension headaches are the most common form of headache and are characterized by mild to moderate dull pain. Migraines and tension headaches typically do not occur in clusters.
Just as with migraines, for many people cluster headaches are caused by precipitating factors or "triggers." Cluster headache triggers have been reported to include alcohol, insufficient oxygen, stress, glare and certain foods. And, similar to tension headaches, stress and anxiety may play a role in starting an attack.
What triggers a headache in one person may not do so in another. And one person may have many different triggers that start a cluster headache.
I don't know of a complete cure for cluster headaches. Management requires attention to three aspects of the condition: avoidance of triggers, drug therapy to prevent the onset of attack, and treatment of pain and other symptoms once they occur.
To identify and avoid triggers, I recommend you keep a cluster headache calendar or diary. With each headache try to remember if one or more potential triggers were present before the attack. By tracking this over time you are more likely to identify what your triggers are and hopefully be able to avoid them.
Most medicines taken by mouth don't seem to work very well to treat an attack after it's started, but some people are helped by the triptan drugs used to treat migraines. Ergotamine, corticosteroids and methysergide may help to prevent attacks. Amitriptyline, a type of antidepressant, helps many people prevent the onset of cluster headaches.
Some medicines injected under the skin (sumatriptan and dihydroergotamine), or aerosols (ergotamine and butorphanol), or even 100 percent oxygen have been reported to help relieve the pain of cluster headaches. These drugs are also used to treat migraine attacks. Unfortunately, they do not prevent future episodes.
There is no single or simple solution. My best advice is to find and stick with a doctor who specializes in treating headaches or pain in general, keep trying to find and remove triggers, and find the best combination of medications. This is best done by keeping a diary of everything related to the cluster headaches.
Many people take headaches for granted, and simply take larger and larger doses of over-the-counter pain pills or move up to opiate-based drugs. This may be the best strategy for a few people, but any chronic pain condition should be evaluated to determine the cause, and hopefully remove it, rather than simply covering up the symptom.
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Write to Allen Douma in care of Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, N.Y. 14207; or contact him at DRFamily@aol.com. This column is not intended to take the place of consultation with a health-care provider.
©2004 TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
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