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        New Message Board Archives >> 2002 Posts >> pretty much fed up with these headaches
        
(Message started by: talitha on Oct 26^th, 2002, 8:11pm)

Title: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by talitha on Oct 26^th, 2002, 8:11pm

hey
I'm new on this site -I've had clusters since 1981. Nothing chemical helps-frankly this time is about worn me out-I have a full time job a five year old son in kindergarten a husband whose tired of it I haven't slept in three days now cause I know the headache will come back if I fall asleep and have started having fantasies about putting a gun to my head. course I'd probably miss. :-/ It's cool that there's a place we can talk about this without sounding crazy-I mean its not cool that anyone has these headaches...anyway-are there any new treatments out there?

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by Ted on Oct 26^th, 2002, 8:18pm

Could be a lot of new things out there. We don't know what you've tried already. Lots of info to read here and at the OUCH site. Buttons to the left opens new doors to Clusteropolis. Feel free to explore them all. Welcome to the dungeon. This is where the freaks are kept.

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by BobG on Oct 26^th, 2002, 8:41pm

Welcome to the board talitha.

In your other post you said you didn't understand all that goes on here. Don't worry about it.........just stick around and read and you'll get the hang of it and to know all the folks here.

Now scroll back up to what Ted said and follow his instructions.

And talitha.........pretty name ;)

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by Charlie on Oct 26^th, 2002, 8:49pm

Welcome to the club. As you'll readily find, it's too late for us. We've all become crazy talking about this horror.

Follow Ted's advice and check out the entire site. After doing so, come back here and join in the discussion. Here will be found even more ideas and suggestions. I promise you that somewhere along the line you will find something here to make things less painful or more manageable.

Keep in touch with us and the following is a technique that was very helpful for me:

Dr. Wright's Circulatory Technique:

This is not transcendental meditation, imagery, relaxation, or anything psychic. It's entirely physical and takes a lot of work and concentration. Give this method a good workout. It’s not a miracle, but it’s been very helpful to many.

When I was diagnosed, my neurologist said to treat this as a vascular problem. I was told to concentrate on “redirecting” blood circulation in order to retard flow to the head. This is done by trying to “send” blood into the arms and hands or other extremities. When properly done, your hands will become warm and redder with increased circulation. I also found it easier to concentrate on one hand.

This relieves just slightly, the pressure on the affected vessel, which indirectly causes our pain. We all have this ability but it can be exhausting. I was often able shorten my attacks from about half an hour to no more than a few minutes. Sometimes, when awake, I could entirely abort the attack IF I KEPT AT IT. I would suffer only minor discomfort instead of excruciating pain. Do not stop just because your hands are warm or redder. Keep this up until you are sure it's subsided. If you let up or lose concentration, it’s very hard to restart this process. It may take some time for this to take hold but when this works, the relief is almost immediate.

I learned this from the doctor in a few minutes. He simply told me to concentrate on keeping blood away from the head. He thought the easiest is the arms and hands but any place that works for you is fine. He said to think of it as "filling your hands" with redirected blood. It’s important to keep at it THROUGH the pain. This will be difficult, but it’s the only way this technique will work. I like to keep at it a few minutes longer than seems necessary to insure success.

This will not always work, but I think it will always have at least some effect on the severity and duration of the attacks. It can be useful between medications or while waiting for some other drug to take effect. All it takes is a little practice. It was fairly easy to learn and what I'm writing here is more than I got from the doctor, as I've drawn from my own experience.

When awakened in horrible pain, it’s very hard to focus, but I think it’s always worth a try. This costs nothing but hard work, is harmless, non-invasive, and it gives us a fighting chance.

I wish you the best of luck - Charlie Strand

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by don on Oct 26^th, 2002, 8:52pm

Not much info there Talitha.

What have you tried?
Do you have a neuro?

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by Mark C on Oct 26^th, 2002, 11:33pm

Welcome to the Nuthouse! :)
Glad you are here, sorry you need to be. I cannot add much to what has been said except read all the links here and on the OUCH site. Should take you at least two weeks! Lots of good stuff. I have learned more about MY disease in the last month than I have in the previous decade. Hang in and hang on...........
Mark

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by Lori on Oct 27^th, 2002, 12:38am

Welocme and glad you found this site. sure you will find it to be very helpful. once you start seeing the different meds avail to help, go to search and type in the name and it will bring up info about it. i learned alot that way about what side effects,etc that some meds have on different people. It might help to keep a HA diary so when you try different things you can have a record of what helped and time it took to help, etc. I wish you luck and hope to hear an update.

PFDAN

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by pjbgravely on Oct 27^th, 2002, 5:27pm

Talitha, Try sleeping in a recliner or sleeping propped almost sitting up in pillows. This stops or reduces sleeping attacks in some. Also you can try dramizine (not the none drowsey formula) which is suppose to prevent REM sleep. Hope this helps and I hope you get relief soon. Also try ice packs or frozen peas on your head, some thing with caspian under tongue, and the water x3 treatment( to the left), black coffee helps for most and try to get to a cold place.
Hope you get a good nights sleep. PFDAN PJB

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by 2late on Oct 27^th, 2002, 6:17pm

welcome to the board talitha, pull up a chair, kick off your shoes & take the advice above. .........2late

Title: Re: pretty much fed up with these headaches
Post by talitha on Oct 28^th, 2002, 12:17pm

thanks to all who responded! wow what an incredible amount of information....will be seeing the doctor today-start prednisone and get some ergotamine spray if the VA carries it. the headaches have intensified over the weekend-I'm resting on a recliner at night-trying not to sleep because-well you know-so I spent last night with a bag of frozen peas crammed against my eye. I really don't have time for this...my mother-in-law just fell yesterday and broke her hip-so I'll soon be in the growing group of people who are taking care of kids and parents.
my prayers for peace and pain-free nights for all of you...
talitha