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        New Message Board Archives >> 2002 Posts >> New (old) member intro:
        
(Message started by: dodger on Dec 15^th, 2002, 5:24am)

Title: New (old) member intro:
Post by dodger on Dec 15^th, 2002, 5:24am

Greetings to all of you out there in cyber space. Recently stumbled across your website while up at 3 in the morning after my nightly run in with the "Beast" Unfortunately I am eligible for membership, so I decided to hop aboard this train of pain. First of all, I think this is a great site and would like to thank the one's responsible, my hat is off for the time and effort they have committed.My printer has been running overtime since I found this site. A great outlet after years of little or no source of information. You may find this hard to believe, but I've gone through these cycles for 20 yrs., tried to explain them to friends, relatives,etc and have yet to meet or talk to another C.H. sufferer! About myself, I'm a 63 yr.old retired Fireman, and as I mentioned, have been riding this train for 20 yrs. Fortunately I'm episodic ( that don't sound right ) have gratefully gone without the beast since Apr.02. However on Dec.1st. that dreaded knock on the door was felt, and the fun began. Have been reading some of your messages, and like many of you, have been just winging it as far as treatment goes.(Treatment,,what a joke) Been mostly Prednisone & misc.other meds. Even tried acupuncture.Trying various combinations, always hoping to stumble across that "Magic potion". ie. Read about the "Water treatment", know I drank alot of Gatorade during pain free summer, so I'm going to try and drink Gatorade for awhile,,,,,might work!(Ha,Ha,) At this point, I seriously doubt there is any method of control. This thing just has a mind of it's own and can do whatever the hell it wants to do. To you Chronic sufferer's,,,,I can't comprehend what your going through, HANG IN THERE !!! Better close, this is getting close to book form. Look forward to getting more imfo.

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by ave on Dec 15^th, 2002, 7:19am

Welcome to this weird family, dodger, but sorry you have to be here.
You are certainly doing it the right way - printing all the info on this board. You are in for a stiff bout of reading.
And feel free to ask questions, you may even get an answer!

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by dodger on Dec 15^th, 2002, 7:20am

on 12/15/02 at 05:24:31, dodger wrote:

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by BobG on Dec 15^th, 2002, 7:25am

Good morning dodger.
Welcome but sorry you had a reason to come looking for this place.

You mentioned misc other meds.............

Did they include verapamil as a preventative and imitrex & oxygen as abortives?

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by SommelierCH on Dec 15^th, 2002, 7:40am

As always a double edge welcome. Sorry you had to find us, but glad you are here. Put on a hard hat, mouth guard and thigh high boots and wade right in.

What works for me is a triptan, Maxalt MLT 10mg. or Zomig ZMT 5mg. (fast acting, under the tongue dissolving tablets) combined with oxygen therapy. You can’t get many Maxalt tabs from insurance (6 per month max. for me) so you have to save those for the Big One and you can’t take more than 2 in any 24 hour period, so the oxygen is absolutely necessary for all the other times you feel the shadows creeping in. Go to the search button in the top right corner and type in “oxygen” and read up. This site is your one stop information resource, so start reading all the categories on the left hand side of the page, read it all, the more knowledge you have the better you can communicate with the medical community. Be sure to read about and do a search for “triggers”, these are catalysts that can really set us off. My triggers are alcohol (even the smallest amount, like a non-alcoholic beer) and bright light in my right (cluster side) eye. When I feel the shadows creeping in I hit the Oxygen and that pushes them back. However, when I’m asleep I can’t feel the shadows increasing and I wake up with the Big One. Jonny clued me in that if you take abortive triptans (I use Maxalt MLT 10mg. or Zomig ZMT 5mg., both are quick dissolving tabs) before going to bed, they can prevent that night time attack, especially if you get hit, like I do, within 2 hours of going to sleep. The half-life of both of these tabs is in the 2-3 hour range. This has enabled me to get quality sleep these last 2 weeks. Avoiding triggers during your cycle can dramatically affect the intensity, duration and number of attacks.

The cumulative amount of knowledge residing within these people on the board, is amazing. Give them as much info about your problem (see “Hints for your first post”) and they will be able to help that much more.

Good Luck and PFDAN,
David J.

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by OneEyeBlind on Dec 15^th, 2002, 8:52am

Welcome to the board dodger !!! O2, Imitrex and verapamil are my choice of meds. They work wonders for me and for lots of other people on the board !!!!!

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by ShariRae on Dec 15^th, 2002, 10:14am

Welcome dodger..sorry ya had to jump aboard. I too have found Verapamil & O2 to be my best weapons. If you need to buy some time till you see a doc, you may want to try taking a Sudafed or a Dramamine (not both) before bed. It prevents the REM sleep cycle & thats where the beast shows up. I have also found Ice to be very effective..even a frozen bag of peas held on the painin side and your neck may help. Stick around, you will find much help & support here..as well as people who truly understand.
Huggzzz
Shari

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by domm on Dec 15^th, 2002, 12:49pm

dodger - welcome to the board. Hope you find the right set of meds that work for you before Christmas. I use the same set of meds to control the beast as mentioned above. Lots of resourses here, and on the OUCH website - button on the left.
Good luck
domm

Title: Re: New (old) member intro:
Post by Drk^Angel on Dec 15^th, 2002, 10:37pm

Welcome to the board! Sorry that the beast is usin' your cranium as a lawn dart target, and is using extra heavy duty, rusty darts with acid points. Good luck!

PFDAN............................. Drk^Angel