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        New Message Board Archives >> 2003 Posts >> Question in the Cluster Survey
        
(Message started by: jadedgazer on Nov 24^th, 2003, 3:08pm)

Title: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by jadedgazer on Nov 24^th, 2003, 3:08pm

There is a question in the Cluster Survey about head trauma sustained in the past year...

My question is whether you think head trauma sustained ever could be a cause of CH? I have sustained severe head trauma resulting in broken bones in my face in two incidents in the past 20 years, 10 years apart. The first in a bus wreck, in which my jaws were broken in 5 places. The second 10 years later, a car wreck, in which my forhead was broken and my nose was obliviated. I have often wondered if these two incidents might have contributed to my current condition.

The onset of my ch's didn't occur until about 9 years after the second accident. So maybe not.....

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by thomas on Nov 24^th, 2003, 3:11pm

Don't know. I have had a concussion, but that was 4 years before ch started. [smiley=huh.gif]

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by BobG on Nov 24^th, 2003, 3:12pm

Quote:

My question is whether you think head trauma sustained ever could be a cause of CH?

IMHO, no

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by TomM on Nov 24^th, 2003, 3:49pm

on 11/24/03 at 15:08:31, jadedgazer wrote:

So maybe not.....

First rule in Law School...never ask the question to which you do not know the answer. Asked and answered, IMHO.

I hit my coconut very hard during Hurricane Isabel this year (hit by a falling tree while cutting up a fallen tree) and sustained a concussion. I got my cycle earlier.

So, take the Integral of tree hits over time [H/dt] and compare it to the Integral of HA over time [HA/dt] yields Ted Kennedy crossing under the bridge.

TomM

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by jadedgazer on Nov 24^th, 2003, 3:58pm

ty TomM...at least for the giggle...needed to giggle today.

Just something I have pondered from time to time. You know how it goes, always wondering if there is something you did to cause this beast to descend upon you. Or at least that is what I do sometimes anyway.

Thanks for the input and reality check. ;)

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by eyes_afire on Nov 24^th, 2003, 4:26pm

Hi Jadedgazer,

I don't think head trauma is a cause of CH, but I wouldn't rule it out as a possible precipitating factor for some clusterheads. What I mean, is that the genetic predisposition to get CH is probably already there, but maybe certain life traumas help bring it out at certain times. If head trauma was a cause of CH, then I would expect that CH would be much more prevalent in the population. Head trauma is very common.

I know what you mean though, I used to spend alot of time wondering if certain events caused my situation. Even if head traumas could bring on CH, there's no sense in feeling responsible because it's rather tough to go through life without smashing your head at one time or another.

I hope you feel better,

--- Steve

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by jadedgazer on Nov 24^th, 2003, 4:29pm

ty Steve

Thank you from the depths of my heart

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by TomM on Nov 24^th, 2003, 4:40pm

Jadegazer--I'm glad you read my post in the vane it was meant and I'm glad SOMEBODY thinks I'm funny. I get tired of making just myself laugh. ;)
On a serious note, my coconut hit this past September is the first such trauma for me so from my perspective there is no correlation between head trauma and CH. I agree with Steve that you are either predisposed to CH's or not.

TomM

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by jadedgazer on Nov 24^th, 2003, 5:00pm

TomM,

I knew what you meant, I too have a sense of humor about it all...trust me. Sometime I might explain to you all my twisted little story, as it goes much deeper and farther than just CH. :)

My philosophy is this...better to laugh than to cry...this is truly not life threatening and there are worse ailments in life than this, this is life altering and I have opportunities to touch other's lives with my story and my strength. And no matter how bad it gets, I could be in worse condition. For this reason, I feel blessed. But I am still a lowly human and my response to Steve was simply because someone else responded to something I had been feeling I was alone in. Simple as that. :)

I hope that I didn't upset or offend as that was never my intention. PF days to you!

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by Charlie on Nov 24^th, 2003, 7:00pm

Head trauma & CH?

I strongly doubt this.

I think the CH beast has its own little timetable and random victims.

The bastard.

Charlie

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by TomM on Nov 25^th, 2003, 7:49am

on 11/24/03 at 19:00:10, Charlie wrote:

Head trauma & CH?

I strongly doubt this.

I think the CH beast has its own little timetable and random victims.

The bastard.

Charlie

Wise Ole Charlie puts it straight again. Thank you Charlie.

Title: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by maria9 on Nov 25^th, 2003, 9:54am

There is a positive relationship between head trauma and cluster headaches. Whether head trauma is a precipitating factor for CH is still unknown:

Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2003 Apr;7(2):144-9. Related Articles, Links

Epidemiology of cluster headache.

Finkel AG.

Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 3114 Bioinformatics Building, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. finkela@glial.med.unc.edu

Cluster headache is rare, occurring in less than 1% of the population. Studies suggest that, in addition to the pain and associated autonomic disturbances recognized to be characteristic of the syndrome, patients also may experience nausea, photophobia, behavioral agitation, or restlessness. A decreasing male:female ratio also has been noted, perhaps attributable to lifestyle trends adopted by more women that were previously associated with men, such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and working outside of the home. The relationship between cluster headache and hormonal events does not appear to be strong. Hormonal influences on the chronic form of cluster headache in women are a subject of investigation. The emerging understanding of the genetics of cluster headache increasingly suggests a genetic component, with familial transmission now recognized to be more common than previously appreciated. Head trauma, coronary artery disease, and migraine appear to be present in more patients with cluster headache than can be explained by chance alone. Ethnic and racial differences in prevalence are less well understood.

Neuroepidemiology. 1995;14(3):123-7. Related Articles, Links

Case-control study on the epidemiology of cluster headache. I: Etiological factors and associated conditions. Italian Cooperative Study Group on the Epidemiology of Cluster Headache (ICECH).

[No authors listed]

The etiological and physiopathological mechanisms of cluster headache (CH) are still largely unknown. The majority of the studies published on the possible risk factors and conditions associated with CH rely on either anecdotal observations or generalizations and have not been supported by serious epidemiological investigations. The aim of this case-control study was to evaluate the real association of life habits and general risk factors with CH. CH was associated only with cigarette smoking, head trauma and a positive family history for headache. Further epidemiologic studies are probably necessary in order to find clues to CH etiology.

: Headache. 1992 Nov;32(10):504-6. Related Articles, Links

Cluster headache following head injury: a case report and review of the literature.

Turkewitz LJ, Wirth O, Dawson GA, Casaly JS.

Midwest Center for Head-Pain Management, Troy, Ohio 45373.

A relation between head trauma and cluster headache is frequently described in the literature. The percentage of cluster patients with a history of head injury is approximately 16.5 when several large studies are reviewed. The present paper reports another case where there is close proximity between head injury and the onset of cluster headache. A review of the literature attempts to document the supposition that there is indeed a causal or precipitous role for head injury in cluster cephalgia pathogenesis.

Maria :)

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by ave on Nov 26^th, 2003, 4:32am

Here we go again, blame clusters on smoking! Oh, and on being dropped on the head.

I fell on my head when I was 7. No medical problems of any kind did result.

I didn't develop clusters till I was well over 50! Roughly 45 years is a loooong way for any influence to make otself felt.

I could go for predisposition, Steve, for (in retrospect) there have been signs of that all my life, but those signs were there before I conked myself.

IM(not so humble)O, these researchers are stretching it a bit. And bringing in smoking yet again is a chutzpah.

Keep well, regardless of this type of researchers

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by jadedgazer on Nov 26^th, 2003, 6:56am

I'm sorry...it was just a question......... :-/

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by Donna on Nov 26^th, 2003, 6:57pm

Nothing wrong with questions, Jadedgazer. Somebody just might ask the right one someday.

Our cluster family has asked a lot of questions over the past few years and has sorted out and disqualified quite a few.

We're getting pretty darned good at this.

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by Cerberus on Nov 26^th, 2003, 7:11pm

No head trauma in my history, well, not since I was a little kid anyway, I got myself beat the fuck up regularly then. But no trauma to the head except CH in the last 20 yrs or so.

Ramon

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by jep22 on Nov 26^th, 2003, 11:31pm

How about smoking? I'm a smoker. What percentage of CH'ers are smokers?
Jim P.

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by maria9 on Nov 27^th, 2003, 1:05am

Jep,

In response to your question what percentage of people with cluster headaches smoke? The literature says 80%, go to a cluster headache convention some time, you will see that this close to being accurate.

Maria :)

Title: Re: Question in the Cluster Survey
Post by LasVegas on Nov 27^th, 2003, 11:55am

Everybody seems to have their own possible original trigger. I, personally, believe that my closed head injury was a trigger for me, as my CH's started after that accident. Many people have had head trauma, many not. Considering nobody knows the reason why CH's originally develop at different ages at our lives and among so few of the population, we all have our own reasons. Could be stress, could be diet, could be lack of something or too much of something our brain and body require. Again, we are all different genetically and each of us MAY have our own original trigger. I, for one, am a firm believer in head trauma as MY original trigger. Previous threads in archives on this subject. Happy Thanksgiving!
Gregg in Las Vegas