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        New Message Board Archives >> 2004 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> hemicrania continua
        
(Message started by: Greg2004 on Jun 13^th, 2004, 9:47am)

Title: hemicrania continua
Post by Greg2004 on Jun 13^th, 2004, 9:47am

Does anybody on here have hemicrania continua, and/or know if there is recent information/reserach about it?

Title: Re: hemicrania continua
Post by eyes_afire on Jun 13^th, 2004, 11:13am

Hi Greg,

I don't recall anyone on this site having hemicrania continua... but then again diagnosing it sounds much more foggy and controversial than diagnosing cluster headaches. Here's some of the best info I've found... but it's not exactly new research:

http://www.upstate.edu/neurology/haas/hphemi.htm

The good news is that it seems that some meds are successful in treating it. I hope this helps.

--- Steve

Title: Re: hemicrania continua
Post by pubgirl on Jun 13^th, 2004, 3:06pm

This is quite a good link too:
http://www.achenet.org/articles/6.php

The difficulty I have come across is that you can get hemicrania continua symptoms if you are a Ch sufferer using too many painkillers or narcotics so there is a constant background ache as well as the CH attacks. Also occasional chronic sufferers have constant Kip1/2/shadows overlaid with more severe attacks which can look like hemicrania continua.

The best diagnosis is usually what treatment works i.e. the usual indomethacin diagnostic rule out which so many neuros fail to try

Wendy

Title: Re: hemicrania continua
Post by Greg2004 on Jun 13^th, 2004, 6:47pm

What are Kip 1/2 shadows?

Title: Re: hemicrania continua
Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 13^th, 2004, 7:15pm

Hey Greg,

Unrelated or maybe related to my diagnosis of CH, my neuro now does not know if I have something called New Daily Persistent Headache or Hemicrania Continua. I do not respond to indomethacin which is how hemicrania continua is usually successfully treated. When I first had a consult with the headache center about 3 years ago, they wanted to rule out one or the other of those conditions, so they put me on indomethacin, but it didn't do anything for me so they wound up with the diagnosis of NDPH. However, when I was diagnosed with CH...now they don't know. Unfortunately, my constant headache doesn't respond to anything anyways...so the name of what we call it doesn't matter a whole lot! Just that it hurts!!

I do have some info on it, so if you have questions, I can try to answer as best I can.

Hang in there,

Lizzie

Title: Re: hemicrania continua
Post by Greg2004 on Jun 13^th, 2004, 7:19pm

Hey Lizzie,

Love to find out more. I'm not sure that indomethacin is helping, its relieved my constant pain a little bit but I still get jabs, and my ere, forehead and sinus still hurts on my right side. I've noticed and improvement, but not total.

Did indomethacin have somne effect, or is your CH just as bad? and do you get jabs and jolts?

Greg

Title: Re: hemicrania continua
Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 13^th, 2004, 7:27pm

Hi Greg,

I didn't notice any change when I first took the indomethacin. I now have it prescribed to take about 45 minutes before I exercise because of the stabbing headaches I get during that. I haven't gotten back into the routine of exercising yet, so I really haven't tried it out to see if it helps. I think those would be like the "jabs" and "jolts" you are talking about. My full blown CH's are kind of like those shorter length stabs blown into an hour or more at times. There are times, however, when I have the shorter lasting stabbing headaches that may be as long as 15 minutes, but often are as short as just a couple of minutes. Does that sound familiar?

For an explanation of the kip scale...click on the button with that name on the left side of your screen. When Wendy was describing a Kip 1/2 shadow, she is talking about maybe either a light headache or maybe associated cluster symptoms without a headache, but it doesn't get to the full blown cluster headache level. For instance, I consider my shadows to be when my right eye is tearing and my right side of my nose is stuffy, but maybe I have just a mild headache and no full blown CH. It just depends. My type of chronic daily headache (whatever it is....NDPH or HC) takes priority over CH shadows because that pain level is always significant for me. However, when I get a full blown cluster headache or even those shorter lasting stabbing headaches, you can bet they take priority over anything else going on in my life at the time!!

Did they give you anything to counteract the stomach problems that can occur with the indomethacin? Such as nexium, prilosec, protonix, or anything like that? Just curious.

Lizzie

Title: Re: hemicrania continua
Post by Gator on Jun 14^th, 2004, 4:02pm

Here are the latest Classification Guidelines from the International Headache Society (IHS). You won't be able to print them out, but you can download and read the thing. Could help people to recognise what they have.

http://216.25.100.131/ihscommon/guidelines/pdfs/ihc_II_main_no_print.pdf

Gator