Clusterheadaches.com Message Board


    
      
        Clusterheadaches.com Message Board
        (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi)
      

        New Message Board Archives >> 2004 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> How do your HA's start?
        
(Message started by: IndianaJohn on Aug 6^th, 2004, 9:50pm)

Title: How do your HA's start?
Post by IndianaJohn on Aug 6^th, 2004, 9:50pm

Hi Everbody,

I have noticed that not all of my CH's (the actual HA)start the same way.

If I'm on the puter too long it will start in my eye.

If I'm driving and a HA comes, it starts in the back of my head.

If I'm out in the hot sun too long without sunglasses or a hat, it will start in my forehead.

Anyone notice anything similar?

I realize that it doesn't matter once the HA starts it starts, but I was just curious.

John

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by UN_SOLVED on Aug 6^th, 2004, 11:59pm

Always starts in my eye :o

Unsolved

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by don on Aug 7^th, 2004, 12:12am

Back of the neck followed by an overall sick feeling, then the eye, then whamo.

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Prense on Aug 7^th, 2004, 1:02pm

I only get pain in my eye. Occasionally, I will get some residual pain at the base of my neck, but that is rare. No known triggers for me except beer and a few other alcoholic beverages...

Chris

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Bob_Johnson on Aug 7^th, 2004, 2:41pm

Pain site moved around for five years before settling down to my L-eye. Sort of a lost soul looking for a place to settle down.

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Redneck/Jimbo on Aug 7^th, 2004, 5:16pm

Mine always been in the right eye/temple, somtimes feel a light pain, sometimes slapped down. I have noticed thru the years a "personality" change before a HA. (quick to anger, kick the dog kinda thing that is not ordinary for me). Any how, no matter how it starts, It ain't no fun!

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Jonny on Aug 7^th, 2004, 5:30pm

Don has told me on more than one ocassion that his starts with a $10 who-re

I believe him.

................................jonny

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by IndianaJohn on Aug 7^th, 2004, 6:40pm

lol!

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Robert_C. on Aug 7^th, 2004, 9:23pm

My starting point as been going back and forth between my right eye/temple and my right ear. I noticed that I got a greater pain when starting in my ear [smiley=gocrazy.gif]

Robert

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by ex_pat_asia on Aug 7^th, 2004, 11:00pm

I think the start of a headache is a key strategy point for us. We do not have the same "luxury" that migraineurs have (probably bad choice of words but luxury is relevant). They frequently experience "auras" that give them some precursor that an attack is starting. I have a friend who gets an hour of light sensitivity and a "rushing" feeling in the chest before her migraines get to the head pain part. In that time she is often able to medicate and get to a quiet neutral ground.

One thing that I read over and over again is that early intervention is better when it comes to aborting attacks. Whatever your choice of weapon is...it is better taken at the earliest possible moment. How do we do this if we have little warning to go on? Over the several years that I have experienced clusters, I've evolved a strategy that requires that I stay as objective as possible...get to some place quiet, avoid the tendency to pace or move about (I sit), and simply tune in to the pain. This isn't that hard in the early part of an attack and there may be some reward in it for you. After the beast enters your head in full force you can resort to the pacing, wall banging stuff if need be. My rationale was that if I practice this enough I can back into the earliest possible sensation I can detect. Honestly this has worked better then I could have hoped for. I am convinced that I have sensitized myself to achieve as much as a five minute lead, and I think medicating (Trex or Oxy for me) has therefore been more effective and has often diminished the whole ordeal of any particular attack. Note: I am not saying this is a silver bullet, but it can--over the long haul -- reduce the suffering. From this strategy I turned to understanding the beginning of a new cycle to know when I should turn on the prophylactic drugs. I am not very keen on taking any of them if I can help it. But I have learned that an occasional one-off attack does not neccesarily mean a cycle is starting for me. So far my experience has been to start taking cafergot preventatively, once at lunch time and once at bedtime if I have experienced three attacks in 5 days without a trigger explanation (booze, msg, hard cheese, women that do, you know what I mean [smiley=laugh.gif]

Here is what I learned about mine, but I absolutely believe it will differ person to person:

Mine start as a low grade "roiling" behind my left eye. Roiling is to say like "bubbling water" not high in efferevescence but rather a slow rolling. This may last as long as two minutes before it starts to become a sense of high pressure in the same spot (trigimenal nerve). This pressure resolves into pain and the rate at which it grows is varied. If I have just mainlined MSG in some Chinese chop house it can sprint uphill without a sweat and then I am the one sweating. I realize these descriptions are imperfect and subjective. I am not sure that matters. It is the timing of the ramp up to those whole numbers on our KIP scale that should be the focus. It could be desribed as "I feel like there is a Arkansas pig breeder slinging sty muck - at first it is just small shovel fulls but after a while he really gets goin...throwin it right against the back of my eye ball..." It is that first pereception of a shovel that counts and what you do about it that really matters. I can't tell you how I used to hold on to see if an attack was going to mushroom into a full blown attack only to have it get away from me and slap me down for a 2 hour ordeal. We are subdued into this by the cost of our meds and the limits imposed on them. (In my case Oxygen is unlimited and cheap but lacks portability and convenience). I say to hell with it and medicate early. By the way, I also no longer use ergotamines and am on a steriod taper with verapimil and magnesium as my current cocktail of choice...and it has been very effective. I was doing 7-8 per day/night just a week ago and since starting the new cocktail 4 days ago I have had only three attacks, one of which got away from me. Trex stopped the other two within 20 minutes.

PFDAN ALL!

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by thebbz on Aug 7^th, 2004, 11:01pm

Im still trying to figure mine out ..always preceded by relaxing and becoming drousy...never relax I guess.

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by IndianaJohn on Aug 8^th, 2004, 3:48am

Hi ex pat asia,

From what you wrote I think you said that the best abortive would be administered at the earliest detectable onset of symptoms. I must admit that I tend to wait until I can tell if it's severe enough to warrant using a trex as I am still working on getting O2. However, if having O2 available, that would make sense. One vould use the O2 first, as it's the cheapest and easiest to obtain, and if it didn't work then use Imitrex. Makes sense.

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by ClusterChuck on Aug 8^th, 2004, 7:47am

I feel a slight pulsing in my forehead, and then to make sure it is one coming on, I apply pressure to the spot just above the cheek bone, right next to the hairline. There is an indentation there, and if I press on that spot, and feel pain, I know one is coming on. Time to hit the O₂.

It progresses to behind the eye, then the scalp, then the cheek bone, then to the ear and teeth. It hurts to even touch my eyebrow, or my scalp (in certain places). I know it is going to be a bad one, the beast putting on a full attack, when it hits my teeth.

Those are the worst, for me, at least.

Chuck

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Ronny on Aug 8^th, 2004, 2:11pm

The eye, always the f* eye.

Ronny.

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by alleyoop on Aug 8^th, 2004, 5:22pm

on 08/06/04 at 23:59:59, UN_SOLVED wrote:

Always starts in my eye :o

Unsolved

Ditto!

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Kris_in_SJ on Aug 8^th, 2004, 8:21pm

Mine always start in my left sinus/eye area - consistent through 3 cycles now. I'm like many, though - I tend to wait awhile (usually too long) to see if it's gonna go beyond a 4-5 before I hit the Trex.

I noticed this cycle that it radiates pretty quickly to the back of my throat also. That damned Trigeminal Nerve thing! I think that picture of the nerve says it all.

Kris

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by thomas on Aug 9^th, 2004, 2:10pm

Always behind the eye.

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by nani on Aug 10^th, 2004, 9:38pm

Mine start two ways. One way I describe as having a baseball hammered into my nose and lodged behind my left eye. :-[ The other feels like a sharp instrument being pounded into my left temple. >: (I'm a chronic and I notice a tic in my left eye all day on HA days. :o

Title: Re: How do your HA's start?
Post by Biker on Aug 10^th, 2004, 10:08pm

I get a familiar feeling somewhere between my upper left teeth, and left eye. Thats when I jump to the oxygen. Then, usually my neck gets a bit stiff. Its that feeling between my upper jaw and eye that signals me that something is on its way. If I dont attempt abort soon, its gonna become a hum-dinger. The wife has asked me from time to time if Im having a headache. She tells me my left eye droops a fuzz, and I have not felt a thing. Sure enough, if I wait long enough, I get that twinge that signals the onset of an attack. Its become kind of a routine here lately---she will tell me to go suck on my hose. I have learned that sleeping on my left side will often cause an attack. Also, if I lay my head back on the couch too long, it will cause an attack. My CH started shortly after head trauma. I think a slight pressure on the veins in the left side of the head will cause an attack. I have also learned to watch the berometer. If the pressure is low, an attack is highly possible. When I first experienced these attacks, they started in my left upper teeth. Now, they always start between my teeth and eye. Just a twinge at first. The twinge gives me that sinking feeling in my stomache. If it takes me a minute too long to get to the oxygen, then Im imitrex bound, and in for a real head splitter.