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        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> Weird.........
        
(Message started by: E-Double on Jun 16^th, 2005, 5:08am)

Title: Weird.........
Post by E-Double on Jun 16^th, 2005, 5:08am

Right sided 99% of time, occasionally get a flogging on the left side....

In addition to CH I get fun lil icepicks which have ya doing the herky jerky head and neck smacks whick look like I have tics......those have been under control of indomethacin.

I have all my teeth and have never had problems whatsoever but in February I developed jaw pain on left side that was more than a "tooth ache" in fact it felt like CH yet it was not the once in a blue moon switcheroo and turned out I had a hole in wisdom tooth that needed to be pulled but inflamation needed to be decreased....increaced indo, to 100mg a day and pain went away......started tapering back to typical 50 mg and no more pain so like a sCHmuck I neglected the damn tooth......

March I went chronic and @ my Dr. appt @ NECH we decided to add lithium to cockatail (560 verapamil) BUT needed to get off indomethacin because of the interaction....

Have not started lithium b/c I had to sit for a Board Certifcation in my field of work and didn't want to risk side effects (if any).....
Have decreased indomethacin and my Tooth/Jaw pain has totally increased as well I'm now getting whacked on the LEFT side mostly......Right side will feel fine... VERY strange, I will get what appears to be some of the lower level shadows on Right side but no pain and will have this CHitty pain on left...What really sucks is that it is non-responsive to O2. I definitely think that the freaking tooth (upper left) is messing with the nerve.

Geeting my tooth extracted on Monday and we'll see if things turn back to normal....Right sided.....or if it reamains lefty or if they just go away (wishful thinking but not counting on it lol)

Weird!

Title: Re: Weird.........
Post by Jasen on Jun 16^th, 2005, 6:06am

When I would get up to K7's I would get a toothache. K8's brought on jaw pain and earaches.
You might be having some minor rebound shadows from the meds. I've finaly got my meds. pretty well worked out, no more trips to the ER for K10 rebounds. But I still get minor shadows a lot and O2 useuly doesn't work for them.

Title: Re: Weird.........
Post by Margi on Jun 16^th, 2005, 9:54am

Eric, SO many clusterheads have had massive dental work done in futile attempts to battle CH pain. Ask Jonny or Elaine! Mike, too - he's had a few molars pulled for this reason. :( (If you've got a hole and an infection though - get to the damn dentist, boy!)

Just to make you feel a bit better about the lithium, though - Mike's been on it twice. Once combined with verapamil and now just lithium alone. He's not complained of any side effects either time. No hand tremors, nothing. I think the hand tremors really only hit you at higher doses. 600mgs max should be enough for you to get a grip on your head, although some docs will let you go as high as 900mgs. The dosage for bi-polar folks is more in the 1800mg range and I think that's where you start to see some side effects. You should do periodic blood screening though, to make sure your liver is tolerating it ok - but, again, Mike's never had any problems with it.

Jonny's been on it for a long time too and I'm pretty sure he doesn't mention any side effects either. I'm just curious what kind of side effects you're worrying about, Eric?

Title: Re: Weird.........
Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 16^th, 2005, 10:05am

Hiya Ex2!

Glad you are getting to the darn dentist!! haha Wisdom teeth can cause so many problems. I'm glad mine are long gone! hehe

So yeah...I find that some of my absolute worst hits go from my eye area and radiate right down to the jaw. One of the worst (which actually sent me to the ER because I could NOT take it..haha) was one where I couldn't shut my jaw because of the pain actually due to the attack. I'd have ripped out every single tooth from the right side of center to stop that attack, seriously. But...fortunately dentists aren't generally open at 5am, and I fear dentists anyways...so I went to the ER instead. ;)

Good luck with the tooth! Maybe it'll end the big hits for ya!!! I'm keepin my fingers crossed! :)

Lx2 :)

Title: Re: Weird.........
Post by E-Double on Jun 16^th, 2005, 10:21am

Thanks all......

In regards to side-effects, I am not really worried because I will be starting at a very low dose.

I did however postpone taking it due to having to study and then sit for an exam that potentially could've lasted all day.....Didn't want to risk any 1 in 1million chance of effecting memory or mood.

That was it to be honest.

I continued to delay taking because I couldn't mix the NSAID with the lithium....We shall see what happens after it is yanked on Monday.

Thanks!

E

Title: Re: Weird.........
Post by Lizzie2 on Jun 16^th, 2005, 10:56am

Forgot...wanted to mention my lithium/verap experience.

At first, I did very well on lithium. I actually didn't really experience many side effects until one of my doctors changed the form from the regular ole Lithium to the extended release form. Then, I wound up with a lot of nausea/vomiting. I was a little tired from it, but that wasn't too bad. I did have to stop taking it because of getting sick a lot, but I tend to get hit with that side effect very badly if it's on the label at all!

I can understand wanting to wait until boards or big things are completed. I've put off new meds for a little while because of that.

Hopefully, though, you won't have any side effects! When I first was asking around about it back when I started it, most people reported few or no side effects, which was encouraging! I just tend to have a sensitive stomach!

Hugz,
L2 :)