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(Message started by: duerrs on Jul 17th, 2005, 5:26am)

Title: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by duerrs on Jul 17th, 2005, 5:26am
My first attack came on the second day of a vacation, i drove down to florida in march of 1985 with my at the time girlfriend.  drove almost straight through (i live in NJ).  the last 3 hours of the trip i was exhausted and was having to stop ever half hour to walk around cause i could not keep my eyes open. Arrived in florida at like 3:30 in the morning and went to bed.  The beast woke me up at 7 in the morning and continued to wake me up for the next week like clockwork....7am, and was gone just like that.  After 3 months CH's started and i have had them on and off ever since.  Just wondering if really pushing myself that night had anything to do with this.  

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by hdido on Jul 17th, 2005, 5:54am
I was driving to work one winter morning, November I think, in 1980.  Suddenly, I got a sharp pain in the inner corner of my eye which soon spread to my eyeball.  I had never experienced anything like it before.  I managed to work through the day, the pain coming and going, but after a sleepless night went to see a doctor the next morning.  He diagnosed me as having sinusitis, despite the fact that the x-rays were clear; I had never heard of CH and I don't think that he had.  The pain came and went for two weeks and was so bad that I had to stay home from work, then it went away.  Another 8 years passed before I got hit again, same symptoms, different doc, same diagnosis.  After that the attacks gradually increased from once a year to twice, etc.  Finally diagnosed as having epidsodic CH in 1992; went chronic in 1996.  I had a one year remission and strangely enough, the pain returned again while I was driving to work (that was in April 2002) and it has remained ever since.

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by burnt-toast on Jul 17th, 2005, 11:07am
Sept. 1995 - on an airplane - making a weekly trip to  Houston for business.  Basically said my goodbys because I thought something in my head was about to explode.  

Didn't understand when it simply went away before landing - unfortunately went chronic right out of the gate and it took two years to get properly diagnosed and treated.  Developed an instant fear of flying until I realized that flying had noting to do with my attacks.

Tom        

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by lmarkins on Jul 17th, 2005, 12:44pm
Hi,
I can remember having CH before I started school. I can remember having my mother rub my scalp to try to make me feel better. Last year when I went to visit my mother in East Texas, I asked her if she can remember. She said I used to scream constantly as a baby, so I have been suffering for 45 years. Everyone used to think I over exagerrated my pain, and my mother sobbed as she told me she was ready to smash me with a pan to stop the noise of the cranky baby. Doctors were not sensitive to my plight and I haven't found many of my contemporarys/employers who are even willing to try to understand. As a child, the cycle would repeat every few months and last about a week. As I aged, the frequency of the attacks moved further apart, but the attacks lasted longer. I have always been hit 5-6 times per day with most attacks 1.5-3hrs long.
When I reached my 20's, the cycle repeated yearly with the cluster lasting 3-4 weeks. By the time I reached 30's they PF time reached 2-3 years with pain afterwards for 3-4 weeks. Longest PF period was from 1997-2002 My last attack was 3 years ago and lasted 73 days.
I started feeling the symptoms last Tue and am feeling very depressed. I've been hit every day, once per day with pain gradually worsening. I wish my teenage daughter didn't have to witness this, she gets so scared. I wish I had enough money to disappear from everyone during these times. I thank God that I married an angel of a woman.

We all experience pain at some points in our life. I try to enjoy the PF times more than the average individual because these times are precious to me.

Wishing all cheads a PF day.



Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by sandie99 on Jul 17th, 2005, 3:50pm
I suppose I got an easy start. It was fall 2001 I had started university studies in London. I've had headaches all my life, but I notice that this thing was different what came to the pain, durance and location.

Now I know that I got kip 2s and 3s for around 8 weeks, 2-3 times a day, I did have PF day or two a week. At the time I thought that it was due to the stress of living abroad and starting university...

The hell broke loose year later, fall 2002, when I got ch every day, 3-4 times, like clock work. I could tell what time it was according to the attacks...

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by Kiwiinoz58 on Jul 17th, 2005, 4:37pm
As usual my CH's started differently. I was at home when I got a sneezing fit. It went on for hours with pain building in my head. This continued for 2 weeks so I thought it was a bad cold or the flu as the pain went to a different place each day, nose, jaw, eye, ear, head. After that it settled to runny and sore nose, weepy eye, pain in jaw, ear and head 6 days out of 7 for 8 months. Even with Verap it has continued with one 2 mth break and up til yesterday a 9 day break. Now back to the usual again, 15 mths all up.
cheers,
Jacqs

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by unsolved1 on Jul 17th, 2005, 6:37pm
It was the day before my 19th birthday. Straight to the ER ... thought I was dead ! Happy Birthday ~ My first Kip 10 !!

Unsolved

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by dmurp on Jul 17th, 2005, 7:25pm
first one was in 1997 driving home from visiting my now husband at college.  Went away and then came back.  Went to the dentist thinking it was causing pain, but nothing.  Then Dr.  Treated me for sinus infection still continued so he ordered scan and mri, nothing so sent me to neurologist and got the answer i didn't want months later.  Currently in a cycle now.  Good luck to all Debbie

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by wip5150 on Jul 17th, 2005, 9:08pm
Sometime in 1989 or 1990 - very short cycle (perhaps even as short as a few days) and very manageable pain.  Diagnosed with episodic CH's in 1995 and now am the very proud owner of a tired head.

Best of luck.

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by nani on Jul 17th, 2005, 11:55pm
Vividly. Oct 1973

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by BobG on Jul 18th, 2005, 3:00am

Quote:
Does anyone remember there first attack

Nope. Too long ago.

Hell, I can't even remember what I had for lunch today.

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by Sandy_C on Jul 18th, 2005, 8:05am
On a Friday night in April 1999 - at a neighborhood cookout.  Thought my head was going to explode and my friends were stunned to see me "crying" only out of my right eye.  Went home immediately - same thing happened the next day, and the next, and the next.  One major hit every night  for over three months.  Interestingly enough, the last hit I had during that first cycle was at my daughter's wedding reception at the end of July.  Shadows followed for several days, then PF for two years.  I just put it down to "stress" HA because of the wedding planning.

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by Judge_Smails on Jul 20th, 2005, 3:56pm
My mother told me I got terrible headaches as a infant/child.   I don't know the frequency, but I do remember my mother taking me to a neurologist when I was about 4 - I remember because they gave me so medication to put me to sleep (I assume to take a CAT Scan or something), but I had an allergic recation to the drug and got hyper.  I don't know if they found anything out because I was never on any medication - I think they just diagnosed me with migraines.  I got migraines periodically up until I was about 20 then became eposodic.

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by Kris_in_SJ on Jul 20th, 2005, 7:51pm
March 13th, 1994.  I'd had a busy week and was relaxing with a glass of wine and a good book around 9:00 PM.  Sudden, excruciating pain behind my left eye.  Only lasted for about 30 minutes, but I woke up the next morning with a noticeable droop and redness in that eye and a constant but dull pain (which I now call shadows) that lasted about 12 weeks.  During that time I was diagnosed with 1) a stroke, 2) Termporal Arteritis, 3) Shingles.  It wasn't until 4 years later that the second cycle started.  This time I had done some research and so had my GP.  Finally a diagnosis, though by the time I saw the neuro and got on the right med regimen my cycle was almost over.

Three cycles now - I'm smarter, better-read and preparing for the next one.  Still say a little prayer every day that I'm an episodic with long periods of PF time.

Kris

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by splitmyheadintwo on Jul 21st, 2005, 1:24am
A number of years ago, I got this horrible headache at night, and I was practically screaming! I was writhing in pain; I had never had such a bad headache in my life!

After 2 Tylenols, 2 Advils, LOTS of head massaging from my wife, we both got considerably scared. We called my Primary Care Physician (*my FORMER PCP) and he says "oh, just take some more Tylenol and give it some time."

About an hour later (and two more Tylenols), I was still groaning, crying, slapping my hand against the bed. My wife pages my doctor and tells him "look, either you call the pharmacy and prescribe something VERY strong RIGHT now, or I am going to make your life a living hell."

About 20 minutes later, I was at the 24-hour pharmacy getting my first ever prescription for Ultram (Tramadol).
I popped 2 immediately and lay down in bed. About 1/2 hour later, I was at peace with the universe, and fell blessedly asleep.

This went on and off for about a week, at which point I went to the ER (I got one at work, so I headed over to the nearest ER from my office), and I was seen by a competent on-staff Neurologist (who woulda thunk there would be one in the hospital, available right then?!). He examined me and suspected Cluster Headaches. He gave me a script for some pain killers, and referred me to another Neurologist he knew, since he only worked in the hospital.

Well, the Neurologist I saw was not very good. The first treatment worked but next episode it did nothing (a bit less than a year later).

I tried to get an appointment with the Neurologist I saw at the ER, but to my shock and horror, he had died. Selfishly, I saw this as my own bad fortune. Blame me for being selfish, I was in agony  :-[

Well, that was the beginning of the rest of my life, as far as I'm concerned these days. But now, years later, I'm finally being treated by a good doctor, and I'm not letting him go.

By the way, in case anyone is in New York, and wants a referral to him, let me know, I will send you his name and phone number. He takes most major HMOs as far as I know.

Daniel

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by marcelonyc on Jul 21st, 2005, 1:44am
was in high school, i think the 11th grade and it was hitting me around the same time of day for a very short period, and then went away. i had no clue besides i remember saying to my friends at the time, prvious the first attack that i had never had a h/a. and then i experienced my first mini episode of h/a, only could not figure out how others who had headaches could function. pop tylenol and it went away??? i was in tears, and all my friends thought i was crazy. and all i heard for years was "it's just a headache"

unlike most, my mom and brother had them when they were in their teens, so naturally i thought i would grow out of them. W-R-O-N-G!!!!!!!!

and the cycles would come and go progressing, digressing, increasing expanding, into the beast it is today: episodic with intense periods lasting for 4-5 months and wreaking havoc.

marcelo

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by Lissa on Jul 22nd, 2005, 8:28am
It was my sophomore year in high school.  I was in Sociology class.  I didn't know what was going on so I went to the nurse's office and laid there for most of the morning.  Of course, I didn't have imitrex because I had no idea what was happening.  I just laid there squirming and crying.  It seemed like forever before it went away.

Not long after that I got hit again in the morning right after I woke up.  I freaked out and begged my parents to take me to the emergency which they wouldn't.  

Title: Re: Does anyone remember there first attack
Post by kcopelin on Jul 22nd, 2005, 8:47am
Jan '81, just arrived at Hahn AB germany.  4 feet of snow on the ground, staying at a gasthaus in a little german village.  middle of the night I woke up screaming.  New husband didn't know WTF was happening.  Went to clinic the next daay adn they gave me Seconal-please don't take that for CH, next HA hit and I was unable to move-I really believed that I was dieing-brain tumor or something-
kathy



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