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        New Message Board Archives >> 2004-2005 Getting to Know Ya Posts >> New to site-Part 2
        
(Message started by: Curley on Jul 23^rd, 2004, 4:40pm)

Title: New to site-Part 2
Post by Curley on Jul 23^rd, 2004, 4:40pm

continued .....

My average cycle will last about three months with 3 attacks a day. The attack will last anywhere from fifteen minutes to 2 1/2 hours (although that is rare). My average attack will be 1 hour in duration and it will come at almost precisely the same time every day when the cycle is in full swing. One usually around mid evening. Of course there is the one that wakes me up from a sound sleep. One as I wake in the morning and occasionally one thrown in in the middle of the day. The headaches will start to decrease in quantity as the cycle starts to end. A description of a typical evening headache......

It starts with a sort of dull pulsing sensation in back of one eye(this cycle it's the left side). I tell my partner "the devil is back again" and I'm off to my favorite dark corner of our house because I can't possibly lie down. After a quick trip to the freezer for one of my frozen head wraps, I take my place on my chair and I start to rock and rub my head. "Please go away...Please go away". I pop whatever abortive drug I have that day and hope it kicks in but I mentally prepare for what may come. From there it's a matter of about ten-fifteen minutes before I am in absolute agony. I hum, I try breathing excercises, I drink lots of water. The pain builds quickly. I know this is a full blown attack, it won't be one of the "quickies". The unbearable pain works up to it's peak. I know that this one will not pass and I have to go for the ride. It's constant, piercing, intense, unreal. I scream and cry. I can't believe my head does not just explode. I rock in the chair, constantly moving, trying desperately to find an angle or movement that will help ease this torture. My eye is watering, I can barely open it and it only hurts more when I do..so I don't. My nose is full of snot and it drips from my face. I curse GOD, I want to die, I want to kill someone, I want someone else to feel this so they know I'm not crazy. "It wont stop.... It wont stop". I'm up now, pacing the house, crying, begging. It's been an hour, my partner will check in with me but knows there is nothing he can do, he knows that if this lasts more than two hours, I start to panic and I want to go to the hospital where I will get a shot of morphine or demarol. Of course this does not do shit for my headache but does allow my body to relax a bit because I'm so tensed up. My neck hurts, my jaw hurts. Tonight the headache lasts only an hour and I am thrilled when I feel the pain start to go from the constant piercing pain to a level where I get seconds of comfort. Those seconds slowly start to turn to minutes, until it is gone. Amazingly it leaves as fast as it came and I feel relieved. I feel fine. Exhausted but fine. I have had attacks in work where my colleges have called an ambulance, only to have me be fine when they arrive. They think I'm having an aneurysm as they listen to the cries coming from my office, only to have me emerge an hour later looking a bit disheveled but otherwise perfectly fine. They stare aghast as I say " Hi Guys what's for lunch"

That's a typical headache. A little dramatic but true.

Anyway I have tried many drugs over the years with little to no success...Some may start out to work but then quickly become useless.

I had a tank of oxygen at home and work...no relief
Ergotamine...no relief
Indomecicin(SP?)...no relief
Cafergot...no relief
Narcotics(OC Percocet, Morphone and Demerol shots)...no relief
Verapamill....no relief
Depakote....no relief
Imitrek Nasal spray....no relief(I was so sure this was going to provide relief)

Accupuncture......no headache relief, althou I did enjoy the stress relieving benefits
Spinal Therapy and Chiropractics...wonderful but did nothing for the headaches
Herbal remedies....made me nauseous and no help with the head.
Yoga.... I love but no help with the head

Anyway, that's just a few examples of things I have tried.

I apologize if this post is to dam long but I wanted to give you folks some detailed history this time. Well.. here is hoping the Lithium works for me. Keep your fingers crossed. If not, I am going to try Topamax next.

I wish you all PAIN FREE DAYS, MONTHS, AND YEARS.

Kind Regards,
Mark

Title: Re: New to site-Part 2
Post by kimh on Jul 23^rd, 2004, 4:54pm

Hey Mark,

WOW. I just finished reading your post....can't tell ya how familiar it all was (is).

Welcome, hang tite and best luck w/lithium.

kim

Title: Re: New to site-Part 2
Post by Superpain on Jul 23^rd, 2004, 6:53pm

How did you try oxygen? How many LPM was it?

I'd give imitrex shots a try if I were you.

Title: Re: New to site-Part 2
Post by Tim_Z on Jul 23^rd, 2004, 9:07pm

Imitrex is the only thing that works for me.

I've had some sucess with narcotics. I turn into a zombie then. Not good at times. Although sometimes you'll try about anything just to get it to stop.

Preventives have never worked for me.

Hang in there.

Tim

Title: Re: New to site-Part 2
Post by Superpain on Jul 24^th, 2004, 4:56am

on 07/23/04 at 21:07:50, Tim_Z wrote:

Stadol ns killed them when I was young and the drug just came out. I thought it was the majic bullet, but over time it failed me. The headaches adapt to narcotics after a while and bring an ass kicking with them while you are all, or somewhat fucked up.
You build a tolerance, and the next thing you know is you have also developed a dependency or addiction to a non effective drug. The intensity of the pain can easily lure you into taking too much, and I swear there's nothing worse than an opioid overdose while getting hit hard. Puking hard because you're fucked up (from meds)/ and getting hit hard at the same times is one of life's most uncomfortable moments for sure!

Imitrex is great, O2 is great, and if you can find the coctail that prevents for you then that's great as well.

All the knowledge lies here within.

Title: Re: New to site-Part 2
Post by marfanoidus on Jul 26^th, 2004, 12:34pm

Hey Curley.
Sorry you're here, but maybe you can find some support and, with some luck, some help.

A couple things I wanted to touch on:
1) When I am entering a cycle, for the first couple weeks excedrin works for me also. So does sniffing rubbing alcohol (seriously). I give it the following analogy: when I'm not in a cycle, I say I'm in the forrest, and when I'm in the full blown cycle I say I'm in the most barren of deserts. Figuratively and literally, one doesn't step out of the forest and into the desert, so those days where we are in between are the days of excedrin. Once we hit the hot sands though, CHs just laugh and giggle at most (all??) pain relievers.
2) I didn't see Prednisone in your list of meds. Maybe you forgot, maybe I overlooked it, but it benefits a lot of people. It kicked my current cycle in the ass.

good luck to you,
walt