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        New Message Board Archives >> 2004-2005 Getting to Know Ya Posts >> Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
        
(Message started by: jonathanhe on Sep 30^th, 2004, 1:34pm)

Title: Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
Post by jonathanhe on Sep 30^th, 2004, 1:34pm

I am so glad to find this board today. I have years of cluster headache and recently are getting severe and regular. I wonder if anyone here have similar situation and can give me some suggestions.

I have been in Totonto for 5 months since I left China on April. English is not my native tongue and I am still not good at it. So sorry about this. About 13 or 14 years ago I began to have headaches. But not very often at that time. It is getting severe and regular in recent years. 80% of the headaches occur at night, usually 1 or 2 hours after I fell asleep. Then I wake up and it will last about 30 minutes to 2 hours. The position is always in the inner head behind my left eyes. It is so much pain that I can not do anything but be antsy. It happens about 1 or 2 months every year.

Until last year I began to know it is probably the cluster headache through research. Fortunately a doctor feel the same thing and prescribed Nimodipine and Lorazepam and another Chinese medicine which I can't remember the name now. It really works. I guess Nimodipine is the most effective part. I had them less than one month and no more headache at all.

But it still can't break the year cycle. 15 days ago, just after one year of last year's curing, it happened again. Now every other day it happens regularly. Most of them are at midnight. Tylenol doesn't work at all.

I will see my Specialist in a month. I don't want to have Nimodipine myself before seeing the doctor. I cannot believe there is such a specific website like this about cluster headache. I hope I can find some other good suggestions to relieve my pain before I see my doctor.

Jonathan He

Title: Re: Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
Post by nani on Sep 30^th, 2004, 1:40pm

Welcome Jonathan [smiley=hug.gif] sorry you are here. I hope you find pain relief soon.

Title: Re: Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
Post by JJA on Sep 30^th, 2004, 3:59pm

In a month?!!! :o I hope this is a language mistake you warned of (you have excellent English) If not, maybe you should beg for a sooner appointment. These things HURT!

Enjoy Canada

Jesse

Title: Re: Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
Post by thomas on Sep 30^th, 2004, 4:11pm

See if you can buy melatonin where you are and take it 30-45 min before bed, it may help with your night time attacks.

Title: Re: Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
Post by Margi on Sep 30^th, 2004, 4:45pm

Hi Jonathan - sadly, welcome. I hate that you have reason to research cluster but I'm glad you found the website. We also have a Canadian website for cluster sufferers at http://www.clusterheadaches.ca. We have quite a few sufferers in your area and can recommend some cluster knowledgeable doctors for you. Please visit us and post a message on our message board. I'm sure you'll get lots of help from some neighbours.

You'd be smart to ask for a prescription of oxygen - it honestly has been the most successful abortive to date.

I hope you don't mind me mentioning this, but I believe you are one of our first Asian sufferers we have ever encountered at any of the cluster websites. We're having a discussion about this over at the OUCH Canada right now, in fact - wondering why the absence of Asian/Native sufferers in the cluster community. I would be very interested to discuss the commonality of clusters in China and how traditional Chinese medicine treats clusters. Please do visit us over at OUCH Canada.

Title: Re: Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
Post by jonathanhe on Sep 30^th, 2004, 7:03pm

Thank you all for replying so soon. And all are helpful.

Thanks nani, and JJA. Yes, in 30 days. You have to wait here. You know it is a big problem of Canadian medical system. I am lucky I don't have to wait for half a year. That's true.

And thank you thomas. I'll try melatonin later. And also Margi. Thank you for telling me the canadian website. I guess I'll visit that website more often. As far as I know, there is few people diagnosed as cluster headaches in China. I don't know why. Maybe it is really rare in China, or doctor's technical levels have problems. And I am not familiar about traditional Chinese medicine. But I think it is a good treatment cause it pays more attention to macroscopy and has less side effects.

Title: Re: Glad to find this board! a newcomer say hi
Post by Margi on Sep 30^th, 2004, 7:20pm

Well, Jonathan, I know you're new to Canada but you certainly SHOULDN'T have to wait 30 days to be seen. A cluster knowledgeable doctor/neuro recognizes that clusterheads are urgent care cases. If you have provincial health care, you should be able to get in WAY sooner than that. Ask a few of our Toronto area people, I'm sure they can give you some good leads.