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Title: New to Board...good to be here Post by JulesFromMo on Mar 12th, 2006, 10:25am ;;D I'm so glad to have found this place....I know you read that all the time, but I am. I am a single mom of 2 boys, full time graduate student (grad. in May with a MA in Marriage and Family therapy) and have suffered with cluster headaches for the last 15 years. My first one.....memorable. Stressful time at work, change of seasons, marriage in decline....I had this weird headache that would not go away. One day, the pain was so intense that I sat at my desk staring into the photo of my son (the only one I had, then!) knowing that, should this pain be the end.....his face would be the last thing I saw upon this earth. I lived.....but the headaches got worse through the years. It took me quite awhile to put 2+2 together.....but's that's a common trait for many of us. I now stand before you under a great deal of stress (finals,comps,job,money) with a giant red eyeball and a pocket full of tylenol and ice bags. My eye always gets very red and quite horrific looking, guaranteeing lots of inquiries from well meaning coworkers and friends ("OMG!!! What happened to your EYE?!?!"). I usually lower my head and go through the 'xplanation but they never understand. I don't have health insurance, so "going to see a neurologist" is out of the question, as is "going to see a specialist". So, I'm happy to have found ya'll this morning. I read through the board a bit last night - I hope everyone has a pain free weekend and as always, I'm open to any and all suggestions. |
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Title: Re: New to Board...good to be here Post by pattik on Mar 12th, 2006, 10:59am Welcome, Jules. You are in the right place. There is so much information on this site which can help you, especially if you don't have insurance. You might find that oxygen can really help you to abort headaches, so read up (link on the left) and consider trying it. In relative terms, its not very expensive, but you need to use the right type of mask and LPM flow. If you read many of the threads on the Meds boards, you will also find an array of alternatives that can help. Here is a very good link to add to your arsenal: http://www.brightok.net/~mnjday/chtherapy.pdf When you do see a doctor, its always good to arm yourself with as much info as possible to get the help you deserve. PF wishes to you. Patti |
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Title: Reegardless of you ability to... Post by Richr8 on Mar 12th, 2006, 11:09am ...to see a Neuro, you need some relief. Pattik makes some excellent suggestions about Oxygen which is a major abortive for many of us. I would suggest that you continue reading as there are also alternative approaches that work for many and are effective and relatively low cost. pf wishes. Rich |
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Title: Re: New to Board...good to be here Post by chewy on Mar 12th, 2006, 11:26am Quote:
What State do you live in? |
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Title: Re: New to Board...good to be here Post by JulesFromMo on Mar 12th, 2006, 12:06pm Thanks for the kind welcome! First of all, I live in Missouri. We have a "headache" center here and I'm thinking of going there to see if they have any research studies going on now and just find out how much an office visit is. I go to a 'low income' clinic (thanks to my grad student status) so that may be an option. I know the doctor I see there pretty well, and if I went in there armed with data/med ideas he'd be cooperative. I'll look into the O2 idea - anything is better than suffering like I have been these last two weeks. Thanks again for the warm welcome....it's nice to amongst kindred souls! [smiley=laugh.gif] |
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Title: Re: New to Board...good to be here Post by chewy on Mar 12th, 2006, 12:33pm Most states have some sort of free health care or benefits on a sliding scale. Try here: http://www.missouricare.com |
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