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        Supporter's Corner >> Children and Cluster's >> Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
        
(Message started by: synchrosteph on Mar 18^th, 2007, 12:06pm)

Title: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by synchrosteph on Mar 18^th, 2007, 12:06pm

Tomorrow will be the start of the 4th week with these headaches.
My mum says it is a migrane and will just 'go away'.
If she could feel the pain, she might just then understand what this is like for me.
They start about 3 hours after getting up and have done for the past 3 weeks.
The pain is always over my right eye. It is red, bloodshot, watering and being forced shut.
2 hours ago i didn't know what to do with myself. I was in so much pain, and literally thrwoing myself around.
I am having trouble sleeping, which does not help as i begin my GCSE's soon. The first one being in 11 days.
My doctor says it is stress but i have never felt anything like this before.
I am fidning it difficult to concentrate at school and normal painkillers eg paracetamol are not even touching me.
Can anyone help me? Are these CH's?
Steph

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by LeLimey on Mar 18^th, 2007, 12:13pm

Hello Steph, I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain but we are not doctors and you need an expert diagnosis.
You need to get your doctor to give you a referral to a headache specialist neurologist.

There are over 600 headache types and many symptoms overlap. Keep a headache diary and monitor
Time of day
What happens to you and how you react
How long it lasts
What you eat each day

You might like to ry holdinga bag of frozen peas or a heat pack against the affected side of your head - heat kills me but ice is just lovely however it seems half and half as to what works for who.

I'm not recommending any other meds right now as what you take for one condition can kill for another rarer type of headache and it would be completely irresponsible of me to do that.

Let us know how you get on okay?
Helen

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by synchrosteph on Mar 18^th, 2007, 12:27pm

I am going to see my GP tomorrow. Thank you anyway!

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by Broken on Mar 18^th, 2007, 1:06pm

Hi there! My name's Felicia and I try to help all the teens here that I can. I'm not a sufferer but I know what you're going through. My dad and his girlfriend both have chroic CH. I'm 15 and suffer migrains myself. If you ever need anyone to talk to your own age about CH or anything I'm always around. Sometimes its easier to talk to some one your own age than the adults. But do as Helen says. She knows what she's talking about and is like a mom to me and my "brother",Barak, who's 17. Hang in there and send me a message if you want to talk. I don't know much about the meds but I try to help any way I can. Hang in there. Byes!!

Broken

P.S. Also try snow against the head. It's wicked cold but forms nicely to the eye and may help.

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by Barak on Mar 19^th, 2007, 9:58pm

hey there! My name is Barak and i am 17 years old. i have been suffering from episodic cluster headaches since i was a kid, and i want to let you know the best tool against whatever may be going on in your head is knowledge. so read up. and talk to the doctors aggressively to get what you need to know out of them. My om refuses to think i need help of any sort with what she calls my "headaches" and that they are not as bad as her migraines. I am so sorry you have to be in pain i really am, but i am here if you ever need someone to talk to. even early in the morning i will give you my phone if you need it. my email is putanme89@hotmail.com or just message me on here if you wanna talk. let us know everything the doctors tell you and we can help you even more. hang in there. and youll be in my thoughts. :) bye for now.

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by j002verdi on Apr 10^th, 2007, 12:18am

I am 16 year old male. I've had chronic clusters since I was 10 along with regular migraines. My struggle with clusters drastically effected my life. I have had 1100 straight days of clusters and migraines. The clusters no longer come in waves but is a continual chronic episode. My left eye is always watering and nose running. I am pretty tall, 6'3'' and enjoy learning, but I cannot play sports or even go to school. I'm home schooled now. I no longer sleep during night time, only a few hours in the late morning and early afternoon.

To make things worse I just underwent a total sinus surgery because I lost the ability to breath out of my nose.

It made my clusters worse!

Three weeks ago I had one of my worst clusters ever. I took 8 Vicodin that day...doctor approved...and it didn't help at all.

I've also tried Lidocaine injections, Vicodin, Oxygen, Flonase, Imitrex, and a lot more that i can't recall. Im undergoing histamine therapy, MORE SURGERIES, and after all that possibly neuro-seizure meds like neurontin.

My doctors are worried , my parents absolutely grieved. My dad has to hold me down to keep me from hurting myself.

I'll do almost anything to get rid of the pain...I've broken fingers, toes, I've cut my sides with a knife, and flogged my back which now has scars. I don't remember doing most of these things.

Recently I've been imagining things during an intense attack.

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by seasonalboomer on Apr 10^th, 2007, 6:24am

on 04/10/07 at 00:18:51, j002verdi wrote:

Is the doctor your parents are taking you to a neurologist, or an ear, nose and throat doctor? If he is a nuerologist, have your parents asked about his experience in treating them?

What you are describing may or may not be cluster, as Helen sadi early in this thread -- there's a lot of headache types, many related, but their therapies and treatments differ. Geez! it sounds as though you've had a bad time of it. While there are variations there are some fairly characteristic traits.

It looks like, based on the list you gave that they aren't trying any preventatives, such as Verapamil or trying to use Prednisone, which can bring some relief. These are not taken to still an individual headache but to ease up the cycle, or in your case, the chronic state you are in.

You should get your parents here. They might be able to get in contact with someone that can actually talk them through chronic treatment options -- from a chronic sufferer's viewpoint (which I am not). Please try to do that. No disrespect to you and your age -- pain doesn't distinguish age. But, it sounds as though your treatment decisions may be being made by your parents and they need to know about what you reading about here on this site. It will help you.

Scott

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by Broken on Apr 11^th, 2007, 9:05am

Welcome j002verdi. Sorry you need us but glad you found us. I sent you a message already. Steph, how's it going? Did you ever find anything out? Hoping for the best. Byes!!!

Broken

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by synchrosteph on May 25^th, 2007, 5:35pm

Thanks for all your messages of support.
I went to see a neurologist a few days ago [its taken long enough!]
He said he really wasn't sure what he was up against, and maybe it was just a really bad tension headache.
So he has referred me to the local hospital for a brain scan. To rule out a tumour and so on.
That will be another month.
I'm quite scared :s

Title: Re: Im 16 and think i'm suffering from CH.
Post by Broken on May 25^th, 2007, 6:38pm

First of all relax. Stressing isn't going to help anything if only make it worse. Secondly a brain scan might be a good thing. If they're not sure what they're fighting then it maybe good to look at it from another angle. Fianlly be thankful that your doctor told you straight out that he's not sure what he's dealing with instead of messing around with a bunch of meds until he does know. How are the hits now? Have they died down at all or even stopped? Are they getting worse? Have any of your symptoms changed? I only ask because these are things that might be useful in the future. If you haven't been already you might want to start keeping a journal of each hit and what you're feeling before, during, and after. Just trying to help. Let us know! PF wishes!

Broken