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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Cluster Headache Specific >> Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
        
(Message started by: schaan on Oct 11th, 2007, 2:02am)
Title: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by schaan on Oct 11th, 2007, 2:02am
If the majority of CH victims are men then why does it seem that so many posts are from women?

just wondering?

not complaining   just curious.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by George_J on Oct 11th, 2007, 2:11am
Many of us believe that the statistics are wrong, and that women are more frequently misdiagnosed--just because of the "statistics".

The level of misdiagnosis is pretty high, anyway.  Add to that a predeliction by diagnosticians to look at women as having something "other" than cluster headache, and it is magnified.

It wouldn't surprise me to find that the true proportion was more like fifty-fifty.

JMO, FWIW.

Best,

George
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Lotus on Oct 11th, 2007, 3:19am

Maybe us women just talk more? ask more? comment more?  ;)

But then again, the 2 who have the most posts here are Jonny and DeeJ !  ;;D
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by chewy on Oct 11th, 2007, 8:39am
Women whine more than men.  8)
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by PollyPocket on Oct 11th, 2007, 8:51am

on 10/11/07 at 08:39:44, chewy wrote:
Women whine wine more than men.  8)


get it right, chewtoy    ;;D
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Charlotte on Oct 11th, 2007, 8:52am
...but men sink more boats.

If one is female, the preferred diagnosis is migraine, no matter what kind of headache she has.

Charlotte
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Bob_Johnson on Oct 11th, 2007, 9:03am
Add to the list of reasons:

For the same reasons that prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men--yet it's one of the more curable cancers;

why men have higher illness and death rate, overall, compared to women;

why 80-90% of people who seek counseling/psychotherapy are women.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Jobette on Oct 11th, 2007, 9:29am
Could it be that women are seeking counseling or therapy because of a man? Just kidding, sometimes I think us women do come here to complain, because others are tired of hearing it, or won't hear it.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by NJRik on Oct 11th, 2007, 10:02am
Could it be as easy as women just know how to comunicate better. Also we men are told by society that to show pain and react to it is wrong.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by nani on Oct 11th, 2007, 10:44am
It took 27 years for me to get the correct diagnosis. Even then, the first neuro I saw (after a very young urgent care doc told me it was CH) told me "You are describing textbook clusters, but since you're a woman we know that's not it."
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Miss Independent on Oct 11th, 2007, 3:07pm

on 10/11/07 at 10:44:48, nani wrote:
"You are describing textbook clusters, but since you're a woman we know that's not it."



I heard basically the same thing from my GP in the 80s...   I still remember that day - his nurse yelled at me to lie down and stay still, and she told me that since I didn't have an "aura", it wasn't really a headache... then comes the doc, after at least 1 1/2 hours away, telling me I have CH. Patient doc, that man.... not with me, with his nurse! LOL



I think -
Women are more likely to look for help.
Men have been taught that weakness must be hidden.
The majority of the supporters on here are women looking for help for a child or partner or friend.
Women are underdiagnosed, just like with heart disease, or misdiagnosed as having migraines.


jmho,
Lizzie
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by schaan on Oct 11th, 2007, 3:20pm

on 10/11/07 at 08:51:44, PollyPocket wrote:
get it right, chewtoy    ;;D



playful but deadly,   poor chew toys !!!!!!!

got a good chuckle from that.
:)
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by schaan on Oct 11th, 2007, 3:24pm
ok  so women dont have prostates   thats true.

would number two be because of occupation and situational instances???


that last ones got me
but i agree its faux pau? to seek help if you are a man as it shows weakness?



on 10/11/07 at 09:03:14, Bob_Johnson wrote:
Add to the list of reasons:

For the same reasons that prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in men--yet it's one of the more curable cancers;

why men have higher illness and death rate, overall, compared to women;

why 80-90% of people who seek counseling/psychotherapy are women.



i gotta feeling im not quite following you.
thanks bob
schaan
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Guiseppi on Oct 11th, 2007, 3:58pm
One more possibility...my wife found CH.COM for me and I've seen several other people post that it was their wife or girl friend that found the site. I think it's because men are more likely to grit their teeth and try to handle things themselves, rahter then look around for assistance.

And Schaan I think Bob was referring to the fact that men die of stuff that was cureable if they weren't so damned stubborn about going to the doctors!!!

Guiseppi
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by seasonalboomer on Oct 11th, 2007, 4:29pm

on 10/11/07 at 02:02:58, schaan wrote:
If the majority of CH victims are men then why does it seem that so many posts are from women?

just wondering?

not complaining   just curious.


You must be not be married.... The statistic is that women use about 5 words to every 1 that a man uses. That applies to all things between the genders.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by DennisM1045 on Oct 11th, 2007, 4:35pm
I found this site on my own.
I am not afraid of talking about my pain.

Of course it took me 12 years of suffering in silence to get to this point  ;;D

I'm with Annette, "women just talk more"  [smiley=smug.gif]

-Dennis-
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by txbeck on Oct 11th, 2007, 5:42pm
I suspect that misdiagnosis and no diagnosis are major factors in skewing the statistics, but there must be other factors.

I have had CH for 43 years, but I learned just 5 years ago that my sister in law (who has been my SIL for 47 years!) is also a clusterhead!  We live in different cities and had never been together when either of us was in cycle and never discussed it. Weird, huh? Ironically we each did know the othe had occasional migraines. Perhaps it was considered appropriate, or just easier, for my late mother in law to discuss migraine, but not the more inexplicable CH.

I don't know that any men of my acquaintance are fellow clusterheads, but I've never taken a poll.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Paula on Oct 12th, 2007, 7:23pm
My nuro says some doctors just keep the old school thinking that only middle aged men, with orange peel skin that drink and smoke like sailors (no harm intended to sailors) can have CH. But he says there are more women diagnosed migraine just for the same reason that only females get migraines ( even though the rate is higher). Anyway he says he thinks it is more 40-60. Just his opinion. He is so strange, must be 100 years old, but only works with headaches (knows Dr. Goatsby) keeps up real well on most every new thing when it comes out and is willing to try new things. He has done his own cluster survays and writen papers on CH and of couse the migrainers too. anyway, I too think women look for and talk more about the things that are going on in there lives, So there are more women here or it seems like there is because they post more. Just my thoughts.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by Katherinecm on Nov 10th, 2007, 2:27pm
It's probably both the misdiagnoses and that women tend to be a bit more verbal and proactive about health issues than men.
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by StrangeBrew on Nov 10th, 2007, 5:11pm

on 10/11/07 at 09:03:14, Bob_Johnson wrote:
why men have higher illness and death rate, overall, compared to women;

Bzzzzttt. Sorry, Bob. But thanks for playing.

The death rate among women and men alike is 100%. ;)
Title: Re: Disproportionate Female Percentage? Why?
Post by billyjoe on Nov 10th, 2007, 10:21pm
This thread is a good example of women talking more than men ;;D

I think most men would rather spend their time online tracking their fantasy football teams.


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