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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> neuro visit
        
(Message started by: wysper on Sep 20^th, 2006, 10:53am)

Title: neuro visit
Post by wysper on Sep 20^th, 2006, 10:53am

went to the neuro yesterday. Very nice guy. He started me on topomax 25 miligrams then eventually up to 75. he also perscribed oxygen but since I don't have a pcp I'll have to wait a bit to get that filled but I'm working on it. Hopefully I will get some relief soon. He didn't believe me at first that I had ch's but after talking to him and answering a million questions he finally said that I do. I guess it's just strange because I'm a female and so young. At least he knew what questions to ask and what signs to look for and over all seemed like a very nice guy. I follow up with him in 4 weeks.

Title: Re: neuro visit
Post by Guiseppi on Sep 20^th, 2006, 1:49pm

What's a PCP? Cuz if he gave you oxygen you should consider trying it. After over 25 years it's still the surest abortive for me, generally in less then 10 minutes, and has nill side affects. And congrats on finsing a neuro who had some understanding of CH, they are truly rare.

Although the fact that he found it suprising a young female had it tells me he is still in the 1970's when only taller then average, ruddy looking men with lion like features and orange peel skin got them!!! Everyone else was called a migrainer! Stick around we unfortunately have lots of young women here with CH, and welcome!!!

Guiseppi

Title: Re: neuro visit
Post by wysper on Sep 20^th, 2006, 2:10pm

a pcp is a primary care physchician don't think I spelled that right :)

Title: Re: neuro visit
Post by Guiseppi on Sep 20^th, 2006, 2:47pm

Oh, okay. :) When you do get one try and get a rush on the 02, I swear by the stuff. Good luck.

Guiseppi

Title: Re: neuro visit
Post by Bob_Johnson on Sep 20^th, 2006, 3:16pm

Print this one and give to your doc.
---------------
Headache. 2006 Sep;46(8):1246-54.

Cluster headache: clinical presentation, lifestyle features, and medical treatment.

Schurks M, Kurth T, de Jesus J, Jonjic M, Rosskopf D, Diener HC.

Background.-Cluster headache (CH) is a rare but severe headache form with a distinct clinical presentation. Misdiagnoses and mismanagement among these patients are high. Objective.-To characterize clinical features and medical treatment in patients with CH. Methods.-We established a cohort of 246 clinic-based and non-clinic-based CH patients. The diagnosis of CH was verified according to International Headache Society (IHS) criteria. We used standardized questionnaires to assess associated factors as well as success or failure of treatments. Results.-The majority (75.6%) was not treated before at our clinic-77.6% were males; 74.8% had episodic CH, 16.7% had chronic CH, in the remaining patients, the periodicity was undetermined because they were newly diagnosed. Cranial autonomic features were present in 98.8%, nausea and vomiting in 27.8%, and photophobia or phonophobia in 61.2% of CH patients. Most (67.9%) reported restlessness during attacks and 23% a typical migrainous aura preceding the attacks. The rate of current smoking was high (65.9%). Half of the patients reported that alcohol (red wine in 70%) triggered CH attacks. Eighty-seven percent reported the use of drugs of first choice (triptans 77.6%, oxygen 71.1%) with sumatriptan subcutaneous injection being the most effective drug for acute therapy (81.2%). The most frequently used preventive medications were verapamil (70.3%) and glucocorticoids (57.7%) with equally high effectiveness. Conclusions.-Apart from the IHS criteria additional features like nausea/vomiting and migrainous aura may guide the diagnosis of CH. A large number of CH patients do not receive adequate treatments. (Headache 2006;46:1246-1254).

PMID: 16942468 [PubMed]
========================================================================================
Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2003 Apr;7(2):144-9.

Epidemiology of cluster headache.

Finkel AG.

Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 3114 Bioinformatics Building, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA. finkela@glial.med.unc.edu

Cluster headache is rare, occurring in less than 1% of the population. Studies suggest that, in addition to the pain and associated autonomic disturbances recognized to be characteristic of the syndrome, patients also may experience nausea, photophobia, behavioral agitation, or restlessness. A decreasing male:female ratio also has been noted, perhaps attributable to lifestyle trends adopted by more women that were previously associated with men, such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, and working outside of the home. The relationship between cluster headache and hormonal events does not appear to be strong. Hormonal influences on the chronic form of cluster headache in women are a subject of investigation. The emerging understanding of the genetics of cluster headache increasingly suggests a genetic component, with familial transmission now recognized to be more common than previously appreciated. Head trauma, coronary artery disease, and migraine appear to be present in more patients with cluster headache than can be explained by chance alone. Ethnic and racial differences in prevalence are less well understood.

Publication Types:
Review

PMID: 12628057 [PubMed]