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Title: Fighting the beast bare handed Post by headsoaker on Dec 23rd, 2002, 7:04am I am so grateful to find a place where other people are who understand what it is like. I am a longtime clusterhead and of course all of the MRI's and EKG's and ECT's none of them ever told MY DOC. I has clusters. It took several Doc's to come up with that word. By then I was sick and tired (and broke) of Doc's so I swore them off. So I have been fighting the beast "Bare Handed" for several years now. I am grateful to know there are weapons I can use to fight him now. Let me share with you what I have been doing because if just 1 of you can get SOME relief just ONE time it will be worth it. First off this will only works for me if I catch it (as I call it) while it is still a 1 or 2. Right at the first stage... you know (when I first feel it hiding behind my eye) at this point I am almost always am asleep. I have trained myself to feel it coming on and I get up out of bed and (some of you will not believe this works for me) get in a HOT BATH OF WATER. YES I know hot water should not work but I did not have anyone to tell me this until now. Last night I had 5 baths, but I never had above a 4 (pain level) and not one lasted more that 20 mins. NOW there is a couple of keys to this. (1) rest your arms on your knees and hold your face. ( gabbing up the hot water and splashing your face regularly and then resting your face in your hands again) and (2) which is the hardest but I believe the most important. Instead of pulling my hair squeezing my head or any number of my past attempts, I remain calm. And I repeat quietly (from firestarter) "back off" "easy does it" "Just back off" ... that part I am sure is not the key. Anyway... I hope this will help someone else. Let me add if I don't catch it by a 1 or 2. Then it does become a 10 and I find no comfort, but now thanks to this place I know of a few more tricks. ....... SO grateful, thanks. |
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Title: Re: Fighting the beast bare handed Post by ave on Dec 23rd, 2002, 10:06am Head, there are a lot of things that work for some clusterheads and not for others. So if hot works for you, great. Some people use hair dryers and I read about somebody who stuck her head in the (lit) oven! So don't think you should not! Any method that works is a good one. Good thing to share them around too. Visit the OUCH site, there is a lot more. And check out the buttons on the left. There may have been some developments in treatment (and knowledge about) clusters since you gave up on the docs. |
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Title: Re: Fighting the beast bare handed Post by domm on Dec 23rd, 2002, 10:33am headsoaker - thanks for your suggestion and welcome to the board. Cold is what works for me. Hot aggrevates the situation. But then, I prefer oxygen, Imitrex and Verapamil. The first two as abortives and Verap as a preventative. Pull up a chair..... domm |
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Title: Re: Fighting the beast bare handed Post by dodger on Dec 23rd, 2002, 5:03pm Headsoaker: Welcome to the site. I'm fairly new myself. Like you, I am also awakened during sleep. You know, I also called mine "it" prior to finding the site where they call "it" the beast. We seem to form some sort of strange personal relationship with the beast. Anyways, cold works best for me. Your going to find a ton of information here, and a lot of people that can help. You will get more help here in 1 hr. than you've gotten in the past 5 yrs. Good Luck and Keep Soaking!! |
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Title: Re: Fighting the beast bare handed Post by Mark C on Dec 24th, 2002, 3:17pm Welcome to the board Headsoaker, I too benefit from a very hot shower with a spray focused into a small beam of very hot, hard water right on the back of my neck. I have stopped quite a few blasts in the past with this, one of my favorite non-medical ways of preventing a HA. It will not stop the major train wrecks, but when not in FULL cycle it sometimes works. Then there is always Imitrex..... Good Luck, Mark |
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