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New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Any Bilateral Symptoms Ever
(Message started by: BILLY on May 13th, 2003, 10:20am)

Title: Any Bilateral Symptoms Ever
Post by BILLY on May 13th, 2003, 10:20am
After reading the "Symptoms & No Pain" subject thread, I was left wondering if in addition to "Abortive CH" or Phantom CH symptoms if anyone has ever had -any bilateral symptoms ever- with attacks like bloodshot eyes (but worse on the pain side), lacrimation (not talking about crying from pain :), one totally blocked nostril with other nostril mildly cogested, facial flushing, etc...

Title: Re: Any Bilateral Symptoms Ever
Post by Bob_Johnson on May 13th, 2003, 11:30am
Yes! Every  medical description of a problem is sort of an "ideal" model, usually not found in reality. Variation is both the norm and what makes it difficult, so often, to make a good diagnosis.

I routinely have one nostril flowing like mad while I can breath freely in the other. But not always--sometimes both flow freely. Ditto with eyes. And for years the site of primary pain moved around my head before settling to one place (experience the subject of another message this week somewhere on the board.)

Title: Re: Any Bilateral Symptoms Ever
Post by BILLY on May 15th, 2003, 3:59pm
Apparently bilateral cluster headaches are recognized in the literature for some time now:

Neurol Neurochir Pol 1984 Sep-Oct;18(5):481-3

Bilateral occurrence of symptoms of Horton's headache (cluster headache)

[Article in Polish]

Durko A, Bogucki A.

   The authors discuss the problem of bilateral occurrence of symptoms in cluster headache. Literature survey shows that bilateral headache were observed in 10-13% of cases by various authors. In own material of 63 cases the authors found bilateral symptoms in 9.5% of cases and describe in more detail two cases. An own classification of bilateral cluster headaches is suggested.

PMID: 6527727 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Bilateral cluster headache is mentioned in several other articles, few below:

Young WB, Rozen TD.
Bilateral cluster headache:
Cephalalgia. 1999 Apr;19(3):188-90. No abstract available.
PMID: 10234468 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Lovely TJ, Kotsiakis X, Jannetta PJ.
The surgical management of chronic cluster headache.
Headache. 1998 Sep;38(8):590-4.
PMID: 11398301 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Pollmann W, Pfaffenrath V.  
Chronic paroxysmal hemicrania: the first possible bilateral case.
Cephalalgia. 1986 Mar;6(1):55-7.
PMID: 3698094 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Split W, Durko A.
A peculiar case of bilateral cluster headaches.
Headache. 1983 Jul;23(4):197. No abstract available.
PMID: 6411656 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

So although atypical, painfree CH & bilateral CH do occur; learn something new everyday.



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