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        New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2004 >> Zomig?  We'll try anything before suicide!
        
(Message started by: Weinhexe on Jan 11^th, 2004, 11:56pm)

Title: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by Weinhexe on Jan 11^th, 2004, 11:56pm

New to this site, as a wife of a Cluster Headache sufferer. Glad to find out that my husband is not the only one who gets these horrible espisodes.
The narcotics don't work anymore, never really did more than dope him up.
He crawls into the bathroom and shuts the door with a towel over his head as the tears of pain stream down his face! It is soooo scary, and the "specialists" can't do a thing for him! Been reading a lot the past two days on this site. Willing to try anything at this point!

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by pubgirl on Jan 11^th, 2004, 11:59pm

Hello Weinhexe (Wine witch??)

(this is copied from you other post on the General board)

Welcome to the board!
Sorry your husband is suffering like this.

Zomig has actuallly been discussed quite a lot on the board if you try the Search facility above this page.

In general the feeling is that the pill form, like all others is too slow but some success has been reported with the nasal.

Some have found success using the pill form occasionally as a short term preventive (i.e to buy a few hours sleep, and I personally take one when I use my 02 to abort as it can mop-up any rebounds I get later.

The preferred Triptan for CH is Sumatriptan not Zolmitriptan (Imitrex injections or nasal rather than Zomig) and many people here have success using this and 02 as their main abortives.

Narcotics. Well, I wouldn't! They are not very effective for CH, and can do harm to boot! Which narcotics are we talking about here?
Vicodin?, probably also useless as painkillers don't really work for most CH sufferers either

Have a good read around the site and you will see what works for people here.

Good luck

Wendy

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by taraann on Jan 14^th, 2004, 6:06pm

Hi and welcome to the boat. I was just put on Zomig nasal spray yesterday (along with Oxygen, Prednisone, and Verapamil) I have used the Zomig twice now with no noticable pain relief.........

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by Donald_33 on Jan 15^th, 2004, 3:17pm

Hi there!
I think suicide should be the last option considered.
I’m also clustered headache sufferer for a pretty long time. In fact with time episodic clustered headache transformed into unbreakable (not so strong but constant tension headache.)
I think just simple listing of all the medication I’ve had tried would take significant place in my posting. And this is considering that not all of latest “Achievements” in pharmacology are available in Russia.
Did your husband try some sport activity or some specific stretching exercises?
After I started yoga I’m feeling much better.
I also bought an E-book written by one headache sufferer.
www.headachetension.com
It not so easy to follow all her advises, it’s too comprehensive. So I just trying some of it. So far it works to some extend.
Good luck.

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by thomas on Jan 15^th, 2004, 6:00pm

I loooooooooovvvvvveeeeeeee zomig.... :)

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide
Post by Prense on Jan 15^th, 2004, 7:03pm

on 01/15/04 at 15:17:29, Donald_33 wrote:

I think suicide should be the last option considered

Sorry, it's not an option to be considered at all...

Chris

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide
Post by Woobie on Jan 15^th, 2004, 8:09pm

on 01/11/04 at 23:56:06, Weinhexe wrote:

Hello and welcome

What meds has he tried?? Has he tried Oxygen?
Gotta find a neurologist who kNOWS about clusters...

Welcome to the family! OH - and there's also a supporter's section - just for you. Read read read!

Tina

PS - NO SUICIDE ALLOWED! NOT an option.

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by Edski_1 on Jan 16^th, 2004, 12:28pm

Thank God I've never had a K10 I've guess...never really contemplated suicide. Had teh "why me?" 's plenty of times, but never to the point where I wanted to kill myself. Something in me always seems to know that this pain is not terminal...

Zomig has been working pretty well for me, mainly the pill. I am using topamax now for 9 days, and have not had to use Zomig for the last 8....prior to that I was mixing Zomig with Cafergot, which apparently is contra-indiated. I think I might have been defeating some of the good work the triptan was trying to do by taking the ergots... :( Oh well, got to be careful, even with licensed MD's I guess....

Last dose I took ws the nasal inhaler. Was a little rough compared to the pill certainly, but did seem to work faster.

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by Bob_Johnson on Jan 17^th, 2004, 9:26am

Suggest you explore: www.headachedrugs.com. Excellent site run by a headache doc.

Consider getting one of these books. They provide an organized approach to treatment which is difficult to find from other sources.

HANDBOOK OF HEADACHE MANAGEMENT, 2nd ed., Au. Joel Saper, MD, 1999, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. A highly condensed volume for doctors but good for "advanced" clusterheads who have a grasp of medical terminology and medications. Covers all types of headache with the section on cluster being brief. Sections on general considerations in treatment and on medications are important.

MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $49 at Amazon.Com. This volume is better organized and easier to read for nonprofessionals compared to Saper's book. It covers all types of headache and is primarily focused on medications. While the two chapters on CH total 42-pages, the actual relevant material is longer because of multiple references to material in chapters on migraine, reflecting the overlap in drugs used to treat. I'd suggest reading the chapters on migraine for three reasons: he makes references to CH & medications which are not in the index; there are "clinical pearls" about how to approach the treatment of headache; and, you gain better perspective on the nature of headache, in general, and the complexities of treatment (which need to be considered when we create expectations about what is possible). Finally, women will appreciate & benefit from his running information on hormones/menstrual cycles as they affect headache. Chapter on headache following head trauma, also. Obviously, I'm impressed with Robbins' work (even if the book needs the touch of a good editor!) (Somewhat longer review/content statement at 3/22/00, "Good book....")

HEADACHE HELP, Revised edition, 2000; Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, $15. Written for a nonprofessional audience, it contains almost all the material in the preceding volume but it's much easier reading. Highly recommended.

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by taraann on Jan 17^th, 2004, 10:36am

I've had the Zomig NS for abou 5 days now. Im only allowed 2 squirts (with 8 hrs in between each squirt) I had 10 of them (used them all already) I think it's a matter of catching a CH in the early early stages (for me it's noticing a tiny pressure in my temple, then a bit of watering eye, slightly stuffy nostril, then moves on from there) Well I'd say 7 out of the 10 times I noticed almost no change. The last couple times I grabbed it at that first sign of pressure (getting better at noticing that) squirted and got on my O2 and it seemed to not let my CH get past a 4-5 kip. I dunno if it was coincidence and the CH was only gonna reach that level on its own or what. I'm picking up my refill today so I'll have to see.......

How's your husband doing on the Zomig weinhexe? I think it's key to catch a CH in the infant stages for anything to help it, but maybe that's just me or maybe coincidence like i said......

Title: Re: Zomig? We'll try anything before suicide!
Post by Edski_1 on Jan 17^th, 2004, 1:16pm

When I went to the PCP the second time they gave me a script for Vicadin, and right after I came home with them I read on this site that narcs are no help...have not touched them. But they did help me in another way.

I read the paperwork the pharmacist gave me...I love to read, I used to an environmental scientist, so the gory stats and chemistry is not that intimidating to me. A comment caught my eye:

"Any pain medication is more effective when taken before your pain is at it's most severe point"

I thought, well that's a pretty stupid statement...and then re-thought about it. Maybe not all that stupid. Is that what pain prevention is all about?