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Title: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Tiannia on Jan 13th, 2004, 3:10pm I know that I am opening myself up for a lot of shit here, :-X but I really would like to hear from the gals out there. As a chronic, do you seem to get hit more right before your period? I am finding that about 2-3 days before I start, I feel tired and drawn normally, but I am getting hit really hard. Like every time they stop within 2 hours the damn beast is back again. Is this typical or just something that I need to bring up to my doc cause it is off the norm? Any thoughts? Tiannia |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by 9erfan on Jan 13th, 2004, 3:55pm Hi T- I'm a female chronic and my head is the same day in and day out regardless of whether I'm getting my period or not. Can't speak for everyone else. V. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Tiannia on Jan 13th, 2004, 4:11pm k this is the only time that i noticed a change since July. THought maybe I had missed something .... Maybe the beast is just being an not a very nice person right now. :-/ Tia |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by henzey on Jan 13th, 2004, 10:03pm You might want to look at the message topic I had started just a few days ago for female CHeads on a related topic...I got alot of responses back that were more related to your question than to mine (which was more about pre-menopausal stuff). It appears that for some CHeads, periods are a factor and for some it is not a factor at all. I had actually thought that there was a correlation with me recently in that I recently had 3 very irregular periods (3 over just 6 weeks, which is not common for me) and then had my first winter CH episode. But, it appears that these periods and my clusters were probably both triggered by having a high iron count, which was discovered this week at annual physical. High iron count can make your melatonin go whacky...thus, the possible impact on clusters..... |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Zonie on Feb 1st, 2004, 12:33am I think that all of us females wonder if there is a connection.... when mine began 13 years ago, I felt sure that they had to do with "the change" that I must be going thru. After many years of suffering episodes, I finally saw a female headache specialist and voiced my firm belief that there must be a hormonal connection. She checked my hormones and announced to me that I had already gone thru the "change" so I could just forget that cause. A partial hysterectomy had ended my periods many years before the headaches began. My headaches soon became chronic and have remained so to this day. The number of days that I have been pain free in the last 7 years I can count on both hands. I think it is just a normal thing for we females to believe that all of our ills stem from our uterus (even though I've not had one in 25 years). Keep plugging .... someday we may stumble onto something. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by ave on Feb 1st, 2004, 7:49am I don't believe clusters have to do with the cycle, but I am pretty sure with me, personally, they had to do with the change of life. I had migraines all my fertile life. After menopause, several thing changed in my body, importantly my voice grew a lot deeper and I have developed quite a growth of chin hair (thank heaven for waxing). also, after menopause my migraines have virtually disapeared and clusters came in. What we should not forget is that hormone changes may influence the as yet unknown process that starts clusters (not attack triggers, not cycle triggers, the trigger for the whole works). But hormone influences will probably not be the underlying cause. Gosh, men don't even have a uterus! How dare some of them have migraines, which have traditionally been female-cycle-related...? |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Samantha_Smith on Feb 1st, 2004, 2:42pm My ch have nothing to do with my period, but my migraines and tension headaches definitely worsen during that time of the month. Before I had CH I went to a neuro regarding my migaines and he told me to go on birth control pills three months on with one week off to have my period. For 6 months I was virtually migraine and tension headache free (bliss!!!), but then they came back full force....PLUS the clusters came about 3 months later. Triple whammy!Unbelievable.......simply unbelievable. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by henzey on Feb 2nd, 2004, 2:41pm The more I read on this, the more I am convinced that we just don't know diddly about it. I think that in some cases there is appears to be a close connection and in some cases there is not, because for each of us with CH, there are different triggers and underlying issues. Over the weekend, I read something about a link between estrogen levels and melatonin...will try to find it. So, it appeared that they had identified a link between the two...which means that it may sometimes be a trigger in some female sufferers, but not in all of them. However, even if there is, it appears that taking a pill or a hormone does not appear to make a big difference in decreasing the headaches. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Tiannia on Feb 2nd, 2004, 3:06pm I will be happy when I can get into a doc that does not loot at me like I have 3 heads when I talk about my headaches. Gregg (from here on the boards) recomended a doc and I got him changes as my PCP but I cant see him until March 1st. His guy is actually supposted to know what the hell a cluster Headache is and not just give me that dazed what the hell is she talking about look. At the time that I had my cycles last month, I could easlity have been having tension headaches as well, as work as very stressful and many other things as well. I really want to get in with a doc that will "work with me" I hope that this is a realistic possiblilty and not just wishful thinking. Tia |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by henzey on Feb 2nd, 2004, 4:06pm on 02/02/04 at 15:06:39, Tiannia wrote:
Amen to that sister! I wish I had $100 for every doc that told me women don't get clusters. I am lucky that we have some good options here in the Triangle area and can usually get in with 2-3 days notice, but I sure found a few bad docs on the way. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Bob_Johnson on Feb 3rd, 2004, 11:47am Report YOUR experience to the doc. That it may be different from others is not important: the physician is treating your experience of the disorder. You may wish to get these articles through your public library. Re. special needs of women. Both of these in HEADACHE QUARTERLY, Vol X, #2, 1991: "Women and headaches:a comprehensive approach", p. 31-36. "Special considerations in the management of headache in women", p. 37-43. The last one focuses on role of hormones in headache and how medications must be altered. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Karla on Feb 3rd, 2004, 9:43pm I found that my ch occur like clockwork 8x a day and are uneffected by my periods. The migraines I get are related to my period. I got a hysterectomy and it didn't effect my clusters but it did effect my migraines. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by cleon on Feb 4th, 2004, 6:51am :-/ I have decided this - could be right - could be wrong. Firstly considering CH's to be a male headache and condsidering that the females sufferers know better - the whole box and dice points to hormonal factors. I wonder if it has to do with too much (or too little) Testosterone?? During menopause all hormone levels drop (including Testosterone) - is that why female CH's then become chronic, or have more frequent or more severe attacks? Of course Melatonin and Seritonin are also hormones. Wasn't there someone a few years ago who was given a Tesosterone shot to the head and got instant relief? I've just finished reading an interesting book in case anyone else is interested - Called Potatoes not Prozac The book is written by a female Dr (who was also an alcoholic) and she became fasinated regarding sugar addiction in alcoholics and over weight people and people who had low levels of Seritonin. She also writes about Seritonin and diet. I found it very interesting. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by henzey on Feb 5th, 2004, 1:19pm That's an interesting theory, Cleon. Could have some relationship there.....but the odd thing is that sometimes CH gets better in women as they enter menopause and sometimes worse....it is just not at all predictable. My own current odd episode (first one longer than 3 weeks and first one in winter) is at age 48 but yet my estrogen and all that is testing out fine, so they don't think I'm menopausal yet but I do think my estrogen could be fluctuating as I am having more irregular periods and all that. I would sure be willing to try a shot of testosterone...anyone know where I can get one?? |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by Roxy on Feb 5th, 2004, 1:32pm I had a hysterectomy about 12 yrs. ago.....ovarian cancer in the family. My clusters didn't start until a few years ago. I've played around with the hrt therapy, and it has made no difference whatsoever in my ch's. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by taraann on Feb 7th, 2004, 9:47pm Hi Tianna, sorry things are so bad for you right now! I'm hoping and praying I'm not chronic (the doc said that swear word to me in the hospital, but I'm 8 months in cycle not a year so fingers crossed here that these past 4 PF days continue for me) But I just wanted to add my 2 cents to this topic since I just was discussing it with "my" pharmacy student through email today. IMO I think certain hormones may play a small part in CH just for the sole reason I didnt get any CH's during either of my pregnancies and I have read other woman saying the same thing. Vibes to you Tianna that you get a break soon! |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by hdbngr on Feb 9th, 2004, 10:50am A couple of us tried taking the pill non-stop....skipping the suger pills altogether and starting with a new packet so that the Aunt Martha visit never occurred at all. (Docs say you can sfaely do this now, and many women had been doing this for year's if there was a vacation or something coming up) I wish this was something I could pinpoint, but it doesn't seem to matter what the hormones were doing. Sometimes you get hit, hard at that time, but I think it was just coincidence. I will probably get slammed for this as well, but are there any female chronics who have noticed any relation to a full moon? Sounds too freaky, and is probably just a coincidence. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by henzey on Feb 9th, 2004, 1:23pm on 02/09/04 at 10:50:41, hdbngr wrote:
I have not seen any relationship to this for me, but very definitely a link to chances in the seasons.....I used to only get my episodes in spring or fall change of seasons, right around the starting date of spring or fall. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by dodie on Feb 11th, 2004, 1:51pm I have tried to record the CH and menc. cycle to see if it was tied together and got no results. For me I dont think they are related. But I can tell you if I go on oral contraseptives that is a CH trigger for me. So that has to be hormone related right ? While we are on the subject of blood and I dont mean to be gross... any one ealse notice heavier bleeding/less days, if you have CH and period at the same time? I also experience frequent nose bleeds durring CH. Dodie |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by henzey on Feb 11th, 2004, 6:12pm Hey, Dodie, my period actually was a little late, somewhat heavier than usual at first and then slowed down to a slow crawl. I have never had a period during an episode before so this is my first. I did have a nosebleed this time too....about a week ago. All of this actually starts to point to a magnesium issue....I looked at the symptoms of magnesium shortage and I have just about all of them except high blood pressure. So have started the supplements and it has helped with several things. |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by broomhilda on Feb 11th, 2004, 6:32pm Funny I was going to post this today, I got a nosebleed last night, same side as my cluster, whats that about???? I am strating to track my cycle as well as this is my first cluster cycle I am new at this but insisted six weeks ago at my gps office it had to do with stopping the birth control pill, he did not say yes or no. [smiley=huh.gif] Going through this thread, it seems some have ties to their cycles and some don't? |
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Title: Re: Question for female chonics please.... Post by dodie on Feb 12th, 2004, 11:35am Henzey / Broomhilda, Thank you for the feed back Interesting, my nosebleeds are on the same side as my headache too. and I also have been tracking them. I have been late in the past durring CH and when I get it , it comes on strong and then slows right down only lasts 2 or 3 days as oppose to a week or so. I am on fovra ( I think that is how you say it ) now to prevent my CH return. (My Dr is experimenting to see if it will break cluster) but have that phantom still , so I know the beast awaits the opportunity to return. And I am 2 days late with my period. So this is the 2nd experience I have had like this. thanx for Mag. tip ..... dodie |
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