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        New Message Board Archives >> Jul-Sep 2003 >> Help... I am new & searching
        
(Message started by: Chia on Sep 27^th, 2003, 12:01pm)

Title: Help... I am new & searching
Post by Chia on Sep 27^th, 2003, 12:01pm

Hi, I am the wife of a cluster head and I have a few questions that I need someone to answer that don't seem to be anywhere here so if anyone knows the answers to these questions could you please let me know?

#1-My chiropractor seems to think he can help my husband...has anyone tried this?
#2-does thryoid medication have any effect on a cluster headache (my husband has a thyroid condition)
#3-Has anyone tried a "Tens" unit? (stimulator) and if so, does it help? ??? Thanks Chia :'(

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by CC on Sep 27^th, 2003, 12:12pm

Hello and Welcome!!!

My wifes Uncle is a Chiropractor and he used to swear that he could help get rid of my headaches. Well it had little if any effect on my Clusters. I did not want to hurt his feelings so i tell him that it takes them down a notch in pain and usually helps me get less of them in a cycle!!

About the other 2 questions i Have no idea! Sorry!

I'm sure alot of people wil;l have answers for you, just keep checking back here!

Best Wishes!

Chris

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by ave on Sep 27^th, 2003, 12:16pm

Hello Chia, it is so good to see somebody who wholeheartedly supports us, clusterheads.
Sadly welcome but this IS the place to find a lot of info, and if it isn;'t there you can ask - as you are doing now.

Though there should be some info on chiropractors ib the files - 99% found them unsatisfactory,. is what I remember (off the top of my head).

I seem to remember 12-15 months ago somebody posting about thyroid medication actually helping with CH. But the cluster is a wiley beast, and it might very well be that his medication is hasteningthe onset of clusters for your husband.

I don't know what a tense is, I am sorry, but it sounds like something used against tension headaches - am I right? Then it won't help with clusters at all, maybe only in relieving some of the tension that clusters cause in the neck and shoulders...

Good luck hunting down stuff for your husband. Check out the OUCH site, the self help remedies and the reference library. Get your husband to at least look in on that site and on this message board.

And if you, as a supporter, feel you could also use some support, turn to the supporters message board on this site.

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by Melissa on Sep 27^th, 2003, 12:21pm

Welcome to ch.com Chia,

In answer to your questions:

#1-Many of us, including myself, have tried a chiropractor to help our clusters. I can't speak for others, but for me, it did nothing for my attacks.

#2-I'm sorry, I have no answer for you, I do not have thyroid problems.

#3-Sorry, can't help you here either.

What I can do for you, is give you the link for the OUCH website. Please click on this link:

http://www.clusterheadaches.org

Once there, click on "Cluster Help", and read up on treatments, medications, etc. Print out the info if you have to.

I'm very sorry to hear of your husbands clusters, I hope that you can help him find some relief in some way! Also, have him visit us, with a post to the message board, if he can.

Good luck
:)mel

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by BarbaraD on Sep 27^th, 2003, 12:46pm

Welcome to Clusterville and thank you for seeking help....

#1 - I can't remember Chiopractic helping anyone
#2 - I don't remember anyone having any luck with thyroid meds
#3 - I used a Tens machine when mine first started. For three days I was out of pain, then had to change the leads and never got them back in the right spots again. It blocks out the impulses to the brain or something. I thought we'd found something, but just never could get it to work the second time. But it's worth a try.

Go to the OUCH website and read read read. There is something there to HELP if only information to take to your doc.

Hugs BD

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by Jackie on Sep 27^th, 2003, 1:02pm

Hi Chia.

My husband, Blake, is a chronic cluster sufferer.

We, like the others, have seen no positive result from the chiropractor....or acupuncture either.

As to the thyroid medication your husband is on, I can't comment on that....sorry.

The 'Tens' machine has been pretty much dismissed as hocus-pocus by the clusterhead community....or so I have read.

Good Luck...
Jacks 8)

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by Charlie on Sep 27^th, 2003, 10:29pm

Welcome aboard and you've found a place where we all know what you're talking about. Stick around and you'll find some good ideas about dealing with this. I
can tell you that Chriopractic will do nothing for CH, sadly.

Here are two helpful links:

The first is to a description of this disorder that does a wonderful job explaining to families, friends and employers what cluster headaches are and that they have little to do with what is thought of as a “headache.” The second is to a technique learned from a neurologist that works well for me and others.

http://www.ouch-uk.org/ch/note_colleagues.cfm

http://www.netsync.net/users/charlies/

Charlie

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by Carl_D on Sep 27^th, 2003, 10:36pm

I saw a chiro back in '98 everyday for 3 months...worked out a misalignment and 2 deviations in my neck, but did nothing for the clusters.

CD

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by Callico_Kid on Sep 28^th, 2003, 12:30am

Hi and welcome! Hope you can find what youneed here. If nothing else, there is a lot of support and encouragement here. Both you and your husband can benefit.

As for Chiropractic, no dice. For some migraines, yes, but for CH, no. Recently I was working on a house for a Chiropractor who is one of the foremost teachers in IL and was hit with an attack in his presence. He immediately recognized what I had and asked if it was CH. I said yes, that I was surprised that he recognized it as most MD's don't. He said that they spend an entire chapter on headaches and that CH is one of the primary ones they study, but said that there is nothing Chiropractic can do for the problem. The reason they spend the time on it that they do is so that they can then refer the patient to a Neuro for help and not keep trying to treat something they cannot help.

As for your other questions I am sorry I cannot help.

Jerry

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by ebk3 on Sep 28^th, 2003, 3:33am

hello Dear,
I don't think we have enough info.

What meds has he tried?

If indeed he's a cher, and hasn't tried imitrex, you're probably in for a pleasant surprise. For me/ episodic, in cycles getting6 to 8 attacks per day and night, no attack yet including 10s lasted more than 5 minutes after a shot.

I have been a sufferer for 15 plus years and with the help of this site, I at least for now, have avoided the beast completely.

Good luck/ pls feel free to e=mail me with further questions

Gene

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by judyw on Sep 28^th, 2003, 10:12am

Sorry, I am slow reading the mb...good responses...
chiropractors can do nothing for the CH, will often help with other problems and relieving the tension in the neck...
I have discussed the thyroid question with several doctors of different fields and consensus is has no effect on CH...either the condition or the meds...
You are in the right place for information, so read read read...and post anytime....both of you...knowing you are not alone is strengthening within itself...PPP

Title: Re: Help... I am new & searching
Post by judyw on Sep 28^th, 2003, 10:15am

sorry, forgot third question...was part of a study many years ago on the Tens for Headaches....did nothing for me and study failed...so, again, other than relieving some of the tension in my neck...nada
ICE worked better!!!