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        Supporter's Corner >> Supporter's Corner >> clusters 
        
(Message started by: BufNMark on May 1^st, 2005, 8:37am)

Title: clusters
Post by BufNMark on May 1^st, 2005, 8:37am

I just have a few questions My husband has had headaches for almost 12 yrs , Alot of the information ive read here i see in him But his headaches are always on the left behind the eye and his eye always dilates with the headaches, They have recently gotten much worse , We have seen the doctor and he had his MRI everything came back Normal so his doctors are thinking he might have clusters he is to see a neurologyist on the 3rd of this month Will the neurologyist be able to tell for sure if he has clusters are there any test they run ?

Title: Re: clusters
Post by don on May 1^st, 2005, 9:26am

No specific test for clusters. Any tests they run are to eliminate other causes for the pain and narrow it down.

Clusters are dianosed by symptoms and patterns.

Title: Re: clusters
Post by BufNMark on May 1^st, 2005, 10:15am

Thanks for answering I have notice alot of the symptons in my husband, And his regular Doctor has given him Imiitrex until he can see the Nueroligist, She refers to these headaches as suicide headaches ? Also she tried to give him imitrex tablets but those didnt work and told him he could only use injections 4 times a month, But then told him if he was truly having clusters he could take them up to 2 times a day everyday if needed . does anyone take imitrex and were they told the same ?

Title: Re: clusters
Post by don on May 1^st, 2005, 10:21am

Click the imitrex tip button to the left.

They have been refered to as suicide headaches.

(you may get more resposes if you post in the general section)

Title: Re: clusters
Post by BufNMark on May 1^st, 2005, 10:26am

Ive read in other post people are talking about water , What does water do for help with headaches ?

Title: Re: clusters
Post by firebrix on May 1^st, 2005, 10:55am

Welcome BufNMark

There's lots to read on this site. It's probably a good idea to read as much as you can before your husband sees the neuro so you can discuss what you've read with him/her. You asked about water - here's the link so you can read all about it:

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/water.html

There's also a cluster quiz which you might find useful too:

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/quiz.html

Whatever you do, read the oxygen link:

http://www.maplefallswebdesign.com/misc/oxygen/oxygen.htm

If your husband does indeed have CH this will probably help him more than anything.

I hope he doesn't have CH, but if he does, you've arrived at the right place for information!
Good luck.

Title: Re: clusters
Post by BufNMark on May 1^st, 2005, 11:14am

Thanks again very much ;;D

Title: Re: clusters
Post by BobG on May 1^st, 2005, 11:21am

Does his left eye tear?
Does his nose run on the left side?
Does he feel any pain in his teeth?
Do the attacks wake him at night?
If the pain wakes him, does he go back to sleep?
During an attack, does he want to lay down or stand and pace/sit up and rock?

Title: Re: clusters
Post by BufNMark on May 1^st, 2005, 11:44am

the left eye tears as well as dilates i havent noticed the stuffy nose or the teeth hurting , But sometime he pushes so hard on his temple it really scares me They have always come but they have gotten more severe they used to come maybe 2 to 3 times an day and only last 15 minitues or so and soemtime he will go a month with only one headache But they are back stronger then ever lasting a few hrs sometimes and Yes they wake him he cannot sleep until they go away As for standing up he works construction before he felt like like if he could make himself work it would go away but recently they are so severe he cant do anything he usually sits up or ends up putting his head on the bed and pushing on it .

Title: Re: clusters
Post by BobG on May 1^st, 2005, 11:54am

I'm not a doctor and can't make diagnoses but,
Sorry to say this, it sure sounds like Cluster Headaches to me.
Between now and his appointment on Tuesday read all you can under the buttons on the left side of your screen. Educate yourself, you may have to educate his neurologist.
Please keep us informed.

Title: Re: clusters
Post by BufNMark on May 1^st, 2005, 11:59am

thanks again youve all been very helpful and this site is huge source of info Ill keep you posted

Title: Re: clusters
Post by eyes_afire on May 1^st, 2005, 12:13pm

on 05/01/05 at 10:26:34, BufNMark wrote:

Ive read in other post people are talking about water , What does water do for help with headaches ?

Greetings,
Welcome, and I'm sorry that your husband is suffering. Margi and the other supporters on this corner of the MB give great advice.

I'm not a doctor, so I'm not giving medical advice but...
For a few of us clusterheads, drinking a huge amount of water helps. I've actually had some success aborting a couple of the less severe ones recently by doing that (of course there's no way to prove that it worked because it could have been that the CH would have fizzled out anyway...). No one knows why it sometimes helps, but I have a few guesses.

Word of warning: Don't do it unless you talk to your doc about it first. One needs to be in reasonably good health because it can drastically alter the electrolyte balance. This can have bad consequences when taking certain meds and can put a strain on the heart. Those taking lithium should NOT even try the water technique.

In general, for most people, it's not an especially helpful technique... but it helps some of us (until a cycle gets really bad... then stronger measures are needed).

Best wishes,

--- Steve

Edited because I obviously did not get enough sleep.