hi there i'm new to the forum and i'm just trying to figure somethings out, i have been getting pain like what u all describe competely almost to the tee, i've never had any real tests run, and the only thing that gave me the idea is i went to a walk in clinic and they told me it could be these cluster headaches when i went over the list of symptoms with him it was like i said almost to the tee, the O2 worked, but my question to all of you is i've been getting these since i was about 13-14 and am now 24, and all i've ever used is tylenol or advil or things like that, it takes time sometimes to go away but it seems to work and in the last 2 years i've used O2 every so often. I'm just looking for some help understanding what my next step is.

                                Thanx Confused

first and foremost try to get properly diagnosed. that can be a real challenge sometimes but is a must for good prevenative and abortive treatment.
i would suggest to you to stay away from from all the over the counter meds as they will often not work well and can cause nasty rebound headaches. they have their own side effects as well
if the oxygen helped pursue that it is safe and relativly side effect free.
read all you can here on the site there is alot of help here for you.

I agree, getting the proper diagnosis is important. Oxygen is also known to help with other types of headaches, too. So I'd pursue it first. I've never had tylenol help me with this... but that's just me.

If it is clusters, get oxygen, 15lpm, non-rebreather mask and all. :) That's the best thing you can do if it is.

   15+ LPM O2 works for 70% of CH suffers. Over the counter meds like Tylenol, rarely do. Read up on the info on the left. Educating yourself, and your Doc is the best thing you can do. Try to find a prevent if you can. Abortives, like O2.
   Stick around and ask as many questions of us as you wish. We're here to help.
[smiley=smokin.gif]

Tylenol and other OTC meds are like spit wads on a battleship.

Like the others said it is imperative that you get properly diagnosed.  A Neurolologist is fine but any Dr. with a eworking knowledge of Cluster headaches is o.k. too.   Finding one is another obsticle and you just have to keep trying.

02 is one of the first things most of us use.  15 to 25 lpm regulator and a non-rebreather mask.  Ask whatever Dr. you see,  for that first.

Please read as much as you can right here.  Links are to the left of where you are reading this right now. None of us are Dr.s here but all together I'll bet we have thousands of years of experience in this condition.  Please come back here and ask any questions you have and we will be happy to help you out.  

Oh...and welcome to your second family.   ;)  I am chair of Family services and if you would prefer to talk one-on one or if any member of your family would, please feel free to contact me.



 calientev8@sbcglobal.net  or PM me    Linda Howell

Could be that you're getting what I call "temporal coincidence." By the time the tylenol starts working (30-45 min.), your CH is subsiding. Our brains then make the connections that it was the tylenol that fixed it.

If tylenol worked for these things, you could take a steady stream of it and you'd never get hit. You would, however, need a new liver after about 6 months.

I would try to stay away from all OTC medications until you are diagnosed.

I have found that Tylenol, Motrin, etc can make my headaches worse, or cause rebound headaches. They do absolutely nothing for the pain (IMHO) and they are not great for your liver or kidneys.

Wish you luck :)

Vomact

No, it doesnt work for me at all.  In fact, I can not take much at all or it gives me a MOH, what we refer to as a rebound.  None of the OTC stuff works for me and neither does the 3 or 4 prescription pain meds I tried.  
You gotta be careful with that stuff.  Just like tylonol kills your liver, advil kills your heart.  

As has been said before; OTC meds don't work for me at all. After an attack has passed it helps to alleviate some of the resulting pain; I get a lot of pain in the muscles of my neck and face, for instance, and OTCs will help with that. There are zillions of different combinations of meds that people take, and (unfortunately) there's no one-size-fits-all solution. First and foremost, however, you should get a proper diagnosis, taking (for instance) sumatriptan when you don't have either ch's or migraine is not very good for you, so it's easy to do harm with some of the ch meds out there if you've been misdiagnosed.

Every now and then during my cycle. I mix asprin and tylenol...it does help just a wee bit for the shadows, as for the big hits- hell no...I hit the trex.

BMoneeTheMoneeMan wrote on Sep 12^th, 2008 at 2:22am:

Just like tylonol kills your liver, advil kills your heart.

Actually it's your kidneys that will suffer the most from Advil. But as your kidneys go, so goes your ticker.

advil is also exremely hard on the stomachand don't get me started on the rebound potential of NSAIDS,acetaminophed and aspirin.

Thankyou everyone for the tips, I had 2 attacks last night 2 the night before and one each day around noon i've been using tylenal and ibeprophin for the pain for almost 10 years, i don't often take a lot but only when i feal one coming. (usually 2-3 a day) for a period of 3-6 weeks, then i get between 6-10 months free. I'm working on getting diagnosed but till then i'm talking to the docter about getting O2 atleast that will let me get some sleep, or back to sleep easier thanx again.

                                                              Confused

Before being diagnosed with CH's, I used to take these Tylenol 8 hour tablets. I would rock, pace and cry until about 30 to 40 minutes would go by and the Tylenol started working. ::)

I was so wrong! I know now that it was my hit ending but I was believing that the Tylenol had worked.

Hope this helps you in some way. o2 is my abortive! :)

I used to use it sometimes before I got a combo of prevents and abortives that worked quickly and consistantly.    


Kelly

wrote on Sep 11^th, 2008 at 7:19am:

Could be that you're getting what I call "temporal coincidence." By the time the tylenol starts working (30-45 min.), your CH is subsiding. Our brains then make the connections that it was the tylenol that fixed it. If tylenol worked for these things, you could take a steady stream of it and you'd never get hit. You would, however, need a new liver after about 6 months.

This probably delayed me getting diagnosed for a cycle.  My family doc said since the Excedrin Migraine was "working" and getting rid of my attacks, I should keep taking it.  When I did my own research and said I didn't really feel like taking Excedrin Migraine all the time, he sent me to a specialist.

wrote on Sep 11^th, 2008 at 7:19am:

Could be that you're getting what I call "temporal coincidence." By the time the tylenol starts working (30-45 min.), your CH is subsiding. Our brains then make the connections that it was the tylenol that fixed it. If tylenol worked for these things, you could take a steady stream of it and you'd never get hit. You would, however, need a new liver after about 6 months.

aint that the truth. yeah in previous cycles i used to go through a bottle a week to no avail. it will tear up your insides.