Hi there everyone! Nice to find this site.I am a very new sufferer.It has now been  7 weeks. I have been to doctors dentist and hospitals unitl I was finally referred to a neuro who has put me on EPILIM and Naprosyn.which seems to blanket the pain.No severe attacks thank god!
I seem to have some accompanying symptoms that I am curious about.Before an attack my shoulder suddenly tense. My head itches and there is a sort of knowing that it is coming.I get alot of searing pain along my eyebrow also.Does anyone else get this?
I also found that when I was having an attack that aloprazolam helped to  change the concept of the pain and calm me down.I know its alot of drugs but man I have to say the drug side effects are so much better than the pain. But I am new to this .
Would appreciate any info!
Thank you
Sarah in oz

Hi Sara,

Sorry to hear uve had to find us but glad your here and hope the great people of cluster heads can help.

All i can say is have you tried Oxygen??? no meds just Oxygen at a high flow rate aborts my attacks as long as i use it at the 1st sign of one starting! Before Oxygen i suffered taken maxalt tablets beta blockers and whatever else which made no difference, I started Oxygen in Feb and have not looked back, i have imigran/imitrex injectables which i have not used yet as Oxygen hasnt failed me yet!!
Compared to some Veterans on here i am fairly new, only suffered for the past 3 years some sufferers on here have been at it for over 20years +.
Hope you find ur silver bullet, take care!

PFD to all!!!
Si

hello my friend you have the right place for help.

I am a chronic ch'er so i can offer what i currently do(the beast changes or morph's)
I first start out with energy drinks with at least 1000mg taurine and high caffeine content  like red bull, rock star, or monster and chug it  at almost the same time i get to the oxygen as soon as i can. oxygen at 15 lpm with a non-rebreather mask for about 10-20 minutes. this will abort most hits for most us.

also use ice or heat which ever feels best (i use ice). if needed i then run to the imitrex injectable and give myself a shot.
 don't use the other ones. the nasal cannula's and face mask don't provided 100% oxygen it has to be a non-rebreather mask.
I am fully aware of the pain. this beast has had severe impact on my marriage, my job, friends.
you will find most people can't or won't relate or learn about ch as the name cluster headache is misleading and they think its a migraine so just take some excedrin. ch is so not that.
educate yourself extenstively, ask questions and vent if needed.
we will be here to help.
do you have a supporter? cause they are worth their weight in gold and diamond's.
before i sign off let me revisit the excedrina and other store brand pain relievers as they don't help and they can cause terrible and awful rebound headaches.
call you doctor and get oxgen to asap, it can likely become your best friend.

yes your symptoms you describe are common with me and i am sure most of us. but nothing is normal in ch
pain free days to you and like a couple good friends i have met here on ch.com have said live between the pain.
pm me if you would like and i am sure others will weigh in to help you.]

Two variables are common:
1. Not uncommon for symptoms to be unstable and changing in a new case of CH. It may take months to years before a stable picture develops.

2. Not all symptoms which you may have read will be true for all of us. At this early stage, being patient and working with a doc who knows complex headache disorders is important.

Good time to start your personal learning.

MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $50 at Amazon.Com.  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.
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Here is a link to read and print and take to your doctor.  It describes preventive, transitional, abortive and surgical treatments for CH. Written by one of the better headache docs in the U.S.  (2002)
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Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute for another list of treatments and other articles:

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Explore the buttons, left, especially the OUCH site.

 

hi sarah,
have you been here
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oh ya,,,,and listen to Bob.
all the best
thebb

Hi Sarah
Oxygen Oxygen Oxygen read up every thing you can find on this board, there's a wealth of info here.
Are you in oz as in Australia, if so I can send you all the info you will need to get oxygen through your Doc/Nuro or if they wont point you in the right direction we have the means.

Cheers
Barry

Thanks everyone for your advice.At the moment I feel stable.I have good days and bad days.Before the meds I was terrified of another attack.It is the most excruciating pain I have ever been through.Clutching the side of my face in pain and tears.I am doing a full time degree and before the epilim and Naprosyn kicked in I can only remember bits and pieces of some days and ALL the pain.Now on the drugs I am alot clearer.Symptoms still ever present but under a blanket so to speak.
I am a 34 year old woman and this has incapacitated me.I appreciate all your advice
Thank you thank you
Its good to know I am not alone