Anyone else?  I'm finding that I go off on the dumbest crap and I am letting things that normally don't bother me, get to me.  Probably from lack of sleep?  How does everyone cope with the added stress?  I have my own little rituals, but it'd be nice to view others.

Me, I take long hot baths and do breathing exercises I learned from coping with an anxiety/panic disorder.

My fuse is definitely shorter when I'm in cycle.  Just ask my cats. ;-)  Also for that reason, I'm sooner to take a sick day from the office even if my head feels like I may get through the day without an attack, any bits of stress and my blood pressure goes right up.  Last thing I need is for the Beast to get me fired.

This cluster, my doctor observed how tense I was in the shoulders (had a few knots like granite) and prescribed me a muscle relaxer to help at night which seems to have REALLY helped.  I wish I could get myself to relax on my own a little easier, but then, I've always been a bit of a anxious person.  makes me wonder how much that contributes to this all.

It's hard to function in a positive way when you are sleep deprived and suffering such bloody awful pain. It wears you down.

I pace myself and seem to keep some kind of level but because we all carry this there are going to be times when we just spill out.

I want to live long enough to be able to say to some of you, remember when we used to suffer that terrible pain.

I have not lost my optimism that this condition will sooner or later be treatable or cured.

This site has done a lot to improve things for us all. When I was young I lived through this pain time after time without any medication or understanding of what it was. So things have got better.

Mel, love my hubby dearly but yes, his loving supporters do notice that he is less tolerant. We try not to accuse him of being "crabby" but that is a good adjective. :) I do believe it comes from him being on edge waiting for the next visit from the beast. Also I think when he takes steroids, even for just a short period, it adds to the edginess.

I put a sign on my bathroom mirror that reminds me to be nice.

I also put a sign on the refrigerator, the garage door, the front door and at the end of the hall-way for others which reads in part..." don't mess with me.  If you do I apologize in advance"

Of course since I am chronic those signs stay up year round.

Keep telling yourself it's almost over...

Linda_Howell wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 6:49pm:

Keep telling yourself it's almost over...

Hard to do when days and nights become blurred together. :(

Linda_Howell wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 6:49pm:

I put a sign on my bathroom mirror that reminds me to be nice....

  Hey me to.

    Kinder gentler Potter

For the last four months... I've been a sleep deprived.. slammed around the clock RAGING BITCH

with warm regards

Quote:

Re: Emotionally sensitive while in cycle... Reply #6 - Today at 4:13pm      Linda_Howell wrote on Today at 3:49pm: I put a sign on my bathroom mirror that reminds me to be nice....  Hey me to.    Kinder gentler Potter

Hey come on Mel....THAT had to give you a smile didn't it?  It did me.

     ;)

LOL!  It did Linda. ;D

Me??? Crabby????? A raging a$$hole maybe,,,crabby? never. Hang i there melissa. :'(

Joe

How long has it been since you've been to the bathroom, Potter?  ;)

I just withdraw from the world during high cycles.

Melissa... [smiley=hug.gif]

I know what you mean, it happends to me as well, every cycle. This time around I've been irritated as hell - luckily mom as been on a week-long cruise and I haven't seen my friends, so I've been able to be a short-tempered bitch in my own company. ;D

Sanna

From Wikipedia: "The hypothalamus is responsible for certain metabolic processes and other activities of the Autonomic Nervous System. It synthesizes and secretes neurohormones, often called hypothalamic-releasing hormones, and these in turn stimulate or inhibit the secretion of pituitary hormones. The hypothalamus controls body temperature, hunger, thirst,  fatigue, anger, and circadian cycles."

Marc wrote on Jan 22^nd, 2009 at 10:00pm:

I just withdraw from the world during high cycles.

That pretty much describes what happens to me during a cycle.  Circling the wagons.

Hope it's soon over, Mel.

All the best,

George

Repeating what's already said: definitely a short fuse while in cycle.

I remember getting into a fist fight with a co-worker at work over the stupidest reason (I don't even remember it, but I do remember that it's not something I would get that mad over when not dealing with the cycle).

I snap at things I wouldn't normally be bothered by when in cycle.  The words are out of my mouth before I even know I'm angry.

Andrea lets me know when I'm out of line  ;D  I spend a lot of time appologizing...

You certainly aren't alone Melly...

-Dennis-

I'm always sweet and loveable.

Just don't touch me or say the wrong thing and no one will get hurt! :)

Hugs BD

Dear Mel and the rest of clusterville:

Being hit around the clock and being sleep deprived does take the veneer of mr nice guy off of me.  Fuse, what fuse?  Pure nitro here.  If I didn't have the love of my wife, family, and church, I would probably be in a rubber room in some institution.  If they have the "good drugs" there, maybe that wouldn't be so bad!!!

Honestly, everything is on edge when the hits are bad and frequent.

Wishing you all well,

Ray

Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2005 Apr;9(2):109-12.  
Cognitive processing in cluster headache.

Evers S.

Department of Neurology, University of Munster, Albert-Schweitzer-Str. 33, 48129 Munster, Germany. everss@uni-muenster.de.

[Edited for length.] In neuropsychologic evaluations, a reversible decline of memory processing was detected during the cluster attack, but not between two attacks. Long-term observation revealed no progressive cognitive decline in cluster headache patients over the years. With regard to personality changes, a liability susceptibility to anxiety disorders and to hypochondriasis, but not to mood changes, has been described inconsistently. All changes in alterations of cognitive processing in cluster headache are demonstrated to be mild and do not relevantly contribute to the clinical picture of this disease.

Publication Types:
Review

PMID: 15745620 [PubMed]

Very interesting Bob, thanks!