I'm 34 yrs old,this is my second cycle.The first was I think 4 yrs ago and also in the winter time.However this time the attacks are more frequent,more intense and have more more lingering affects.This one started around the first of Dec.I never seen a dr. the first time.This time when they would hit bad I could feel it in my upper teeth on the side I have them on so I went to a dentist.I had three impacted wisdom teeth that he sent me to have extracted on dec.31.I went back to the oral surgeon explained the episodes and he sent me to a nuero who quickly diagnosed me w/ch.He gave imirex and topomax.The imiterx is good at stopping an attack but they seem even more frequent and I'm using it faster than I can get it.I've taken the topomax 1 a night for week and 2 at night for the the last 3 days.I cant tell its making any difference,dont know if thats long enough to make a difference.I was also sent for mri.He said it only showed some splattered white matter in the brain that has usually been present w/ch patients.I go in the am for an infusion of 2 things in which im not sure what they are.I think they said maybe some sort of steroid or anti-inflamatory not exactly sure but I hope it ends this cycle.Sorry this was so long,just wanted introduce myself and my story and get any feedback,tips, or input any of you might have.Hope you all have a beast free night.Thanks,Chad

I'm sure more people will stop by and offer up info, but for now take a look on the left hand sidebar and click on "oxygen info" for the low down on the abortive many of us use.

Oh...and welcome to the site.

Bill

Welcome to your new family!  ...sorry you have to join us.  :-/  But you'll find lots of support here- you're not alone!
-Paige

Welcome Chad

You will be amazed at the education you will find on this site

Walk in Peace :)

Welcome to the board. Since I started using oxygen, my Imitrex useage is almost zero. Over 80% success rate for men who try it. It's cheap, no side effects, and will knock a headache out in 6-8 minutes for me. Worth a shot.

Joe

It's difficult trying to get a grasp on a new, complex disorder like CH. So much of the material you read here is good but not organized in a way which gives the new sould a coherent picture of CH & its treatment.

Suggest you invest in one of these books to give a good, coherent picture.

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.