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Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Getting to Know Ya >> new, maybe cluster headaches? http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1281027438 Message started by Amyamax on Aug 5th, 2010 at 12:57pm |
Title: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by Amyamax on Aug 5th, 2010 at 12:57pm
Im Amy and stumbled on to your site. Not sure if its cluster headaches. I have occasional migraines and this is definitely not a migraine.
---Ok, about 4 years ago my doc suggested I may have cluster headaches. I disagreed with him because I had already looked up info on headaches and had ruled it out since mine had been bearable. My main complaint was that I seemed to have a recurring headache. The pain is always on one side (kind of above and behind my left eye causing my eye to water and feel pressured), and it is every day for about a month and a half straight. It comes and goes thru the day and night. It wasnt severe enough to really need to take anything for it, just more of a nuisance really and I wanted to make sure nothing serious was going on. I also noticed that it would religiously begin around March and end around April. Well, I thought maybe I had lucked out this year since March and April came and went without a single headache. Well now, here I am in August and for the last two weeks I have had this headache every day. Its in the same location, but now it seems as though the pain is a little more intense. Im not much on taking meds unless I absolutely need them, but I drink extra coffee and it sometimes will help. Sure enough though, later on thru the day, it comes back. Its like I cant make up my mind whether I have a headache or not. So I know that cluster headaches are severe and incapacitating. What I want to know is: In the very beginning of your situations, did y'all (yes, Im from Texas) ease into clusters with maybe a couple of years of only shadows, or did just all of a sudden WHAM--you were hit full force with excruciating pain? |
Title: Re: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by vietvet2tours on Aug 5th, 2010 at 1:09pm
You need to see a headache specialist.
Potter |
Title: Re: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by Guiseppi on Aug 5th, 2010 at 3:59pm
Welcome to the board Amy, you've already been given some excellent advice. Mine started some 32 years ago and they were not at all classic CH attacks. Wasn't until I hit 20 they started to develop the classic CH patterns.
But like Bob said, there are hundreds of headache types, and meds helpful for some are worthless for others. Best to get the legwork done now to confirm what ya got before it does develop into anything more significant. I know when I'm getting hit hard by CH attacks I can't reason enough to make sensible decisions about anything! Good luck on your journey. Joe |
Title: Re: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by Amyamax on Aug 5th, 2010 at 10:25pm
Thanks guys. You have been a great help. It seems as though I have many of the symptoms of CH--the only symptom I seem to lack is the severity. For the last two days I have taken ibuprofen when it started to get more than just annoying. The pain would ease up in about 30 minutes (which is what it usually takes for ibuprofen to kick in) and completely gone after an hour. But today, after reading up on the subject, I decided to just "tough out" the headaches so I could make a record of them. Well, they had the same pattern without the anti-inflammatory med. So I guess what I though was the ibup easing the pain, may have been just the pattern of ch?
Here is my pattern today: 5:45 am- alarm goes off 6:45 am- start to notice a little pain above and behind right eye 7:30 am- a little more intense 8:15 am- owowowowow! but still able to hold a phone conversation 8:25 am- pain disappears 1:10 pm--crap, here it comes again--same left side 1:20 pm---alot worse, a whole lot faster this time. (I went from air conditioning to scorching Texas weather to take my daughter to vball practice---seemed to effect me as soon as I went outside. It seemed to die down a few minutes after returning home. 1:37 pm--still a little pain (kind of strange but my right eyelid started twitching? 1:45 pm--realized I had no pain 6:20 pm--noticed it coming again, same left side. 6:45 pm---trying to eat, but its getting worse. drink a coca-cola 7:15 pm--it has disappeared You know, I remember my mom telling me that my grandpa used to have absolutely horrible headaches. She said they definitely werent migraines. Of course, he was a heavy alcoholic, so I always thought that was the cause. She also said when she was in her late teens and early twenties she had such horrible headaches that she would bang her head on the walls and pull out her hair. She also suffered from migraines but told me that the headaches she had were way worse than migraines. I figure that since my headaches are still mild and bearable Im not going to the doc with them. However, I am going to begin documenting the patterns of them so I will have something to go by if they do become more serious. I guess on the Kip scale, my pain varies from 1 to 3, maybe even a 4 at worst. They are definitely not to the point of pain that my migraines have had. Thats what made me wonder if these could be the beginning stages of CH. Heres a question for ya. Have any of you ever used a rescue inhaler to help ease pain? My daughter and I have asthma so we always have those laying around. I mean, think about it, if an inhaler opens up the passageways for your lungs, then it only stands to reason that you will get more oxygen once they are opened. -Just wondering if any of you have tried it and if it worked or not. Anyway, thanks for all the responses. After reading so many message boards, I really hope that I dont have CH. But I guess If it turns out that I do, I know I have support. |
Title: Re: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by Jimi on Aug 5th, 2010 at 10:39pm
Welcome to the board Amy. I remember oh so long ago that when mine started they weren't that bad.
I would just lie still and they would go away in around 15 minutes. Like Joe said, the next couple of times they started gettting worse. Why don't you try chugging down a red bull and see if it helps when you first feel it starting. It sounds like clusters to me but until you see a neuro, you can't be sure. |
Title: Re: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by Mike NZ on Aug 5th, 2010 at 11:42pm
Hi Amy - it may be the start of cluster headaches, but it might be something else. I strongly suggest that you consult a doctor who has a good understanding of headaches as you really want to rule out anything else that could be giving you similar symptoms. This is not the sort of thing you can just diagnose yourself.
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Title: aRe: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by lib on Aug 6th, 2010 at 9:27pm
Hi Amy,
Welcome! I am a newbie as well. I lived with migraines nearly all my life and this year my glucose, heart rate/rhythm, and blood pressure went haywire. In January, I had an episode that seemed like a combination between a stroke and an MI. I was hospitalized and put on many drugs. It was suggested that I have a pace maker implanted and I was tested for brain abnormalities as well. Over the next couple of months I recovered and thankfully did not have the pacemaker implanted. In June I took a trip to help my daughter with my newborn grandson and I began having short lived pains in the left side of my head and eye much like you described. I had four or five a day and treated them by drinking coffee, spraying my nose with antihistamine, putting my face on the air conditioner vent, and using an ice pack. The pain was intense, but short ,only about 20 minutes and bearable. Around the beginning of June everything changed and I was getting KIP 8-10s daily and 3 attacks at the same times every night. I had a normal MRI of the brain except for a small area of stroke and compression of my spinal cord at C3-C7. The neurologist was not concerned except for the cluster attacks. I was exhausted and hadn't slept for weeks. He began treating me for CH and here I am. So for me, it started with mild symptoms and quickly progressed. Hope this helps! lib p.s. You’ll love this group! |
Title: Re: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by Linda_Howell on Aug 6th, 2010 at 9:35pm
Hi and welcome Amy.
You really DO need a clear diagnosis of Cluster headaches. Once you have that I want you to read read, read around here. Start with the links to the left of here. THEN progress to all the testimonials of what works for them, the medications etc. ESPECIALLY the oxygen link !!!! We're all here for you and rooting you on. We can answer almost any questions you have or die trying...lol Linda |
Title: Re: new, maybe cluster headaches? Post by Ginger S. on Aug 6th, 2010 at 9:35pm
Hi Amy and Welcome!
I agree with all who suggested you seek a Headache specialist. Your Doc may have been right years ago. Best to be on the safe side and seek a Doc's opinion. Keep a headache journal, looks like you have one or at least a good start on one and take that in with you when you go. If you are diagnosed with CH make sure to request O2 therapy for your CH!!! See the O2 info. on the left. |
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