I find ever since my initial bout with cluster headaches three years ago my life has gone down hill. The stress to do well in college has led, me to experience more headaches lasting upwards of 3 hours and beyond or short bursts of intense pain striking randomly. In an attempt to stop the headaches and reduce stress I took school this last  year less serious. My grades are declining receiving C's D's and F's. I'm going to lose my financial aid. This is leading to depression and more headaches. It seems to be a cycle of bad feelings and suffering. Leading me to contemplate suicide. Before this I was a Straight A student, I feel like a fool and failure. can you relate  :'(

To some of it, yeah, I can relate. I'm fortunate in that I have a very strong support system around me. My wife, who originally found this board for me, has always been my strongest supporter. She knows when I need a hug, or just a kick in the butt to get moving again.

You're in a scary place right now. Having a chronic condition like CH is enough to get anybody down. You need to seek out what my wife provides for me, that's some support and guidance. I'm sure your school has some type of counseling asistance available to you, please seek it out. Depression is a very real condition, that left untreated CAN prove fatal. Please, make an appointment to talk to someone. They can give you the tools you so desperately need to process everything that's going on in your life right now.

CH is a very treatable condition. Don't develop the impression that it's a hopeless disease that will rob you of life. I'm 52, an episodic sufferer for 34 years. I had a 30 year career in law enforcement, raised two beautiful daughters, and am about to celebrate 30 years of marriage. All while dealing with CH.

We're glad you found us, please let us help you, by first helping yourself. Check your PM's for a phone number if you just need to talk.

Joe

Quote:

In an attempt to stop the headaches and reduce stress I took school this last  year less serious.

I'm not sure how taking school less seriously could stop your headaches,  but I'd like to ask you something. 

How long ago were you diagnosed with CH?
What treatment program are you on?
Preventative?
Abortive?
  With a knowledgable Dr. on your side and a good treatment plan, your headaches should not be lasting 3-plus hrs. each time.  Getting CH under control and manageable is a key component is getting back to better grades and lessening depression..not to mention unnecessary pain and agony.

Let us know, so maybe we can help you.  There is a world of knowledge on this site and many of us have had CH for decades and continue to enjoy life and suceed at work, school and relationships despite the this condition.  (See Joes comment above)

Linda

I know exactly how you feel.  I was chronic for 2 years getting hit 8x/day every day and nothing was working for me to prevent the ch.  I was working full time in a profession I loved.  However, I was spending more and more time hiding in the restroom pacing and head banging.  I couldn't think or concentrate.  I was suicidal and plan misserable.  The people here and a place to come to for support saved my but big time.  I was very extremely depressed.  I strongly urge you to try the conventional and non conventional meds.  I tried over 40+ meds before I found something that helped me.  Please talk to your dr about your stress level and depression.  They have some medicine that can help depression.  They also have therapists that you can talk to so you are not so alone in this fight.  Find a good ha specialist/neurologist or ha/pain clinic to be seen by.  If you need us were here for you.

Hi Joshua

It sounds like you're not getting effective treatment for your CHs. Have you got anything to abort a CH? Using oxygen or imitrex injections you should be able to kill them off in minutes and not three hours. Have you a preventive? Drugs like verapamil, lithium and topomax can reduce the number of CHs you get.

With good, effective treatment you should start to see a difference. This is quite likely to need you to work with a headache specialist to get the right treatment that works for you.

If you think you're starting with depression, do see a doctor about this. There are treatment options that do work and together with CH treatment can stop the downward cycle.

Do take school a bit more serious. You don't have to instantly try to jump back to getting an A for everything, do it in small steps, get the F grades up to an E, then moves the E grades to D grades. Each time you succeed you'll find it that much easier to do the next improvement.

Taking steps like this, combined with good medical treatment can and do make a huge difference.

Keep reading here, people really do understand the impact of CH on people's lives.