I am so glad I found this place...  My Name is Jon and I am from Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.  I am 34 and have been a CH sufferer for over 10 years now; just started a cycle yesterday.  Diagnosed about year ago.  What a lonely place this is when only 1% of the world has this condition (until I found you folks!).  Happy to meet you all.

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Im the monkey in the middle.

Hi Dave,

I am on Verapamil HCL 240mg right now.  I tried Prednisone but all it did was leave me a bitter taste in my mouth.  I have also tried the pill form of Imitrex but it didn't seem to work.  CHs would subside before the med takes effect.  I also had the Imitrex nasal spray.  Funny thing is that I never did try it because my insurance company would only allow me 4 per month.  Since I could have up to 6 CHs a day, I was always scared of running out of the spray and ended up never using them.  Been scared of trying the injections too.  When I get an attack, I find having my face in front of an air conditioner running full blast helps.  Do energy drinks help too?  Never did try that.  As for the screen name - I live a few miles away from Diamond Head.

Glad I found this forum.  Did a search on CH last night and I found one that promotes LSDs as a cure.  Magic mushrooms I will not partake.

Jon

Hi Everyone, I've just been diagnosed with suffering with Cluster Headaches. My god don't they hurt! (understatement). I've been suffering now for nearly 2 weeks, and I can't seem to see the light at the end of the tunnel. They're trying me on ANOTHER new set of drugs which will be the 4th thing they've tried. Is there anything I can do to help myself?

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Hi, my name is Joey, and ive had CH for about 10 years now. Im so glad i found this site, as its changed the way i can now deal/handle these vicious things. If i can in any way shape or form help any of you, let me know. Iam here for each and every person on this website. Because we are all fighting the same war that i believe we will all win someday. By the way, im 33, and i live in the Reading area of PA. I work doing customer service for a living. (which is a headache in itself) Anyway, here is to painfree days, and nights, Cheers...

                                       Joey B, Aka (Metalcreature)

Hi everyone,
my name is Sarah, im 17 (18 in under 2 months, wooot! ;) and i'm from London. I was diagnosed with episodic cluster headaches a few days ago, although iv been suffering from it for about 4 years. I stumbled across this site when i was googling some info on cluster headaches and from what i'v seen it seems like a brilliant place to talk and realte to people who go thru the same things.

T.c xxx

Hello All.....My name is Phillip I'm 24 years old and have been suffering from CH's for approx. 7 years, but only diagnosed last year. I'm currently going through a set now. started about 2 weeks ago. I started taking Verapramil 180 mg last year and that helped pretty well. But I started them up this year and no help. Went back to the hospital and they upped it to 240 mg. Well needless to say my body was not having that. Started getting dizzy couldn't see straight, but my headaches were better. But they set me back to the 180. Well the headaches are back. I also take Relpax 40 mg for when I get the ones that wake you up from a dead sleep. I'm glad I found some other people that I can talk to that actually knows what I'm going through.

Hello,

Thought I would introduce myself and have a go at posting some photos as I've been posting here for a few weeks. I've loved looking through the intros to everyone and putting faces to names.

I'm 25, live in Wales but was born and raised for some of my childhood in Canada.

I live with my OH and 2 dogs, Ruby (R) and Chester (L) who are both rescue lurchers. These are my babies! Here's attempt #1 at posting a photo:

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My loves are reading, travelling and cooking. Just before CH arrived in April, my OH and I spent just over 3 weeks in Borneo seeing the wildlife. It was awesome! If you're thinking of going, or love orang utans, I have tons of photos I can show you! Here's me at an Elephant Sanctuary:

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We're trying to decide where to go next, but are waiting until the ch settles down and I can manage it effectively. Any suggestions?

I have a younger sister, 2 step-sisters and an 8 yr old adopted brother. My sister also has a son, Oliver. He is the apple of my eye! I love spoiling him, feeding him e-numbers and sending him home. This is us (me, my OH Stephen and Ollie) out at a restaurant enjoying my favourite food - Indian!

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I'm quite talkative and love a good chat. Feel free to PM me about anything at all.

Thanks to all for making me feel really welcome here. This site has been a lifesaver.

Em

thought id post pic of me and the woman who has to put up with me.



this is us at our hobby in disney oklahoma

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Hello fellow sufferers. 

Newbie here.  I'm a 21 year old college student at Louisiana Tech Univ.  I've been officially diagnosed with CH since June, although I've more than likely been misdiagnosed since I was a child.  When I was about nine and again when I was 15, I had "sinus headaches" bad enough to miss school, I would have a period of headaches (about six weeks) and then I was fine.  When I was 19, I started getting headaches so bad I had to drop out of my spring semester of college.  At that point, the doctor I was seeing diagnosed me with Rebound headaches.  After a few months of these headaches, they eventually tapered off.  However I would still occasionally get one, not quite going through a cycle, and not the worst CH pain but it would be enough to lock me away by myself for awhile.  My CH's came back full throttle this past February.  My current doctor at first dx'd me with chronic migraines.  But after my third visit to her, begging for help to make the endless pain go away, she finally says, "We'll try something different for your cluster headaches."  And then it was like a gong going off in my head.  This was a new term for me, a new diagnosis.  I was prescribed Maxalt, but my lovely insurance will only pay for a 3 month supply, which is 6 pills.  6 pills in 3 months, yeah right.  The problem is, sometimes they work sometimes they don't, so I have to decide each time I have an attack if i want to risk wasting one or not.  And as we all know, you really can't make decisions during an attack.  I'm not sure if I'm episodic or chronic, as I'm pretty sure I've CH's since I was a child in episodes, however now after 9 months of nonstop attacks, attacks that have gotten so bad, I ended up getting fired from my job for missing days, I think I'm chronic.  So can a person change from episodic to chronic?     I also want to say thanks for all the wonderful information I have found on this sight.  I'm learning so much that I didn't know,  and it does help to know that I'm not just a big wussy who can't handle a tiny headache (my lovely sister's words).  It is hard because, I live away from my family, so they've never actually seen an attack so they don't really believe how bad they are.  Can I get any help on how to address this issue.

BEING THE ODD DUCK, as we say in Britain, altho I AM from Montana, I started getting CH (or so the doctor said) in my sixties. I, the inveterate reader, found that it is rare for older people to take it in the head. I also read here that you may be dragged over the coals if you mention capsicum (so why do so many here mention so-called energy drinks?) so, neophyte newbie that I AM, I will mention at the onset (pardon the expression) that I got a LOT out of the works of Doctor
John Sarno. Sarno claims that many mysterious pains are simply a "smokescreen" thrown up, a natural defense mechanism, to distract the person from dealing with delicate emotional issues. IN FACT, from what I read, much of this site is focused on hardcore medical "stuff" rather than new-agey, touchy-feely "mind-body" connections....
LOVE YA...

First off Daniel I say welcome. and hope you will have a good time helping others here. There are some her that try to help with specific advise, but if you really want help and want to get help it is probably best to be here for support and there in will help come. as time goes on then you can and should share what works for you. I would like to suggest though there are many here that may have tried it and it didnt work for them, dont be offended but we are all different and react differently to treatments. As a wise man has said here many times and has been quoted more ... give what you can and take what you need ... Welcome again and hope to talk more later.

Mike
Also known as Goat!

Daniel, checks out ok, not a troll.

But, call him on his opinions if you want.....nothing new there to this site! ;

Hello,
my name is Francesco 49 years old from Italy,
married, two girls 22 and 12.
I came here in 2004 for the first time
I am suffering of CH from about 20 years, from 1988 to 1999 periodical, after she has become chronic, I am sure to have tried everything to have some relief.
Since many years I use Oxygen (3000/6000Lt daily), 4x120 Isoptin, 4x400 Neurontin(new entry) and Imigran,
and fortunately somehow they make me go on.
Please forgive my English, because I do speak it but for me is hard to write it, so I' will introduce my self better next post...sorry about that.
Pain free  whishes