Hi,  I have been getting cluster headaches for the past couple of years now.  They always come in the fall and always hit around 4 am.  I tend to get mutliple ones a day but I can always count on the 4 am one.   The problem is I am a college student and this beast is untimely and causing me to take incompletes in classes b/c of doctors visits ct scans PAIN etc etc etc. Is there any legislation to back college students to get university professors to work with their students with cluster headaches?  Does IDEA entail clusters?  As I said I'm a college student (senior in biology)  and a nationally ranked NCAA athlete.  First off is there support to keep eligibility for athletics if my clusters interfere with my schooling and cause me to take incompletes?  I have always been a good student, maintained above a 3.0 gradepoint average and even achieved academic all-american honors from the NCAA. The beast is controlling me, meds aren't helping, I'm losing my education, athletics, a lot of what I have worked so hard for.  Anyways any advice would be great.

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If considering the CT scan a singular experience, with the other mentioned ongoing occurances over these couple years, Ginger has already posted a first thought, likewise presuming diagnosis.


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What different preventive options have you worked with for the hits?  Dosage and time length of their trial also matter.  No abortive capabilities are mentioned resulting from dr visits.

Talk to your professors.  My daughter had some pretty severe health problems throughout her academic career (she has a Masters) and I don't remember 1 professor who was not willing to work with her.

prevantatives have ranged from depakote to innopran and all the medrol packs for allergies. . pain they have done darvocet, imitrex (pill and air loaded shots) fioricet, butalbital caffiene codiene mix, and stadol spray. . we have tried to o2 as well but i'm not sure if it was at a high enough intake rate.. as far as pain control the stadol kind of works. . going to the hospital they would give me demorol and by the time i got the shot the cluster was ready to stop.

anywho. . thanks for all the replies.  I'm not typical to use message boards but when you need help you seek it. . .

I agree with kevin.  Unless there's a whole lot more prevents that you've tried, there's a big *hole* in your treatment.  Your best bet would be to print out info and take it to your docs.

Recommending is difficult because of individual effectiveness of different doses.

Unfamiliar with innopran, but depakote was the first neuro's script long ago that I gave the 30 day trial period he recommended and no, HAD to return for a reason to f*cking even see him.

In his CH bewilderment scribed
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I stopped going.

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The same.  Add codiene and its fiorsol.

Hospital-visiting demerol, he's not doing much for you.  Haven't done Stadol, but oxygen works fine.  Again though, at an individual fitting flow rate, which is higher than I'd suspect was tried.  Verapamil helps me prevent, but is individually tricky, too.

Bob Johnson has a good post he offers for finding a headache specialist.  Unless he stops by, you'd have to search around the place here.  Another good'n for many is the clusterbuster site.

Innopran is another name for Inderol.

I have stolen this from Bob in the past and posted it. A great method to find yourself a knowledgeable neuro.

Joe

LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Search the OUCH site (button on left) for a list of recommended M.D.s.

2. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

3.  Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

4. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or ; On-line screen to find a physician.

5. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

6. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
        Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.