Posted by Mark (207.218.207.8) on February 05, 2000 at 08:35:58:
In Reply to: Weekend Topic begins! posted by Mrs. Holloman on February 04, 2000 at 07:37:23:
As many times as I've tried over the years to explain Ch to people, they really don't understand how bad it is until they see me in CH pain. I know my CH is coming when I feel a burning sensation in my neck. At this point I have about 5 minutes until full blown. It works it's way up the back of my skull to my facial areas. You could draw a line down the middle of my face. One side is in pain while the other side is fine. My teeth on one side hurt while other side is fine. My nose on this side becomes plugged up but will be dripping. Can not blow it. Can only wipe it. The pain is centered behind my eye is so severe. It turns red, droops and runs like a faucet. It is like someone is in my head pushing on the back of my eye with a red-hot poker. This will last about 20-60 minutes (longer is alcohol is involved). I can push on pressure points above and in front of my ear to move pain from behind my eye to this point. I can tolerate it by my ear much better, but I am left with a bruise near my ear. The first sign I get that the pain is fixing to go away is (as if it needed to be worse) sharp sudden more intense pains lasting about 2 seconds and disappearing for about 5 seconds. After about 10-20 of these shooting stabs, the pain will start receeding to a dull headache (the kind the average person gets). This will last another 2 hours or so. When I get in a cluster, I try to avoid people as much as possible. My headache times become predictable usually. I get one in the evening after work and one 1.5 hours after I go to sleep. Oxygen works great for me on most of these. It will knock them out in 10 minutes, but the bad part is if aborted with O2, it will come back about 3 hours later, so I usually take my butalbital with it to keep it from returning so soon. From what I have read here, I am one of the lucky ones (if having CH can be called lucky). I just realize how bad many of my fellow CHers have it. We are in this together and we are the only ones that really understand what we are going through. This bond and this wonderful site keeps us together, even though (nothing personally) I wish I was not in the 1% that needs this place. I love each and everyone of you like a brother and a sister....