Posted by Hal (216.37.167.199) on July 26, 1999 at 19:14:07:
In Reply to: Prevention better than pain posted by Laurence on July 25, 1999 at 21:19:37:
The really tricky thing is to figure out what your particular warning signal is. In my case, it took me over thirty years to realize that the clue is a serious "toothache" (maybe one-half on the Kip scale) for which the dentist can find no cause. It took me so long to make the connection because the "toothache" would hit in January or February, but The Demon wouldn't attack till May or June. I finally caught on when it suddenly dawned on me that the "toothache" had a very special kind of pain and that that pain was the same pain as the cluster pain, but VERY much weaker. At least, that's the way it is for me. Cluster pain isn't just regular pain that's really, really, really bad. It's a special kind of pain that has its own peculiar feel and is really, really, really, really, really bad. In my opinion, that's why you can't really describe it to someone who hasn't felt it for himself can't undestand what a clusterhead is going through (Hey, I've worked through hangovers/migraines/toothaches/whatever. Why are you acting like your headache is something special?)