Posted by Keith Hautala (206.28.58.39) on July 30, 1999 at 15:47:39:
Hello One and All:
My name is Keith, and I am a newbie to this forum.
I am 28 years old. I have been having daily attacks of severe, localized head pain for three weeks now. I have had these "headaches" before, going back to at least 1993. They typically come in 'cycles', three to four days in a row, and then remiss for weeks or months at a time.
The attacks are usually rapid onset, maybe 10 minutes from first warning to full swing. It's a sharp, stabbing pain on the right side of my head, pulsing from the temple to the back of my eyeball, and spreading downward into my neck and shoulder. The duration is usually 3-4 hours. Other symptoms include: sensitivity to light and sound, one blocked nostril (the right one), sweating, increased heart rate.
From what I can tell, the symptoms are a combination of common migraine and CH. I don't really fit neatly into any 'category'.
For two years, I was taking Prozac for chronic low-grade depression. During this period, I hardly ever suffered an attack. When I did, the attacks seemed to be isolated incidents, and they were often coincident with light to moderate alcohol use.
I stopped taking the Prozac when I lost my health insurance. Three months later, the head pain attacks resumed. After enduring them for two weeks, I went to the walk-in clinic MD to try to get some help. He diagnosed "common migraine" and prescribed Midrin, which has been completely ineffective. He also mentioned that Prozac is useful as a prophylactic treatment for migraine, and put me back on it at half my previous dosage.
Later that week, I had an attack that was so bad, I went to the ER and got a shot of Stadol. I went home and slept for 14 hours.
Since then, I have been taking Ultram, which does a very good job of deadening the pain if I take it early on in an attack, but it doesn't stop the attacks from occuring. Also, it is a narcotic, which makes it hard for me to function normally.
I've got an appt. with my new regular MD on Monday. Hopefully, she'll be able to help. In the meantime, does this sound like CH to you? Has anyone here had success treating with Prozac or other SSRIs?
Thank you,
Keith