Posted by Kathryn (208.28.68.20) on August 10, 1999 at 19:07:15:
In Reply to: Aventyl for clusster headaches posted by Ron on August 10, 1999 at 15:25:15:
Ibuprofen for pain relief? Are they kidding????
Man, even when these CHs started for me 13 years ago, IB didn't do a damn thing to relieve the kind of pain we're talking about here.
If I were you, I would first search the posts on this message board, download the med information at the title page, read through it, and research the other meds out there. David mentions Verapamil; there's also Prednisone and a host of others for preventives. There's another class of meds called "abortives" because they abort (hopefully) the headache. Look for info on Imitrix and Oxygen, among others.
For pain relief, I've seen EVERYTHING mentioned here, up to and especially including some powerful narcotics. I'm not trying to scare you about these headaches, but look, morphine is what we're talking about here. And Vicodin and Demerol and others.
I personally take Verapamil/Verelan (one's the generic version) as preventive, Imitrix as the abortive, Vicodin (I think; it's been a year) for pain, and something to battle the nausea caused by the pain meds.
Get your info, do your research, and don't be afraid to go back to your doctor to get something that does work for you. Everybody's different, so it might take some experimentation, but keep at it. In my experience (and a common theme on this board, it seems) doctors are a little slow reacting to CHs. Unless they've suffered a CH, they DON'T know what level of pain you're experiencing. Feel free to tell them. Repeatedly if necessary.
Sorry this got so long!! Welcome aboard and sorry you qualify. From everything I've read since I found this fantastic website, you'll find a supporting family here with lots of great ideas and tons of experience.
Good luck.