Posted by Marilyn on September 01, 1998 at 18:53:43:
A colleague who is more Internet savvy than I found this website last week and I have been amazed by the comfort I have received simply by knowing it exists. I have suffered from cluster headaches since 1979 and have never personally spoken with another person who suffered from them. As I suspect is the case with many of us, it took years just to get an accurate diagnosis.
I had planned to ask questions about three forms of treatment I had heard about since my last episode of clusters three years ago (the current episode began July 11 and I wish I could say it's waning. One of the possible treatments is acupuncture, and when I got on the website today, I found an interesting series of letters regarding it. I may still try it, as I have found with clusters that I do no lightly disregard anything that might bring some relief. But my other inquiries regard lidocaine and capsaicin. Two press articles in the past 3 years mentioned these as possibly helpful and I haven't yet seen postings addressing these, although the general information spoke about lidocaine. Capsaicin is derived from pepper and is widely available as an ointment that is often used for arthritis. I understand it can sting a lot and I wasn't sure how one would apply it -- perhaps in the nostril nearest the affected side? At any rate, I would be most interested in hearing from anyone who has tried either of these.
Thank you for any assistance or advice you may be able to offer. And thanks to those who established and currently maintain this website. It is by far the best thing regarding clusters that I have ever found. I intend to tell my neurologist about it when I next see him.
Gratefully,
Marilyn