Posted by Brian W on September 28, 1998 at 16:29:59:
Observers of a cluster attack may notice that the sufferer pays attention to his/her neck. There may be a lot of head twisting, grabbing the back of the neck during an attack and there may be a noticeable lump at the base of the skull. Has anyone else found 'that spot' where if you hold your head/neck in exactly one certain position that the pain stops escalating?
Recently i came across and old email from a sufferer in Spain. He describes using a 'U' shaped travel pillow to keep his neck straight and avoid the pain at night. Following is a copy of the body of the email:
I also have found a system ( that at least works for me ! ) to control
cluster pains during night. If you suffer them, I do not need to explain to
you what means to wake up with a raging cluster pain. Well, I've found out
that if I sleep half incorporated ( with a lot of pillows under my back )
and holding my neck with one of those inflatable travel pillows with U
shape. Pains do not appear at night. I told it to my doctor and he thinks
that it may have to see with the pressure of the blood rushing trough the
carotid artery. Due to the vertical position of half of the body the blood
does not arrive with as much force/pressure and do not cause the dilatation
that triggers the pains. He also has told me that I am the very first
cluster patient to explain such an experience !!
end of copy
There have been postings here describing how relaxation has helped to ease the pain. The more we tense up, the worse the pain gets. What is all this headbanging all about anyways? I bang my head..what is the real effect of headbanging? It seems to me that headbanging has the greatest influence on the neck itself instead of having a direct effect on the red hot sharp poker in the eye. Sure, we push on the eye for some relief from the pain but the real reason for momentary relief from headbanging escapes me unless it is simply a release of anger.
I wish everyone a painfree day and look forward to hearing what others have to say,
Brian W