Posted by marcus on October 12, 1998 at 02:04:14:
I have just spent the past 2 hours reading all of the current posts to this group. It is all so real to me. I guess since I am new to this board, I should tell you all a little about my own situation.
My clusters started when I was about 20 years old. They were an inheritance from my father as he suffered from them all of his life. My pain affects my eye, jaw, cheek bone, sinus, and the back of my kneck. My attacks usually last for about 45 minutes to an hour. I have shadows that last for most of the time between attacks and i have 4-6 attacks a day at their peak.
I have tried most of the treatments. Prednisone, elavil, imitrex....etc. I have had no luck with any of them. I mostly just have to tough them out. I have them every Sept/Oct and a short cycle in the early summer.
I am currently in a cycle. It's a real kicker. I also feel as though I am in hell and this demon is smart. Every headache is different and what worked in the previous attack doesn't work in the current one.
The hardest part for me is that the people around don't understand what I am going through, though they try. Yet I would not wish the "personal" understanding of this on anyone.
Something that happend for 2 months prior to this cycle is that I experienced periods where I thought I was going to have one. I would get that uninique feeling that we all know about. But then I would get an aura in my vision field and it would go away. Anyone else ever have that happen?
My worst time is at night. Most of mine occur then. Every 1 1/2 to 2 hours. They are the most intense, yet somehow I manage to tolerate them better than the ones during waking hours.
I am sorry for such a long message. I am thrilled to find a place to talk about this stuff with the realization that you all really do understand what I am talking about. The "aloneness" of the pain can be quite maddening. Being able to do this is a godsend! Thanks and I look forward to hearing from you all.
Marcus