Posted by gary g on March 08, 1999 at 17:12:02:
In Reply to: constant pain posted by Dave Zug on March 08, 1999 at 13:43:22:
have never had the constant background pain that many mention, but DO get to a point where I feel beat-up & bruised all the time - maybe we're talking the same thing - CH has raised my pain threshold so high over the years that "pain" means something to me that is 100X "uncomfortable"
cafergot will often work, but has to be "on board" before the headache ramps up intensity
this means we have to take it at the earliest onset - and that starts a game of second-guessing how bad the attack will be;
be very careful of sideeffects of cumulative use - study the PDR writeup & be on the alert
sleep headaches are @$^%&*()) SOBs because they have a headstart before they wake us - usually too late for most meds to get started in time
I keep a daily HA diary, which gives me a rough pattern - then I try to get to bed right after the "last" attack of evening & take 4 benadryl - it acts as a sleep aid & gives me at least a Little headstart of the inevitable headache
BTW - many believe the 90-120 minute sleep pattern shift, re: REM sleep has something to do with triggering the night HAs, could very well be;
a trick I learned is jump out of bed at the very first twitch of an attack - DON'T drowse along hoping it will go away it won't ! - by doing this, I can often counter the attack with the lobster treatment (extreme ghot shower), or catch it in time for oxygen to work, etc
keep a handtowel in a bowl of water in the btm of the 'fridge - ready to grab in middle of night - instant icepack effect