Posted by Michel L. (205.205.65.2) on January 19, 2001 at 15:42:40:
Hi everyone,
Tried to post my first message this morning but I was in such a bad shape that I probably screwed up. So here I go again. First of all, I apologize for the quality of my English (I am a French Canadian) and the length of the message. But I do need your help on a few questions.
Here's my story: I started my battle with CH over 15 years ago and it was last October, when I entered a new cycle after two years of relief, that I discovered this site (actually, my girlfriend found it for me). Over the years, like most of you I guess, I have seen numerous doctors, neurologists and even an acupunturist (Is that an English word?) with little or no results. Well I printed the incredible medical info I found here and went to see a new doctor. He admitted right away he knew very little about CH but he seemed really interested. Well he read the whole deck with me and we went over the different treatments and decided on Prednisone (60mg daily) and Migranal spray. After a couple of days of Prednisone, pain was over and I had not even tried Migranal. Was I at the end of my cycle? I am still not sure.
Well, here I am 8 weeks later and I am starting a new cycle (which is bad for me - my breaks are usually longer). Plus this time, the duration of some of my attacks have been unusually long for me (90-120 minutes VS the regular 30-45 minutes). So this morning at 5AM, I woke up with a bad one after having a really bad night. I decided to take the Migranal right when the attacks started and I had the worse attack I ever had in my life: almost 3 hours. My doc is away on vacation until Jan. 27 and I really don't feel like going to see a new one. I am sure you know why...
So here are my questions:
1) Do you think the Migranal might have worsened my attack?
2) If Prednisone at 60mg per day doesn't do the trick, should I increase the dosage (I am 6'1", 200 pounds, in good shape) or should I try another treatment?
3) Can anyone tell me if CH fades away, reduces or becomes worse with time in some cases or are we stuck with this for life?
Thanks a lot - Merci beaucoup. I really love this site. I have never actually met another person with CH but knowing there are people who can understand makes me feel a little bit better. I am not ready to fly to South Africa just yet but what I learned on this site exceeds by far what I heard in the last 15 years. It is just great info and a fun place to chat. Thanks again.
Michel L.