Posted by Brandon on April 08, 1999 at 09:44:31:
In Reply to: Alternative Therapies and other questions posted by Irka on April 07, 1999 at 21:37:16:
Irka,
I am indeed a seasonal suffer. My CHs usually begin to surface around mid-October/early November. I consider this my pre-Cluster or warning stage, where mild stabbing pains and jolts begin to occur at my temples, but no Clusters. This is when I begin to change my eating habits and so on. Recently, I have been getting what I consider "regular migraines" as a precursor to the CH cycle beginning, which are, for me, a pressure at the back of the head which can usually be treated with Esgic Plus/ Fioricet (forgive the spelling) quite easily.. Usually, a cycle will actually begin in mid-December/early-January (no happy holidays for me - I'm always laid out with CH) and can last anywhere from 4 weeks to 5 months. The cycle I am in now indeed started right before the holidays and I'm still fending it off with yet another 10 day cycle of steroids (Dexamethasone) and Neurontin as a preventative.
As far as the weather - rain or snow or any kind of precipitation for me is a sure sign that I will get a CH and that it will usually be of the more severe
variety - a 6 to 8 on the CH scale. Many times, I will get a CH the day before a storm or some other kind of precipitation and be fine while it is actually occuring. Who knows with these things.
Cheers and remission,
Brandon
bduhamel@banet.net