Posted by Frederick Stanley (38.29.185.77) on June 09, 2001 at 06:47:54:
In Reply to: My Love's a Clusterhead. And that's makin' me sad. posted by Lizzie on June 08, 2001 at 15:19:42:
Greetings Lizzie,
As this is a new thing, some helpful hints from another clusterhead are the following:
1) Watch his intake of anything with MSG in it. (Monosodium Glutamate, I think it's spelled) It's a preservative put in foods, but, somehow can start an attack.
2) Watch his intake of anything with caffiene in it,(coffee, tea, soda, etc.) Too much and it'll trigger an attack - too little and it triggers attacks.
3) Any alchohol use should be stopped, period. (With myself, I can't even take Nyquil as it starts an almost immediate headache which lasts longer than the "usuals"). I avoid alchohol like the plague, nowadays.
4) Even though it gets to the point where we get afraid to sleep, he has to try his best to not disrupt his normal sleep cycles. For some reason, they tie into these headaches in a big way.
5) Temperature heat seems to be another trigger. If he works outdoors, get him something he can soak in ice cold water and wrap around his neck to cool off with. (I know for a fact that our internal body temperatures rise on the side where the attacks happen, compared to the other side of our heads, by a few degrees... If he can cool down the side where he feels pain, it might help... That works for some, anyway)
6) The best thing I know of which you can do personally, is be as loving and supportive as you possibly can be - no matter how bad it hurts him, or how helpless it makes you feel... This condition is about as painful as it gets and there aren't many doctors out there who'll do anything more than throw him on some sort of pill. He's not going to receive much understanding from anyone. He'll love you all the more and appreciate you endlessly if you simply give him the moral support he needs and the understanding that your love can provide him.
Be strong. Don't give up. Come here as often as you like or need to for additional support. We are here for eachother and that's including you and your man, now.
May he enjoy pain-free days and nights! :)