Posted by Frank (216.249.92.210) on August 25, 2001 at 19:35:13:
In Reply to: Don't try this guys...learned the hard way posted by Trudy on August 25, 2001 at 14:17:32:
There are a few things you should know about these headaches they’re having. First of all, they are called cluster headaches. We don’t know what causes them and we don’t really know how to make them go away. But we DO know that these headaches aren’t going to kill them. Each headache is usually called an attack and each attack is usually over within a couple of hours. That seems like a long time and it’s very hard to watch your parent getting attacked when there isn’t anything you can do to help. Sometimes, they can have many attacks in one day. One thing you CAN do, just by yourself, is to watch the clock and tell ourselves “it’s only going to be about 20 more minutes…..15 more minutes…10 more minutes”. Sometimes that really helps you get through it.
Sometimes, your mom or dad DOES really need to be alone when they have an attack. They probably don’t want you to see them in so much pain. And that’s OK. You’d probably be more of a help to them if you could let them have some privacy at those times. Maybe you can go into your room and draw them a nice picture or, write them a letter or make them something that they will like when they’re not having so much pain.
Another thing you need to know is that you’re not the only person who has to watch their parents go through these headaches. There are lots of other people in the world that do too! And lots of kids that are just as scared and confused as you are, so please don’t feel alone anymore.
If you need to talk to someone, just to tell someone that you’re scared or you’re mad or you need ideas on how to help, please press the HELP button. It will bring up an e-mail screen and you can just tell us what’s on your mind. We are the Family Services Team and we have lots of people here who understand what you’re going through. It may take a little while for us to get back to you, but it’s usually pretty quick.
Sometimes even an e-mail>>>>>HUG<<<<< will help you to feel better. And, hey – maybe YOU can talk to another kid out there that’s just as scared as you are and maybe you can help THEM. You can be CLUSTERPALS and work together to get through it!!
And one last thing – there is a group of folks out here who are working all the time to find a cure for cluster headaches. And we’re not going to stop until we find one!!!