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Topic: FINALLY I figured out my headaches!! (Read 264 times) |
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GAMom
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FINALLY I figured out my headaches!!
« on: Jul 20th, 2004, 8:48am » |
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Good morning everyone! My name is Tonya and I'm a 36 year old stay-at-home mom with 2 young daughters.
I have been having headaches for several years now and couldn't figure them out. They occur only on the left side of my head, usually the eye, temple, ear or upper neck...very painful. They can occur anytime of day and often wake me up at night. I was taking ibuprofen often and realized that it didn't help. The pain usually went away on its own. Then came back as quickly as it left. I was so frustrated and scared wondering if I had some sort of tumor or something!
I finally went to a doctor months ago (can you believe I suffered that long before seeing a doctor??) and he diagnosed them as migraine/stress headaches. He totally dismissed cluster headaches merely because I'm female and most cluster headaches occur in males. Anyway, my last few episodes convinced me that it couldn't be migraines, that it had to be something else. The fact that my headaches came and went randomly with no provocation and went away on their own, the fact that they woke me up in the middle of the night and that they didn't occur during my last pregnancy at all made me do some research.
Then I found YOU!! You have no idea how happy I am this morning. I made another appointment with the doctor to discuss my findings and finally get some kind of relief. THANK YOU SO MUCH for this site and the support I'm sure I'll get while I'm here. It's great to know I'm not alone (even though I hate to think there are others that suffer like this). I look forward to "meeting" y'all.
Have a great (pain-free) day!
Tonya 
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Bob_Johnson
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Re: FINALLY I figured out my headaches!!
« Reply #1 on: Jul 20th, 2004, 10:15am » |
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If you have to stick with your doctor, the question is: will he be open to learning about cluster? You surely suggest that he does not know enough.
Go to med survey on left; print it out and take to him. It will give some information about what we have found to be effective. Second, explore the OUCH site for information. Third, explore www.headachedrugs.com. Run by a good headache doc; put "cluster headache" in the search box. Lastly, suggest you get either the second or third book (below). The second one is written for doctors (if you man is able to accept information from you) and the last one is for you, if you have to learn behind his back.
HANDBOOK OF HEADACHE MANAGEMENT, 2nd ed., Au. Joel Saper, MD, 1999, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. A highly condensed volume for doctors but good for "advanced" clusterheads who have a grasp of medical terminology and medications. Covers all types of headache with the section on cluster being brief. Sections on general considerations in treatment and on medications are important.
MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $49 at Amazon.Com. This volume is better organized and easier to read for nonprofessionals compared to Saper's book. It covers all types of headache and is primarily focused on medications. While the two chapters on CH total 42-pages, the actual relevant material is longer because of multiple references to material in chapters on migraine, reflecting the overlap in drugs used to treat. I'd suggest reading the chapters on migraine for three reasons: he makes references to CH & medications which are not in the index; there are "clinical pearls" about how to approach the treatment of headache; and, you gain better perspective on the nature of headache, in general, and the complexities of treatment (which need to be considered when we create expectations about what is possible). Finally, women will appreciate & benefit from his running information on hormones/menstrual cycles as they affect headache. Chapter on headache following head trauma, also. Obviously, I'm impressed with Robbins' work (even if the book needs the touch of a good editor!) (Somewhat longer review/content statement at 3/22/00, "Good book...."
HEADACHE HELP, Revised edition, 2000; Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, $15. Written for a nonprofessional audience, it contains almost all the material in the preceding volume but it's much easier reading. Highly recommended.
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Bob Johnson
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Giovanni
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Re: FINALLY I figured out my headaches!!
« Reply #2 on: Jul 20th, 2004, 10:17am » |
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Hi Tonya,
I think perhaps you should change doctors on this one and seek an appointment with a neurologist who specializes in "Headaches". This person should be familar with Cluster headaches. Also, take the cluster quiz to your left and print it out for the doc. Best of luck to you and welcome.
John
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Kris_in_SJ
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Re: FINALLY I figured out my headaches!!
« Reply #3 on: Jul 20th, 2004, 8:08pm » |
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Hi Tonya,
Welcome. Sorry you have to be here, but glad you found this wonderful board.
I'm a true testament to the fact that women DO GET CH! I was in my early 40's when mine started. They were blamed, of course, on the dreaded disease called "perimenopause!" During that first cycle, mine were called "hormone" headaches, "late onset migraines," etc., etc.
Because I'm truly episodic - 3-4 years between cycles - with only 1 or 2 HA's per day at exactly the same times each day - I was quickly diagnosed during my 2nd cycle.
I have a wonderfully supportive husband and older (21) daughter. I can't imagine having these with small children in the house who need care and witness your pain, but can't possible understand! It's hard enough for adults to understand!
Keep a journal of your HA's. Take it, along with the articles suggested, to your doc. There are meds to make these monsters more tolerable. Learn all you can!
Hugs and best wishes,
Kris
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I'm a small woman in small town being chased by a VERY BIG BEAST!
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don
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Re: FINALLY I figured out my headaches!!
« Reply #4 on: Jul 20th, 2004, 9:40pm » |
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I would shit can your present Doc and never look back.
At the very least have him refer you to a CH educated neurologist.
A good Doc will not leave his patient scared and frightened simply because she is a female and he is not CH educated.
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| « Last Edit: Jul 20th, 2004, 9:41pm by don » |
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GAMom
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Re: FINALLY I figured out my headaches!!
« Reply #5 on: Jul 21st, 2004, 7:47am » |
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Point taken. What I am going to do is go back to him and discuss CH and that I feel that is what I'm experiencing. The problem with our initial visit is that I was not educated on CH either so I didn't know to speak up when he dismissed them. All I knew was that I was finally talking to someone about my pain and I had a doctor telling me it was migraines. So I was thankful. Only this week did I do research and realize it was probably CH. So I'll go back and talk to him again. If I get nowhere I will ask to be referred. I have to because the pain is unbearable.
Thanks to you all!
Tonya
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