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        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> stress-related?
        
(Message started by: vze2n4nj on Aug 29^th, 2005, 9:58pm)

Title: stress-related?
Post by vze2n4nj on Aug 29^th, 2005, 9:58pm

I am a new member here. I am in my fall cycle, a devil every other day in the morning. I am a graduate student, and I believe my headaches are triggered by the unconscious stress of returning to school. Furthermore, when there are stressful home events, the pain is 10+++. Am I depressed? I cant take these headaches anymore. Does anyone else feel stressed? :(

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Jill on Aug 29^th, 2005, 10:01pm

Hey..

I am sorry that you have to deal with this and so much more..

My CH, I am chronic, started when I was in college so I know how stressful that can be. Some will say that stress keeps the beast away and some say that it is a trigger. Neither is the case for me... we are all different.

But, the one thing that we do have in common, is that dealing with CH and trying to have a life is very stressful and hard to do - you are not alone. Others will have better advice...

You can do this, we are survivors and are strong and that is important and the key to remember when fighting these headaches.

Jill

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by vze2n4nj on Aug 29^th, 2005, 10:16pm

thank you!!!!

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by E-Double on Aug 30^th, 2005, 6:47am

Hang in there dude!

I had them in college, grad school and the the real world.

You will have them no matter what state you are in, especially New Jersey.

I see your from Crooklyn ;) Queens guy myself yet live out on Long Island now.

Read as much as you can.
Come up with a plan of action with your doctor. We can try to help you on that front.

Do not let these things screw with your education!!!

You can do it!

Regards,

Eric

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Kim Y. on Aug 30^th, 2005, 10:09am

[smiley=hug.gif]I am right there with you. Going to RN school right now and stressed. The head is manageable till I come down from the stess high. Have to say that my body has been so exhausted that I slept a lot last night. (took a final yesturday)
Must admit that the beast comes more in the day then ever at night. A blessing in my eyes.

The beast showed himself in LPN school and I struggled through it and look where I stand. You can do it. Don't let the beast win. :)

Good Luck............Kim

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by bnfreeman on Aug 30^th, 2005, 2:16pm

I was originally diagnosed with stress headaches. It made me sick to hear that. Because I knew it was the headaches causing me more stress! I don't think stress causes them for me. But they can stress me out. Just keep going. Best wishes!

B

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by ArCane on Aug 31^st, 2005, 12:45pm

I am going to college and have just recently started a cycle myself. Could it have anything to do with stress of returning to school? Who knows. I do know that last semister (Winter semister) I had a hellafied work load and was stressed alot more than now and never got hit once. I beleive there is a long list of factors involved and when they align themselves perfectly with one another then we get hit. If one of the factors are missing then we dont. You are not alone in your fight and in feeling stressed out. Research this website and the information it contains. Get a good, knowledgable (or atleast one that is willing to learn) doctor. Get help and fight back. CH is a part of our lives but it does not run our lives. Just remember that! PF vibes heading your way.

Allen

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by wip5150 on Sep 1^st, 2005, 8:11am

I've been episodic for about 17 years since my junior year in college. I've always wanted to find some correlation between my stress level (whether it be work, home, etc.) and my cycles and I've really never been able to connect the dots.

During some of the most stressful times of my life including being laid off, losing a pregnancy/baby at 25 weeks, and just the daily stress of raising adolescent twin boys I've not seen a pattern of increased stress and my cycles.

Damn beast - it's just a moving target for me.

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Salvelinus on Sep 1^st, 2005, 5:53pm

vze2n4nj, and everyone else on this thread: please don't think I'm crazy, but do you tend to sit on one side of the classroom regularly?

The reason I'm asking is that I first started getting clusters in college, too. I found out fairly early on that if I sat on the left side of the classroom, I got hit, but if I sat on the right side, I got through the class fine. This was especially noticable in a particular lecture hall that was very wide, but not very deep, which made me have to keep my head turned for prolonged periods.

I also noticed that if I sat in a desk chair that had an arm-rest for my right hand, I did much better than if I had no where to rest my elbow.

I think part of my problem was that head turning to the right for prolonged periods triggered my headaches, possibly from post-traumatic arthritis in my neck. To this day, I sit on the right side of any meeting, lecture, dinner, etc., so I don't have to turn my head to the right. When I forget or when I don't have a choice, I usually get hit.

Well, maybe I am crazy. I just wondered if any of you might have the same problem. PF prayers for all of you!

Namaste,
--Scott

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Jill on Sep 1^st, 2005, 6:04pm

Scott,

I dont think that that is a crazy question at all - there are so many things that differ between all of us and then some things that are consistent.. it is interesting that alot of clusterheads started when in college.

Mine are on the left side and I do know that if I am looking to the left too much, my head will start hurting real bad and I will get hit. I am best sitting in the center and if there, than on the left side of the room... strange.

I know that with me when in a large room, that bothers me and there are certain lighting conditions that will trigger the headaches. I think that it is the beasts way of messing with us..

I also wanted to ask, how did you do it while in school? Were you epiisodic or chronic? I had to stop going to school because the headaches were too intense and were interfering with my classes and studying.. I am also chronic so I never got that break to re-group, so to speak... I want to go back and finish school, alot harder than you would think, but I am also scared that I wont make it.. that the headaches will get in the way again... Gotta work on this!

Jill

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by CHTom on Sep 1^st, 2005, 7:55pm

Scot, are you saying that as long as you don't sit on the right side of a room then you don't get hit, anywhere, anytime, or was that just in college?

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by vze2n4nj on Sep 2^nd, 2005, 8:21am

I don't know if I ever had a headache triggered by turning my head to one side for constant periods of time. I think I just haven't been paying attention. However, this Wed., I got a headache looking to the right in one of my classes for a 3-hour lecture! But I get my headaches on the left side of my head.

Has anyone had any experience relieving a headache through massaging your head and neck? I think this is linked to your head-turning observation, Scott. Maybe the headaches have something to do with the muscles in the head and neck. Maybe if they are massaged, the pain can be lessened?

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Salvelinus on Sep 2^nd, 2005, 6:24pm

vze2n4nj: Sorry for the thread hijack. I didn't intend it to be, but it turned out that way. I hope it helps you out, though.

About the head turning, I don't think it would be consistent with everyone which side triggers CH, whether your headaches occur on the right or left side of your head. I say that because cervical (neck) anatomy is so complex.

I used to think that my headaches were purely muscular, but now I know more about the vascular side. Regarding the trigger, I think it is possible that stress or inflammation in cervical joints can trigger a CH, but I also am thinking that other structures may be involved. For example, the coverings of the brain and spinal cord, called meninges, can become tight and/or "stuck" in some cases, and head turning can alter that tension positively or negatively.

I found early on that if I performed deep friction massage on the muscles in the base of the skull in the back (the sub-occipitals), I could abort some headaches. Not all, and it would only make the more severe ones worse. I've also found that if I do a vertebral mobilization on the second cervical vertebrae during a shadow, I could sometimes abort that shadow. Finally, I have found that one of the most effective ways for me to prevent clusters (besides meds--gotta love those) is to ensure that my sacro-iliac joints are in proper position and not "stuck."

Sorry if some of that was technical. PM me if you want to know more.

Namaste,
--Scott

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Salvelinus on Sep 2^nd, 2005, 6:27pm

on 09/01/05 at 19:55:08, CHTom wrote:

Scot, are you saying that as long as you don't sit on the right side of a room then you don't get hit, anywhere, anytime, or was that just in college?

No, if I only got hit when I looked to the right, I'd wear a neck brace to ensure I NEVER looked to the right again. Unfortunately, it isn't that simple. It is just one of the triggers I have noticed, and it happens often enough that I try hard to get to meetings, church, etc. early enough to have my choice of seating.

Namaste,
--Scott

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Salvelinus on Sep 2^nd, 2005, 6:42pm

Jill: I agree that it is very interesting how many started getting clusters in college. It seems like stress is not the reason for most people, which is why I wondered about the seating/head turning thing. I haven't seen any literature addressing that side.

So you found the same thing happens to you? VERY interesting. :o

How did I do it while in school? Honestly, I don't know. I just had to. Back then, I didn't have any idea that I had a malfunctioning hypothalamus, or dilated cranial arteries. I just got headaches. Bad ones. >:( I worked extra hard during my PF times, avoided sitting on the "wrong" side of the room, and made a "headache tool" to rub the back of my head during lecture. I also swallowed A LOT of Aleve. Way too much, and I'm very lucky that my stomach survived. It did help me a bit, though. Now I'm on Indocin and having much better luck.

Chronic vs episodic? I've known a bit of both. I started out chronic, and it wasn't until after my post-grad work that I got my first remission, about 10 years later. I'm back to chronic again, though. :(

Jill, if you really want to finish college, I say go for it. You have many more tools at your disposal now than you used to. If necessary, take a bottle of oxygen into class with you. A college education, in the long run, pays a huge return on your investment. Don't let the beast win! ;)

Namaste,
--Scott

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Jill on Sep 2^nd, 2005, 8:55pm

Hey Scott,

You are right, I dont think that stress is the cause either although many doctors (that I have seen) want to blame it on that or drinking caffeine or smoking (heard a nurse say that once).. ::)

It does happen to me. I always wondered if because I was shadowing.. it didnt matter if I turned my head so much as if I had my eyes looking to the left for too long.. does that make sense? Thought that maybe I was already sore and that doing that made it worse.. who knows.

As far as school goes, I dont know how I made it through my last semester.. I was in survival mode and that is all I can say. I think stopping when I did turned out good, in the long run even if I do feel like a failure (especially compared to those that still go to school with CH), since I was not happy with my 'career' choice. Now I have a better idea of what I want to do.

Hopefully in the next semester I will be able to go back - I just need to get to the point that the CH wont dictate my life and that I do have control... that part is hard, especially when so far they have. Some of it is more mental - suffering from sleep deprivation and pain that comes as it does with no end in sight (chronic) is not a help either.

But we are survivors, have to remember that. Thanks.

Jill

Title: Re: stress-related?
Post by Salvelinus on Sep 2^nd, 2005, 11:23pm

Survivors? You bet we are! ;;D I know what you mean about the sleep deprivation, but I think that is one reason I got through. I mean, if I pulled all-nighters, I got some good studying done and avoided night-time hits at the same time. I think that your "survivor" comment hit it on the money . . .

BTW, I took a semester (or two) off while deciding on a change in my major, too. I think I made a good choice. You and I have a lot of similarities! ;;D

vze2n4nj: try tracking hits and where you sit for a while and let us know if you see a pattern. I, for one, would be very interested. It might help you get some control, too.

BTW, I can't keep typing "vze2n4nj" anymore (actually, I'm copying and pasting it). Do you have another name we can call you?

Namaste,
--Scott