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New Message Board Archives >> 2004-2005 Getting to Know Ya Posts >> Well... At least now i know;-)
(Message started by: Pegase on Mar 22nd, 2004, 9:23pm)

Title: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Pegase on Mar 22nd, 2004, 9:23pm
Hi evererybody,

Im new here and even though i cant say im excited to be part of this community, Im happy to know now... and to find other people suffering from the same HA...

Im from Montréal, Québec, Canada and mainly francophone (Quebec in THE only french spot in North America) so sometimes i'll surely do some mistakes cause im not totally bilingual... sorry;-(

For the last 6-7 years (im now 34) i've been suffuring from headaches on the right side of my head. At first, i thought it was allergies cause it was happening only in spring and fall and because i was feeling some congestion in my nose. At this time, i thought... i was able to control the pain by taking two Advil (my HA was dispearing in 15 to 90 minutes) but i was wrong... It wasn't the Advils (pain reliver) but only the fact the my headache vanished rapidly...

Enuf is enuf... at the beginning of 2004 i decided to go see a doctor ( i just had a little girl of two month and i wanted to live a long time with her;-)). At first , he sent me see an ORL, then when i took time to describe to him all my feelings and symptoms he sent me see a neurologist (that was two weeks ago). The neurologist asked me a lot of questions, made me pass some ability test (like touching my nose, his fingers, checked my balance, etc.) and then told me that i was suffering of cluster headaches or like we say in french "Céphalée de Horton". I was kinda relieve... at least I knew what I was suffering...

Now i just started a verapimil treatment and i'm already starting to feel better... My second appointment with my neurologist is tomorrow morning... He didnt gave me anything to fight the pain like Imitrex or oxygen... i will asked him...

Unlike a lot of people here I think the level of frequency and pain of my HA is less but when one comes (almost always at the beginning of the night) i cant support the pain... and i'M watching my watch... A way to help me is to put a finger on my nostril and to blow out... it kinda helps my brain breath.

So that's my litlle story...

I'm happy to know... I'm happy I found you... Woot that's the real power of Internet.

Pegase

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by CPM on Mar 22nd, 2004, 10:23pm
Pegase,

Welcome & glad you found this site. Next to having found a doc that appears to understand CH, this site is the best. I too, along with my family doc blamed sinuses for years. I like the French word for it "Céphalée de Horton". At least it sounds far more painful than Cluster Headache. The American name ought to be "Pry my friggin eye out with a hot ice-pick". Glad to hear your CH frequency and pain is less then the norm. I think that mine is too and often admire the chronics with frequent top scale pain. Keep experimenting with whatever gives you relief provided it doesn't harm you. I like the deep sea diving in tub routine along with hot and cold pulsating showers. First hot - then the tank runs empty and it gets cold -damned cold. I like Montreal and have friends from there. In fact a close friend from there now lives here in the Cleveland area and has become an anesthesiologist. We call him Gas Doc. Hang in there and let your baby daughter cheer you up when things get tough.

Pete

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by christinenscott on Mar 23rd, 2004, 1:12am
Hi Buddy,

We are new ClusterHeads also. Glad you went to a neurologist. That is the first good step you can take.

Please, please, please, do not take pain medications. My husband is a ClusterHead now and he got the wrong advice from doctors who gave him Vicodin and Demerol and we believe that gave him "rebound headaches" This means that your brain will become immune to pain medications and the headaches become worse and worse.

Tell your neurologist about rebound headaches and be sure that he or she knows your history of taking aspirin, advil, alieve or any headache medicine. All of these things can be dangerous to you.

Please post again and let us know how you are doing. We are concerned about you.

We lived in Upstate New York, close to Canada, so we feel like we are neighbors to you. We live in California for a year now. We miss the Great White North.

How is this affecting your job? How long have you been suffering?? Others on this website, those who suffer and know, tell us that there is an end in sight. We are trying to believe. Please believe also.

We feel for you. We also (my husband suffers, I stay awake and watch him suffer) understand what your life is like right now.

We will be thinking of you.

Much love
Christine and Scott

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by TxBasslady on Mar 23rd, 2004, 1:20am
Hi Pegase,

Welcome to the board.

Hope you get what you need to fight the beast.  

Lots of good information here.....usually someone here around the clock.

Let us know how you are doing.  Good luck with the doc.

PF vibes,

Jean

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Pegase on Mar 23rd, 2004, 12:47pm
Thanks all for the warm welcome,

BTW CPM, i like the name you gave to CH "Pry my friggin eye out with a hot ice-pick'... I fund it very funny... lol.

Well, i went to see my neuro today for my second appointment and he think i'm on the right track. In the last 6 days, i only had 2 attacks and my symptoms seems to lower down... maybe it's the end of my cycle or maybe the verapimil works for me... anyway my neuro is confident with the verapimil and I am too... I started gradually with 80 mg the first 5 days, then 160 mg for the next 5 days and now (for the last 3 days) Im on 240 mg and it seems to go better for me. My neuro told me that if in two weeks it has not deseapear to call him... hes gonna allow me to take more mg...

Today i asked him for some abortive medication and gave me a script for Migranal... does anyone took this and did it helps u ?

Other topic, the hot showers, drinking a lot of water, smoking and drinking coffee seems to helps me with the shadows...

It'S been a long time since i took mushroom but i'll be willing to try it one day for sure... just for the fun of it... i recall a lot of good souvenirs on that drug... but for the moment i'll stick with the basic treatment.

So that's it for the update... i'll keep u guys inform of futher development... Anyway i think Im here to stay... life is long and CH is a beast i want to fight with your support....

Pegase


Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Margi on Mar 23rd, 2004, 2:34pm
Bonjour Pegase,
Si vous êtes francophone unilingue, nous pouvons vous offrir du support. Nous travaillons présentement à la traduction de l'information afin d'offrir un site Web bilingue accessible à tous les Canadiens.  Pour obtenir dès maintenant de l'aide en français, faites parvenir vos questions sur le cluster headache (ou algie vasculaire de la face) par courriel à Michel à l'adresse suivante: michel@clusterheadaches.ca.

{special thanks to our Mighty Nimbus (Michel) for offering this service to all Canadian clusterheads!!}

Pegase, at the moment our message board is being upgraded, but it will be restored soon - better and more secure than ever, so please feel free to join us.

You can definitely go higher with the Verapamil (with doctor's approval)...my husband got up to 720mgs a day before his cycle finally left him.  Combined with oxygen and imitrex nasal spray, this last cycle was easier to deal with.  

And, lastly, if you're considering shrooms, please be med-free before you try it.  

Hope to see you over at OUCH Canada soon!! :)

Margi
p.s.  Michel is also from Montreal, in fact, we have 4 folks registered in that area.  We strongly encourage clusterheads to meet each other - it's a wonderful feeling to find someone who understands!

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Tiannia on Mar 23rd, 2004, 3:39pm

on 03/22/04 at 21:23:30, Pegase wrote:
Unlike a lot of people here I think the level of frequency and pain of my HA is less but when one comes (almost always at the beginning of the night) i cant support the pain... and i'M watching my watch... A way to help me is to put a finger on my nostril and to blow out... it kinda helps my brain breath.


Pegase


Welcome sweetie. Yes it is a wonderful thing to know hat you are not alone.  

I understand hating the clock. At times I feel like time is my enemy almost as much as the beast.  I too dont feel that my Headaches are as constantly severe as many here. But I do still get 1-2 K8+ a day.  One of hte tricks that I use that either helps me or at least it make me feel better that I am trying, is I take a wet washcloth and fill a sadwich plastic bag about a quater way up with ice, roll it into the washclost and wrap it around my neck.  Many poeple have said that physically, it helps because it shrinks that blood vessils that are leading to the head and cools the blood as well.  It seems to help in meing able to handle it.  Of course it make me that much colder after i am done with my dance, but that is a catch 22 I can deal with.  

Look into the Lithium with the verap, many peope swear by it.

PF Wishes to you,
Tia

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Belle on Mar 23rd, 2004, 6:30pm
Hey there Pegase!

Welcome my fellow Canadian!  Sorry that you've got these stupid things but I'm glad that you are finally getting some relief.  I agree with Ti, I use an ice pack on the neck when I'm havin the shadows and on the eye with the bad ones.  I definitely gives relief.  I'm glad that you have found us and I look forward to seeing you over at clusterheadaches.ca.  

Belle
::)

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Luke63 on Mar 23rd, 2004, 6:36pm
Pegase..bonjour et bienvenue!! i think thats what you say :). Hoping that you find alot of info on here...you will dont worry. And Margi....that was very kind of you to do what you did....merci.   Luke

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Pegase on Mar 26th, 2004, 9:26am
Well thanks again everybody for the welcome and the good advices... specially to Margi who write a couple of great sentences in french and Luke who write 3 words... I appreciate;-)

I really feel there's something growing here...

Pegase

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Luke63 on Mar 26th, 2004, 10:01am
;;D...Luke

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Margi on Mar 26th, 2004, 10:13am
Bonjour, Pegase, ca va?

I can't take the credit for the French sentences I sent you - those were written by our Mighty Nimbus (Michel).  I just did the copy and paste thing, I admit it.  

But please do visit us over at OUCH Canada, Michel is working to translate our site for us and there will come a day where we have a totally bilingual service to offer.  

I apologize but my French is high school and rusty at best.  Here's an example:  Je vais across la rue de mail la lettre.  Sad, huh? ::)

Hope you're finding some pain free time, mon ami.  Et encore, bienvenue.

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Pegase on Mar 26th, 2004, 7:51pm
Oui ça va très bien Margi... j'espère that you're doing good as well...

To be honest i knew that you took the text on the french version of the ouch.ca site but i wanted to give you some credits by trying to welcome me in my primary language... that's a good sign of respect... I really appreciate...

It will a pleasure to meet... and read you you on the message board;-)

Regards!

Pegase

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by stevegeebe on Mar 29th, 2004, 7:39pm
"I can't suppot the headache."  

I can't say that I've heard it stated such.  Good way to put it.

Welcome aboard Pegase.

Steve G, who lives in the only other French spot of North America.

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Pegase on Mar 30th, 2004, 8:23am

on 03/29/04 at 19:39:47, stevegeebe wrote:
Welcome aboard Pegase.

Steve G, who lives in the only other French spot of North America.


Which is...?? I'm curious

Anyway thanks;-)

Pegase

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by stevegeebe on Apr 3rd, 2004, 5:20pm
Louisiana.

Steve G

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by stuey on Apr 5th, 2004, 10:41am
Hil.  Never met you.  I'm Stuey.  I'm in New YOrk City.  Sorry to hear about your CHs too.  Is your name pronounced like PEG a CEE?

Title: Re: Well... At least now i know;-)
Post by Pegase on Apr 5th, 2004, 7:15pm
Hi Stuey,

You're totally right about the prononciation... But in English it should be Pegasus... The Great white horse with wings...

See the pic...

Pegasehttp://community.webshots.com/s/image10/5/2/78/131650278UeRyME_ph.jpg



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