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Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Cluster Headache Specific >> Only this group could find humor in this...
(Message started by: Kaib on Feb 27th, 2008, 4:43pm)

Title: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Kaib on Feb 27th, 2008, 4:43pm
Howdy all,  new here but you have been my companions for some time now.  Thanks.

Only this group could find this story funny.  I'm (I pray) nearing the end of a cycle with this beast.  Three weeks ago, right during a really bad period, I put my back out.  This happens every two years or so (L2/L3)...this is big time pain also, but it is a jabbing which goes away if you're careful.

So here I am, of course in the middle of the night, trying to get out of bed every two hours or so (this ain't easy) and crawl to the bathroom.  Its impossible to do the happy dance when your back is out, and its virtually impossible to hold yourself up.

So I take a sip of ice water (which helps relieve the pain in the roof of my mouth)...and it goes down the wrong tube!!! Now the last thing in the world you want to do with a screwed back is cough (isn't it about the third to last thing with the beast also).

On the floor, tears streaming, nose running, back spasm at a K10, eye and mouth at at least an 8...all I could do was laugh at myself; some folks have it worse.

Anyway, back is better and I've only had one hit a night for the past two...actually slept from 11PM till 6AM.  Shall we knock on wood?  I want to thank ya'll for being my slient buddies; God Bless each and every one of you.

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Guiseppi on Feb 27th, 2008, 4:49pm
Oh others will be along now with similar stories! You're right, we must be seriously warped to laugh at some of the stuff we laugh about. ;;D

Glad you're nearing the end of the cycle, sounds like you could do with a little break.

Guiseppi

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by DragonSlayer on Feb 27th, 2008, 5:24pm

on 02/27/08 at 16:49:07, Guiseppi wrote:
You're right, we must be seriously warped to laugh at some of the stuff we laugh about. ;;D
Guiseppi


Yabut being seriously warped is better than being insane!

Glad you are able to laugh when things go that wrong.  
And your right, it could be worse.

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by seasonalboomer on Feb 27th, 2008, 5:41pm
everybody's got those moments. I've been able to laugh about all of it (usually only after) even the most hideous of times. "If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane..."
Scott

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Guiseppi on Feb 27th, 2008, 5:55pm
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane..."

A fellow parrot head I see!

Guiseppi

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by AussieBrian on Feb 27th, 2008, 5:59pm
I once returned to normality after a serious K9.5 to find I'd done a complete cut and polish on my 4WD.  Wasn't much of a job, I admit, but I still giggle about it.

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Annette on Feb 27th, 2008, 6:06pm

Someone please teach me how to laugh quick ! I think I already gone insane !  ;)  ;;D  :P

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by barry_sword on Feb 27th, 2008, 6:25pm
Just coming off a "back toss" myself and am about 90% good to go now. I sneezed and felt it go! I have only once had it blow out during cycle and it was not pretty. Then you had the water incident to boot? Crap man, sorry!!  :P

Nice to meet you.

  Barry :)

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Ray on Feb 27th, 2008, 7:47pm
Keep the sense of humor, we all need one!  Welcome to the family!

Wishing you well,

Ray

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by BarbaraD on Feb 28th, 2008, 7:35am
Kaib,

Welcome to the world of CH humor.  :D

Glad to see you've got the Cluster sense of humor - it's essential in this family.

You've really got to come to convention. We compare bruises in the mornings after a night with the beast.  ;)

Seriously, thanks for the laugh -- reminds me of one of Drummer's "mishaps"........ (and they are memorable)

Hugs BD

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by sandie99 on Feb 28th, 2008, 8:54am
They say that laughter can heal and help. I sure hope that the beast will leave you alone soon.

Wishing you lots of PF days,
Sanna

Title: alRe: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Kaib on Feb 28th, 2008, 9:21am
Thanks all...this is way too much fun; once again I had only one hit last night (just as I fell asleep for the first time around 10:30) - and a small one which woke me up just as the alarm was to go off. (morning coffee took care of that) Perhaps the sumab--ch will go away soon.

Yeah Barry, I've done it with a sneeze also-you know what I mean.

This time around, I swear the roof of my mouth has been at least as bad as my eye-anybody else?

Also, how long should a guy wait before the beer test?  I look forward to it, but am nervous...this cycle started big time with alcohol right at the first of the year.

Title: Re:  alRe: Only this group could find humor i
Post by George_J on Feb 28th, 2008, 9:50am

on 02/28/08 at 09:21:21, Kaib wrote:
This time around, I swear the roof of my mouth has been at least as bad as my eye-anybody else?

Also, how long should a guy wait before the beer test?  I look forward to it, but am nervous...this cycle started big time with alcohol right at the first of the year.


As for the first, the pain in the roof of the mouth has been reported by others.  Near as we can tell, it's an individualized response to swollen nerve ganglions associated with a CH attack.  What we call a "cluster lump".  Some get the "lumps" in the neck, at least one person I know of gets them in the jaw.  Have you tried laying a popsicle or an ice cube on the roof of your mouth?  Some folks get a modicum of relief that way.

As for the second, you'll have to make that call.  If I've gone 7 days without a hit or a shadow, I'll take the beer test.  Usually I'm right.  Most people wait longer before trying.

Hope this %$#@ leaves you alone pretty soon.

Best wishes,

George

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Kaib on Feb 28th, 2008, 2:23pm
thanks Geo.

This cycle has introduced the mouth pain...only after searching this board did I find the answers I was seeking.

Amazing that little of the medical literature really indicates dental/oral pain; there is some, but one must dig.

Wish I had found ya'll earlier.

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by DennisM1045 on Feb 28th, 2008, 3:16pm
Well the important thing is that you've found us now.  Look forward.  Not backward.

Good luck brother...

-Dennis-

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Linda_Howell on Feb 28th, 2008, 10:13pm


Quote:
Seriously, thanks for the laugh -- reminds me of one of Drummer's "mishaps"........ (and they are memorable)
  no sooner said than done Barb.   Kaib, you wanna hear funny?  read on:

 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by drummer on May 15, 1999 at 12:18:09:

OK, since I have gotten to know you people over the course of the past several months, I think I can now open up and bare my soul to you; so to speak. I trust you guys. Anyone who doesn’t suffer from cluster headaches or supports someone who has clusters; please close this window right away.

Okee Dokee. Now that we are alone, I shall bare my soul. I’ll start at the end of my story, then jump to the beginning and then work my way to the end again. I am trusting that none of you will laugh, make fun or talk about me behind my back. I trust that you will keep this, “our little secret”.

My wife has just purchased me a cluster headache “safety kit”. (This is the end of the story). The kit contains, one pair of safety eye goggles, a jock strap with cup and a small flashlight.

Now. The beginning of my story. Like some of you, I have been getting my cluster attacks at 3:00am. This is a bad time for me because usually I am sound asleep. My mental sharpness is somewhat dull at this time in the morning.

My normal procedure for dealing with a cluster headache is to simply swallow two Ercaf pills, then turn my Oxygen tank to the “on” position. I then take the Oxygen mask, which I keep hanging on the tank for easy accessibility, and place it on my face and breathe, rock my body and quietly moan while sitting on the sofa in our living room. The Oxygen mask is fitted with a convenient elastic band to hold the mask in place on my face. This leaves my hands and arms free to flail about and hit my head and bang on the coffee table. I have performed this simple routine approximately, 8,286 times in the past 15 years.

Well, the other day at 3:00am, this simple routine took a turn for the worse. I was rudely awakened by the Demon in my head. This caused me to jump from the bed, naked, and run down the stairs to my Ercaf and Oxygen. Swallowing the Ercaf did not pose a problem. It was my fight with the Oxygen tank and mask that was quite unsettling. You see, I had no problem turning the Oxygen on. But, I had some difficulty grabbing the mask from the tank.

It seems that the elastic band on the mask got stuck on the handle of the Oxygen tank. I don’t know what it’s like at 3:00am where you live, but where I live it’s really, really dark. I couldn’t see and I really didn’t have time to fully assess the situation with my stuck Oxygen mask. I couldn’t figure out why the mask didn’t want to be placed on my face. So, I just pulled as hard as I could. I now realize that this was a mistake. The elastic band, rather quickly, came unstuck from the Oxygen tank. The elastic band rebounded off the tank and snapped “Mr. Winky”. This is the name I have given to my “you-know-what”.

I’ve found that whenever “Mr. Winky” is injured it causes me to double over fairly fast. Doubling over on this particular day caused me to poke my eye on the Oxygen tank’s handle. The pulling of the mask also made the little plastic tube that joins the tank with the mask break free from the mask. The mask had now become useless. Being rather resourceful, I immediately shoved the tube into my left nostril and found my favorite place to sit on our sofa. My hands that are normally free to flail about were now used to hold “Mr. Winky” and my right eye.

I guess I made quite a commotion. My wife, who knows not to visit me during a cluster headache, now, paid me a visit. Seeing me naked on the sofa with an Oxygen tube in my nose and holding “Mr. Winky” with one hand and my eye with the other, caused her to ask me, “What are you doing”? Still suffering the cluster headache, I had just enough energy to lift my head and politely grunt. The next day my wife purchased me the Cluster Headache Safety Kit. I think I now deserve to be a member of O.U.C.H.




Linda

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by E-Double on Feb 28th, 2008, 10:59pm
;; ;;D ;;D

that beats anything I've got lmao

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by beachmusic on Feb 29th, 2008, 6:00am
I take my hat off to you and bless your soul you poor thing.  I cannot imagine a cluster headache and having my backout.  
Laughter indeed is the best medicine.  Where do I get some of that (pass some over please)  
Honestly the only thing these things come close to reminding me of is childbirth and thats only because when your pain free it is hard to remember just how damned bad it really was.  

I second Guiseppi or should I say Jimmy Buffett

"If We Couldn't Laugh We Would Alll Go Insane"

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by BarbaraD on Feb 29th, 2008, 6:42am
Thanks Linda... see Kaib -- it COULD be worse and we can still laugh.  At least you didn't get raped by a Rothwieler... (that's another classic....) :D

It's amazing how much humor we can find in our pain.

Ask Linda sometime how it feels to be carried off the dancefloor in the strong arms of Jonny... ;)  Well, it was "funny" the next morning.... I think that was the same night Jonny made his "famous" BEER RUN!  :-*

This family is really good about laughing with/at each other. Keep the stories coming.

Hugs BD

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Kaib on Feb 29th, 2008, 9:27am
Oh, that's just too rich...

Only here!

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Linda_Howell on Feb 29th, 2008, 11:07am

THIS one is even better:   Cluster Chuck's experience:

Why my WINKY ?? ?? - Updated
« on: Jun 23rd, 2005, 10:08am »  Quote  Modify  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ok, I know this is a caring and compassionate group, and we can relate things without any snide, or uncalled for remarks.  RIGHT ?? ??  I know Drummer posted of his, somewhat similar, unfortunate experience, a long time ago.  He spoke of needing a safety kit, to protect himself.  He may be right.

As you all know, I get hit fairly often.  Many times, if I am downstairs in the living room, and there are visitors here, when I get hit, I grab my oxygen mask and then run into the half bath with it, so I can be in privacy.  Many times I sit on the throne and bounce and rock around.  In doing this, I cracked and broke the toilet seat, in the front, so that there is a split, and with pressure, it opens up.  I have been meaning to replace that seat.  I AM GOING TO DO THAT TODAY !! !! !!

WELL, let me relate what happened today.  A co-worker stopped by to see how I am doing, as I have missed so much work, of late.  I just had on a pair of gym shorts, as I had not gotten dressed yet.  Naturally, the beast made a call.  I turned on the oxygen, grabbed my mask and made a bee line for the bathroom.  While in there, I felt I had another bodily function to do, so I dropped my drawers and sat down.  I did what I had to do, but continued to sit there, rocking, while dealing with the beast.

While rocking, I slid forward on the seat, the gap opened up, and YUP, my dangling “best part” got into that gap, and when I rocked, it pinched it, HARD !! !! !!  Well, I jumped up, screaming, and when I lifted my weight off the seat, the gap closed completely, with a VERY important part of me still in it!  When I jumped up, and the gap closed, the seat proceeded to rip a hunk of skin on my poor ole winky.  I started to jump around holding my injured part, and proceeded to trip on my shorts, that were at my ankles. That caused me to fall into the door, causing it to fly open, smashing my nose, and falling out into the kitchen.

So there I am, rolling, naked, on the floor, screaming, with one hand on my groin, covered in blood, the other hand on my nose, also covered in blood, with my co-worker staring in absolute horror at me, trying VERY hard not to laugh, not knowing what to do, as he has been warned, DO NOT GO NEAR ME, OR TOUCH ME when I am getting hit !! !! !!

I think my winky is out of commission for a while ... Like it makes a difference ...

The good thing is, during this process, the beast left.  The problem is, do I think I could repeat this procedure several times a day, to kill a hit?  Hmm mm mm ... I am not sure I want to try it again.

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Guiseppi on Feb 29th, 2008, 12:15pm
I can confidently declare that story...THE WINNER!... (no i did not say weiner i said winner! >:( )

Guiseppi

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Ray on Mar 1st, 2008, 12:36am
I think these three stories beat my best, but here goes anyway.

Some years ago, before Imitrex was available in the USA, I'd made a couple hundred [literally] runs to my Doctor for an injection of Nubaine or Demerol.  It didn't help much, but I was less frantic than having uncontrolled hits.

One day, I was riding my motorcycle in a full face helmet and started getting a bad hit.  I rode towards the Doctor's office.  When I was about a hundred yards away from the office, a car turned out of a parking lot, was in my lane and headed right at me.

I hit both brakes and aimed for the curb, figuring that it would hurt me less than having the car hit me.  I dumped the Suzuki and held my head up, not wanting to replace my $250 snell rated helmet.  That drove my shoulder down hard and broke my collar bone [but did not notice it at the time].

The car [of course] didn't stop, and I stood up and tried to pick up the motorcycle, but couldn't -- vaguely noticing my right shoulder didn't work quite right.

A bystander did come by and saw that I was relatively ok and did help me pick up the bike.  I pushed it the hundred yards to the office and went in.

They were relatively used to me showing up with the headaches and one look from the receptionist they sent me to an empty, dark room.

The Nurse checked me out and gave me a nubaine and phenergan shot.  A while later, she checked on me and I pointed out that something was wrong with my shoulder.  The Dr came in, sent me downstairs for X-rays, and yep, it was broken.

When I came back up and got that news, I asked them to check out my ankle on that side.  As it turns out, the curb scraped through the leather, sock, and skin, creating quite the road rash there.

What this is all leading up to, in my case, was the realization that the pain of CH is so intense that the other injuries were ignored until the CH was treated and had waned somewhat.

Sorry that it wasn't so funny as the other stories [my private parts were unscathed], but ironic never the less.

Wishing you all well,

Ray

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by jacquibim on Mar 10th, 2008, 4:50am
I have only just got round to reading these tales of woe, but my god, did I laugh, I never thought you could get so much humour out of CH - I'm just glad I'm not a bloke and that they didn't happen to me.  Yes I definitely think that OUCH is the word.  Did they join a choir as soprano parts???

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by mummymac on Mar 10th, 2008, 4:16pm
I too have only just read these.
 
I just could not stop laughing ,  Kirsty laughed untill she cried watching me laugh untill I cried

So these stories have given both of us a real good old fashioned belly laugh.

Thanks to all who contributed

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by AussieBrian on Mar 11th, 2008, 3:20am
Sometimes I use ice-packs, other times it's hot-packs, and commonly I use both simultaneously on different parts of my head and neck figuring that if I can't beat the bastage I can at least confuse him badly enough he'll go away.

Hanging my Kip8.75 under the shower one night, switching the temp from cold to very hot and got it slightly wrong without even realising.  Scalded all my scalp, half my hair fell out, and I didn't even know it until morning.

Then there was the night I got hit really bad and police found me wandering, stark naked, almost two miles from home.  Don't like to talk about that one.

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by GonnabeatemJudi on Mar 11th, 2008, 12:53pm
You poor thing... geez, looks like when it rains it pours crap!  I hope you have pf back and ch days and nights.
If you feel miserable, just re-read the Drummer story at the bottom of the page, I laughed so hard I had tears...
Get your suits of armor out folks, the beast is at hand!
PF wishes to all...

Please see my post at clusterheadache specific -

Title: Re: Only this group could find humor in this...
Post by Sandy_C on Mar 11th, 2008, 2:14pm
Yup!  These stories are humorous, putting it mildly  ;;D

I remember reading Drummer's story way back when I got my very first ever round of CH, at the end of May, 1999.  

As an undiagnosed brand "newbie", I lurked for a while on the boards, reading the posts, and I remember Drummer's tale of woe, and how the rest of the folks either commiserated with him, or outright laughed their heads off (I was one of the laughers).  

That humor, in the face of the pain all were experiencing, convinced me that maybe I should log on.  So, I did.

Sandy




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