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New Message Board Archives >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies 2003 >> Has anyone ever tried this?.......
(Message started by: routeman on Nov 26th, 2003, 9:26pm)

Title: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by routeman on Nov 26th, 2003, 9:26pm
Hi I'm Ron and I'm new to the community...I've been suffering from CH's now for about 15yrs (at least)...first let me say thankyou for this site...i hate to say it but i'm glad to find out that there are actually other people out there that go through this day in and day out also...anway, I know that this isn't very scientific but i had an episode the other night that was very intense...I could'nt think of anything else to do so I jumped in the shower...i had the water as hot as i could stand it and just stuck my head under the water...amazingly the pain stopped...but as soon as I took my head out of the water, the pain came right back...i tried it today with cold water and it had no effect but as soon as i turned the hot water back on the pain went away...i guess i'm trying to find out if the shower thing is just my imagination or not...right now all I know is that it works...I really dont know that much about the meds that can be taken, up to this point I've just been trying to deal with the pain (which is impossible)...try it and let me know what you think....


ron

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by floridian on Nov 26th, 2003, 10:24pm
Welcome, Ron.

There has been lots of talk about temperature here on the board. Most people prefer cold for direct application - ice, car airconditioner, ice to chill oxygen lines, etc.  But some do use hot showers before bed, hot on body/cold on head.  Whatever you find works.  There are many ways to deal with clusters, and lots of things that work for some people but not everyone.  I find that heat works on my neck, but like cold on my forehead.  I never was able to totally shut off the headache with temperature, but it does help.

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by Prense on Nov 26th, 2003, 10:28pm
I can get temporary relief using hot water...not abort though.

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by routeman on Nov 27th, 2003, 12:29am
thnx guys...unfortunately im just getting over another severe episode...i need to find something preventative, not so much for me but so that my girlfriend doesnt have to see me like this anymore...i cant stand to see the look of helplessness on her face while she watches me go through this...is there anything out there that actually works and if so would could be the possible side effects?

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by sandie99 on Nov 27th, 2003, 5:38am
Routeman,
I know exactly how you feel: got to find something preventative. But as experience has proved me, it takes time to find the preventative that works!
In my case, I'm on day 2 on my third preventative (called something like Pretizofen, I tried vermin/verpamil and predisolon) and I'm having CH shadows as I type. But I think it's too soon to tell yet.
I suggest that you read what has been written about pre meds and talk with your doc about them. Something will work for you, I just want to warn that might take some time.

Good luck! :)
Best wishes & PFdays,
sandie99
 

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by HannahFroukje on Nov 27th, 2003, 5:57am
Hi

My husbandīs got them (CH, so I know how helpless your girlfriend must feel, itīs really horrible to stand on the sideline).

Heīs been trying all kinds of stuff and one day he did kinda the same that you did, but he didnīt stick his head underneath the hot water but his neck. Then I was there in the background with hot towels, a hot footbath and .... ICE. What we did was have him shower as hot as possible, then wrap him in hot towels, stick his feet in a hot bath .... so ALL his body veins would become as wide as possible ... get the idea? THEN we got a pack of ice out to put on his head, so THERE the veins would shrink, and have him drink cold water.

The effect for him was that the attack would not go on for 2 - 2,5 hours but it would last 30 minutes max.

We gave up on it though because after 4 days already we ran out of towels and the whole house was a dripping mess (he would still be running around like crazy and me chasing him to strap him down to the chair to get the ice on ) ... both of us exhausted, all this showering had to be done in the complete dark and that was difficult too. And taking a hot shower 3 or 4 times in one night ... well itīs just not practical. If it helps for you, that īs great though!

Read the link about the mushrooms, ever thought of that??? Itīs called psilocybe.

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by BlueMeanie on Nov 27th, 2003, 11:03am
Hi Ron,

There a tons of preventitives out there. Just keep reading all the post to find ideas. From my experience, you need to go to the doctor armed with the info. It's like you have to tell them what to give you, instead of them telling you.

Also, I hate to say it, but from reading other CH's experiences and from my own, it seams no matter what you try only last awhile. You then have to switch to something else. For quick relief, the best for me is Imitrex & O2.

Welcome aboard Ron !!

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by phaserbank on Nov 30th, 2003, 12:28pm
Hey Ron...

Get a shower massage.  One with a "Jack Hammer" setting.  That's what I've been doing for about the last eight years.

I did the same thing you did.  Woke up with my skull about to split, and just kinda' wondered in to the shower.  I found the hotter the water, the better.  Usually takes about 10-15 minits, but it sure is a distraction until the peak goes away.

Good luck!

-Craig

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by armstrong on Dec 2nd, 2003, 10:10am
ron...

yeah man the shower thing definitely is a distraction...but its funny, sometimes im in the peak of my ha and i will blank out for like 1-2 minutes and then i feel the pain again.  and i try to remember for the life of me what i was thinking about to take my mind off of it hahaha.  my first cycle started in 97 and lasted until 2001...then i had 2 years off and my cycle just started right up in september.  the first 3 years i didnt take anything but tylenol...i was 19,20,21 and thought that i was just having god awful pain and id get through it...WRONG!!!  it seems the older i get the more of an exhausting effect its having on me.  go to the doc, get put on some 02 and imitrex injex...actually what im on now is indomethacin, verapamil, depakote, and a new nasal spray that came out last week (though i havent tried it yet).  its worked so far...i only get 1-2 k3's a day and they come and leave quickly...good luck!

timmy

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by thomas on Dec 2nd, 2003, 10:18am
I use the hot shower thing more as a preventive at night before bed.

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by routeman on Dec 2nd, 2003, 11:24am

on 12/02/03 at 10:18:02, thomas wrote:
I use the hot shower thing more as a preventive at night before bed.
[smiley=huh.gif]does it really work for you as a preventative????
:o

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by wip5150 on Dec 2nd, 2003, 4:39pm
I use a hot shower as a distraction and sometimes (but not often enough) it will actually abort the CH.  I think, more than anything, I feel better because I am "doing" something rather than just sitting and rocking back and forth like Pink in "The Wall".

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by thomas on Dec 2nd, 2003, 4:44pm

on 12/02/03 at 11:24:03, routeman wrote:
[smiley=huh.gif]does it really work for you as a preventative????
:o

Yeah along with some melatonin afterward and some prozac when I wake up and some magnesium with lunch.

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by routeman on Dec 2nd, 2003, 4:44pm

on 12/02/03 at 16:39:54, wip5150 wrote:
I use a hot shower as a distraction and sometimes (but not often enough) it will actually abort the CH.  I think, more than anything, I feel better because I am "doing" something rather than just sitting and rocking back and forth like Pink in "The Wall".

I hear you....i know the feeling...i dread mhy days off right now, that seems to be the time that I get them the most.

Title: Re: Has anyone ever tried this?.......
Post by Mark C on Dec 6th, 2003, 11:50pm
It's a good topic, has been discussed here (http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=medsarchive;action=display;num=1034216543) before.....me...I like it hot and hard. I have actually aborted attacks this way many times through the years before effective meds. I can still stave off a minor one this way.

PFDAN's
Mark



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