I hate CH. I hate CH. I hate CH. I HATE CH!

I'm a 20 year old female, just trying to live a normal life... I've had CH since i was 14, episodes get worse and worse as I get them... I've had 6 episodes so far, ranging from 2 - 6 weeks long, and from 3 months - 1.5 years apart. My last episode I used about 60 injections of imitrex (i know, totally not healthy but when you're being hit who cares??). Anyways ... this is my point..

My last two episodes were January of 2009 and then in June of 2009. That was the shortest length of time I've ever had in between episodes. My episodes are usually at least a year apart. BUT, a week before I got my episode I experienced EXTREME excitement because my boyfriend was coming home for R&R from Iraq. I mentioned that to my neuro when I visited him during that episode, and he said that might be a possibility in the onset... but he had no clue.

Anyways, it's time for my boyfriend to come home for good and here I am experiencing this extreme excitement ... like, I can't sleep and every other minute my heart beat changes and it really is just .. extreme. But you know what sucks?? I feel shadows coming and I'm almost certain that in a day or two I'm going to be back in an episode.

Anyone else onset cycles from extreme emotions? I've read that anger and anxiety "may" cause CH, but nobody knows for sure... so someone tell me I'm not crazy... :(

Not getting regular sleep messes with my head at times......

I'm almost certain that it doesn't have anything to do with my sleeping schedule because there are times when I get 4 hours a night and then I'll get 10 hours the  next night... I'm a college student and that in itself is explanatory. I just think its really bizarre that these episodes start after Ive been extremely excited for a week or two. Oh well.

Excitement is probably a lot like stress......which works differently for different people. For some, staying constantly stressed keeps the beast at bay, as soon as they relax, BAM! For others, like me, prolonged periods of stress will bring on an attack, if I'm in cycle, but causes me no problems out of cycle. I'll warn you, trying to figure cause and effect with this stuff is next to impossible as it seems to morph at will.

More importantly, besides Imitrex, what do you use? Do you have an effective prevent med you take while on cycle? Have you tried oxygen? 31 years with the beast and oxygen has all but eliminated my use of Imitrex. It's cheap and doesn't bugger me up like the trex did.

Joe

PS: Give the beau a hug for us and thank him for his service, it's deeply appreciated! ;)

Verapamil, Depakote and Topamax didn't do anything for me except make my feet tingle and make my blood pressure extremely low. I'm taking prednisone starting today, trying to see if I can abort this cycle.

I'm going to ask for Lithium and taper up on that with my prednisone. I have oxygen but it's so hard to carry around an oxygen tank around a college campus and at work. I use the oxygen anytime I'm at home though.

Hope the pred breaks it for you, for  a small percentage, the prednisone will abort the cycle. Those goofy "soccer mom" chairs that come in their own little carry bag? The chair bag is just the right size for an E-tank, an incognito way to smuggle it with you. Crossing my fingers the pred does the trick and you can start enjoying college life again. ;)

Joe

Stop getting so excited.

Get o2 ;D, it makes you kinky  ;D

Kim D wrote on Dec 29^th, 2009 at 12:04am:

..... My last episode I used about 60 injections of imitrex...(

I suppose you use the imitrex tip (seen in the links to the left) that cuts your risk in half or more and at least doubles your supply?


Kim D wrote on Dec 29^th, 2009 at 12:04am:

... I've read that anger and anxiety "may" cause CH, but nobody knows for sure... ..

I have my doubts that excitement would cause an earlier than expected episode. It certainly is very common for remission times between episodes to become inconsistent and unpredictable.

Quote:

Anyone else onset cycles from extreme emotions?

Onset cycles? No

Trigger an attack? Yes.

Especially anger and/or frustration

Guiseppi wrote on Dec 29^th, 2009 at 1:12am:

Excitement is probably a lot like stress......which works differently for different people. For some, staying constantly stressed keeps the beast at bay, as soon as they relax, BAM! For others, like me, prolonged periods of stress will bring on an attack, if I'm in cycle, but causes me no problems out of cycle. I'll warn you, trying to figure cause and effect with this stuff is next to impossible as it seems to morph at will. Yup.... More importantly, besides Imitrex, what do you use? Do you have an effective prevent med you take while on cycle? Have you tried oxygen? 31 years with the beast and oxygen has all but eliminated my use of Imitrex. It's cheap and doesn't bugger me up like the trex did. DOUBLE yup...... Joe PS: Give the beau a hug for us and thank him for his service, it's deeply appreciated! ;) TRIPLE yup.....

Thanks Joe.

Trust me, I would stop getting excited if I could control it.. but you know how it is!

No, my doctor prescribed 4mg shots and I used those. For some reason my insurance allows me up to 60 shots in a month. I'm not complaining.

Who knows about the excitement... I surely dont. :(

Ok so I was a wize guy... Really get o2 and forget the rest of the drugs. So far as i can tell all of these drugs are bad for you in a long term way.

o2 is the least of the long term problems, and it works with a little effort.

Kim, I'm in my 30's now but like you I'm a female who has been getting CH since 14.  If you're like me, your painfree intervals will get longer in your mid-twenties.  I used to get them every year too--it stinks.
That said, extreme emotional stuff does seem to contribute to CH for me, although they also seem to adhere to a strict schedule so who knows?
If you're getting shadows you're not necessarily doomed to get them.
My advice may seem strange, but what I recommend is that you, first chance you get, walk 2-3 miles.  Do this until there are no more shadows at night.  It may work in a day.  I was able to "stop" a cycle I felt coming on--sustained shadows keeping me up for hours--by walking. 
Also, you do need to somehow try to stay calm.  Don't worry about the shadows.  Try to stay calm.  Calm the mind.  That is how you are going to ward off the headaches.  Just try to relax and don't worry.
Good luck, I hope that you stay painfree.

Also, if you are not sleeping at night, you gotta try to get sleep, that may correct what is going on with the shadows.  Last time when I had to combat the shadows with brisk walking during the day, I had been up for an entire night with no sleep and then had trouble sleeping the next night. 
Melatonin is a good natural sleep aid but you may want to consult with your doctor before using it.