I need help i need more knowledge of cluster headaches ive been having them for 5 years and out of those five years four years i suffer not knowing they were cluster headaches. Last year i was diagnose with cluster headaces. I need help this pain is to much ive been having a cluster since October 2009 and the pain hasnt gone away. I cant take it anymore im tired and i cant afford going to da doctor i just cant stand it anymore. Every year they keep getting stronger and they keep lasting longer why??????

Have a redbull.

              Potter

Welcome....

Can you let us know what prescribed meds you are currently taking. Slamming a redbull at the onset of an attack is a cheap and effective method for many on this site.

Read the oxygen section to the left of your screen, I can abort an attack within 5 mins using this method. If finances are a problem ask questions about welders 02 as this is another cheaper alternative.


Good luck Bro...


Lefty...!

Ice packs help a little too and caffeine! Hope this ends for you soon.

Sending along an excellent article to help you get a handle on CH and some treatment guidelines.

Re. a doc: Call your local hospital and speak with the social work office about free/low cost options; ditto with your local United Way office.

Folks here will suggest some of the favorite low cost treatments and you can explore the section of messages on advice/recommendations. Explore the OUCH site (left buttons) for alternatives.
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Cluster headache.
From: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE (Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases)
[Easy to read; one of the better overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article--link, line above--if you are serious about keeping a good medical library on the subject.]

Leroux E, Ducros A.

ABSTRACT: Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disease characterized by recurrent short-lasting attacks (15 to 180 minutes) of excruciating unilateral periorbital pain accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic signs (lacrimation, nasal congestion, ptosis, miosis, lid edema, redness of the eye). It affects young adults, predominantly males. Prevalence is estimated at 0.5-1.0/1,000. CH has a circannual and circadian periodicity, attacks being clustered (hence the name) in bouts that can occur during specific months of the year. ALCOHOL IS THE ONLY DIETARY TRIGGER OF CH, STRONG ODORS (MAINLY SOLVENTS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE) AND NAPPING MAY ALSO TRIGGER CH ATTACKS. During bouts, attacks may happen at precise hours, especially during the night. During the attacks, patients tend to be restless. CH may be episodic or chronic, depending on the presence of remission periods. CH IS ASSOCIATED WITH TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION AND NEUROENDOCRINE AND VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCES, HOWEVER, THE PRECISE CAUSATIVE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNKNOWN. Involvement of the hypothalamus (a structure regulating endocrine function and sleep-wake rhythms) has been confirmed, explaining, at least in part, the cyclic aspects of CH. The disease is familial in about 10% of cases. Genetic factors play a role in CH susceptibility, and a causative role has been suggested for the hypocretin receptor gene. Diagnosis is clinical. Differential diagnoses include other primary headache diseases such as migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania and SUNCT syndrome. At present, there is no curative treatment. There are efficient treatments to shorten the painful attacks (acute treatments) and to reduce the number of daily attacks (prophylactic treatments). Acute treatment is based on subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. Verapamil, lithium, methysergide, prednisone, greater occipital nerve blocks and topiramate may be used for prophylaxis. In refractory cases, deep-brain stimulation of the hypothalamus and greater occipital nerve stimulators have been tried in experimental settings.THE DISEASE COURSE OVER A LIFETIME IS UNPREDICTABLE. Some patients have only one period of attacks, while in others the disease evolves from episodic to chronic form.

PMID: 18651939 [PubMed]
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Here is a link to read and print and take to your doctor.  It describes preventive, transitional, abortive and surgical treatments for CH. Written by one of the better headache docs in the U.S.  (2002)
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Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute for another list of treatments and other articles:

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See the PDF file below for good material.

 

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You ae not alone, there are over 7,000 people on this message board that also suffer from CH's.  We do understand your pain and frustrations.  Some of us have the luxury of health insurance and some do not.  Some of us have episodic CH's and some of us have chronic CH's.  Each of us have our own remedies, as our individual bodies react differently.  However, you are not alone.  Come here to vent.  Come here to research as much as you can so that you can effectively speak to ANYBODY about this neurological headache disorder.  We are here for you!!!

What lefty said about the O2. Info here: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

There are cheap, natural  CH treatments that just grow out in the wild. Such as Rivea Corymbosa seeds, etc. that besides the info in posts on this board, you'll find more about at clusterbusters.com and their message board.

Searching "RC seeds" (as they are often called) where you'll find posts like these START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGEmight be a place to start in the new Google search box here.

Thank you for your support I really appreciated and i will take action I take this medication  1. Gabapentin 300mg cap.
2.Hydrocodone   3 Butorphanol Tartrate nasal spray.
The nasal spray really works you guys i mean it will take the pain away imediately  the only thing is dat its expensive and its a little bottle but it really helps you guys should talk to your doctors about the nasal spray. the other pill dont do crap. I love you guys cuz i live with my mom and she always thinks im faking it. SHe knows i got cluster headaches but she thinks im just a drama king. Sometime i tell her to please hold my hand during an attack and she rejects me man dat really hurts more than the attack. Im just tire I have dreams of one day getting married but this headaches get in da way. I have lost many jobs cuz of the headaches but i still fight the good fight and i will never give up

ddcx3 wrote on Feb 6^th, 2010 at 4:32pm:

Thank you for your support I really appreciated and i will take action I take this medication  1. Gabapentin 300mg cap. 2.Hydrocodone   3 Butorphanol Tartrate nasal spray. The nasal spray really works you guys i mean it will take the pain away imediately  the only thing is dat its expensive and its a little bottle but it really helps you guys should talk to your doctors about the nasal spray. the other pill dont do crap. I love you guys cuz i live with my mom and she always thinks im faking it. SHe knows i got cluster headaches but she thinks im just a drama king. Sometime i tell her to please hold my hand during an attack and she rejects me man dat really hurts more than the attack. Im just tire I have dreams of one day getting married but this headaches get in da way. I have lost many jobs cuz of the headaches but i still fight the good fight and i will never give up

         Lose the hydrocodone and the stadol they don't work as well as oxygen does. Get oxygen at a high flow rate.  Move out of your mom's basement.

            Potter

That last comment from VietVet2Tours was overly harsh and uncalled for IMO, but I'll agree about the Stadol and Hydrocodone.

Glad that you've found some relief, but I'm afraid we're talking about some seriously addictive opiates here, and you'll find that it is unanimous amongst CH sufferers who have tried many treatments that these are not good long term solutions at all.

Hopefully you can get some O2 soon and can drop these particular drugs from your arsenal.

If your mom is online, maybe you could get her to read a sentence or two at one of the many legit medical sites like this one:

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that describe CH as "one of the most painful conditions known to mankind with female patients describing each attack as being worse than childbirth".

Unfortunately we all have run into people just like your mom,and I hate to say it, but get used to it. We'll always support you here though.

I was prescribed some heavy duty narcotic pain meds at the onset of my last cluster and the only thing they did was make me depressed when I could not refill anymore. They DID NOT help with a severe CH attack at all. Like the others said get some O2 and triptans. Good luck!

Curious. You have been getting CH for 5 years. How old are you now and how long have you been on the current med protocol?

I'm a little confused by your post.  Have you had one continuous headache since October 2009 or a series of headaches since then?  Also, you say you can't afford to go to the doctor, but you are on meds.  Who's paying for them?

Quote:

SHe knows i got cluster headaches but she thinks im just a drama king. Sometime i tell her to please hold my hand during an attack and she rejects me

Yeah well.........

How old are you?