hi there, im new to all this. i got diagnosed with cluster headaches a few weeks ago, after suffering a 6week bout. 3 weeks on and it seems to be coming back not to strong at the moment tho, anyone else had this? the pain is sometimes stong enough for me to scream. and to make me feel drowsy afterwards.  any help much appreciated

Sounds like you are in the early stages of CH. This can be the craziest time with trying to establish what your cycles will be like, length, intensity etc. The good news is, none of that matters. Once you know you have CH, you ALWAYS need to be ready to do battle. Getting caught unprepared hurts like hell! ;)

Do you have oxygen yet? A mandatory first try abortive. I went from 90 minute head banging attacks to 6-8 minute aborts just by huffing 02. Read the oxygen info link on the left as it must be used correctly to be effective. Been a miracle abortive for so many it's one you just have to try.

Imitrex injectables are expensive but when all else fails or I'm caught away from my 02 they're a great abortive. Imitrex nasal sprays work for many, the imitrex pills take too long to be absorbed to be of use to most of us.

Do you have a good preventative regimen? Verapamil is the usual first round try, I use Lithium. Topomax also has a faithful following. The idea with these meds is you take them daily, while in cycle, to cut down on the number and intensity of your attacks. Lithium will block 60-70% of my attacks.

For now keep a couple of energy drinks on hand. Rock Star, Monster, I prefer sugar free Red Bull for the taste, but any with the combo of caffeine and taurine will do the trick. Chug one of these at the first sign of an attack. Will abort or reduce an attack for many. Also useful for the shadow attacks when you can feel the beast hanging around but it doesn't go to full on attack.

For "alternative" methods of dealing with these check out   clusterbusters.com

Glad you found us, hoping we can help you out.

Joe

Welcome to the club that nobody wants to join, but you've found us and you'll soon have the knowledge to understand CH and to minimise their impacts plus have people who know exactly what it's like to go through what you're going through.

What you need to do is to start reading. There is a huge amount of info here, both via the links on the left hand side of the page and in lots of posts here.

You'll have lots of questions (I know I did), so ask away. You'll find that people will give lots of suggestions, answers and more that will make an impact.

It also sounds like your doctor didn't do much more than diagnose you. Once you're up to speed with things from here you need to start to educate your doctor. That way you'll end up getting much better results much quicker, which is what you need to happen.

hi at first i was on tramadol 50mg. then when i got diagnosed with ch they put me on verapamil, but that started giving me panic attacks after a few days, and messed up my heart rythem. i have the sumitriptan injesctions too. which help alot. been back to my neuro today and they put me on prednisolone 60mg then to taper down soon. but just read on the message boared how other people get put on theese steroids whilst taking a preventive. the docs have not mentioned anymore preventives. thanks for the advice about the redbull. i will stock my fridge up :)

Verapamil is a common first line prevent for CH and has a pretty good track record. Lithium is my prevent and is popular with many on the board. Topomax also has a lot of loyal fans.

Prednisone works one of 2 ways. For a lucky but small percentage, it will actually break a cycle. For the rest of us, it'll will block most if not all attacks while we're on it, but damn they come back with a vengeance when you go off.

While you're on the pred talk to your doc about 02 so you'll have a safety net when you go off the pred.

Jor

::)Yes Andy, the pain will make you scream sometimes. I usually end up saying "stop"!!! "please stop"!!!! Begging. And yes, I feel so drained after a severe attack, I usually go right to sleep if I'm at home. Maybe  you'll get straightened out soon.

andy_b wrote on Jul 26^th, 2010 at 12:51pm:

about the redbull. i will stock my fridge up :)

If you keep'em at room temp., you can chuggem faster.

Arde wrote on Jul 27^th, 2010 at 12:21am:

andy_b wrote on Jul 26th, 2010 at 12:51pm: about the redbull. i will stock my fridge up :) If you keep'em at room temp., you can chuggem faster.

And you can stash a few around the house, in the car, at work, etc, so they are always close to hand.