Dealing with CH since 1987, I know it is so easy to fall into the sitting around an waiting for the next attack, talk about it to those that will listen, go to different doctors trying to find one that will "understand" what I'm going through, but when the attack hits, it becomes really about you and your attitude. I am new to 02, and oh what a relief. Should have done it years ago, but didn't want my wife to think I was a medical case - too much pride look like I was weak. - The main reason for this post - I was at a volleyball game last night, 02 in the car, imitrex in my pocket - armed for the bastard, then I watch a guy that was diagnosed with MS last Januuary - went to a cane, a walker, then a wheelchair in 8 months - we have head pain, that can, if your smart, be aborted - I was getting seriously depressed on the last hardcore round (5-8 hits a day) - worst ever, but was it ever as bad as the guy with MS - a good attitude is a must. Just been on my mind all day - so I thought I would share - Good luck all !

Very good post. What do they say,"It could always be worse" a couple of weeks ago I would have said it doesn't get any worse. In my case I always think yes it could be worse (of course right now Iam PF) I keep a positive attitude becuse I will not let this demon get in between me and the things I love.

Great post!!!

This can't be stressed enough. 

Thanks for sharing.

-Dennis-

Yes Your right!  A good attitude and good out look is the best
defense!!!  Yes it is a PAIN but it is just that!  We can enjoy
life in between and around hits.  Yeah, it blows big time and
disrupts life.  But, it could be so much different,  We could be
deployed in Afghanistan talk about having to look over your
shoulder for a beast to shoot!  Well there are so many things
we can compare it too, to make us feel good.  So, enjoy the
coming weekend PF or not it is life and be glad you have it!
because it is much better than the alternative!  Pushing up
daisy's everyday, would for sure get Boring!!!! 

Have a Gr8 Weekend,

Boski
Hope your all PF   ;) 

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:D

The positive mental attitude does wonders to stave off depression too, a real problem for many. Great post!

Joe

Great post and topic!

Good coping skills are a must especially when dealing with CH!

As indicated in the original post, a positive attitude works best when armed with real and tangible interventions. Yes, we need faith (a positive attitude, faith in a good Creator, a mindset that refuses to give in to the worst circumstances, etc) but we also need good medical procedure. Remember, all pain is personal and relative to my own life situation. So the combination of hope and real preventatives and abortives is critical. Always glad to see posts like this! lance

Totally agree. I am an avid cyclist and sometimes weightlifter. During my last cycle (which was my first "diagnosed" cycle), I found exercise helped a lot for both O2 uptake to abort pain and uplifted my mood, in general. I recommend exercise to anyone who can and has time to do it while in cycle. It's amazing how I go from kip 6 or 7 to nothing just by riding my bike. Plus, the increased lung capacity seems to help me take up O2 better in general. Everyone has their thing, whether it's yoga, cycling, running or some other activity; all I'm saying is you need to find that thing to help you through it, and maybe avoid the O2 tank or the trex shot a little while longer.

Positive attitude is part of my ch kit. :)

I know that the pain makes it harder to stay positive, but I still try, because it helps me. Ch brought depression into my life, which makes it even more important to keep my spirits up as much as I can so that it won't return.

Sanna

Amen. My sister just got diagnosed with MS, and is in the same boat as your friend in regards to how quickly its effected her. I too had my problem put in to perspective, when I considered how lucky I am in comparison.

I found meditation, and to some degree Buddhism, gave me some ability to be calm and positive while struggling with CH's.

Quote:

but was it ever as bad as the guy with MS - a good attitude is a must.

the good attitude is towards the o2 in the car and the imitrex in the pocket.not about the man in the wheelchair.If you can go to the volleyball game without the o2 and imitrex get hit,see this man and feel still the same...then you have a real positive attitude.
we live each one what we live.
this is how i understand it.

black wrote on Oct 2^nd, 2010 at 3:16pm:

Quote: but was it ever as bad as the guy with MS - a good attitude is a must. the good attitude is towards the o2 in the car and the imitrex in the pocket.not about the man in the wheelchair.If you can go to the volleyball game without the o2 and imitrex get hit,see this man and feel still the same...then you have a real positive attitude. we live each one what we live. this is how i understand it.

Black, I think you've mixed two different ideas together. I agree totally with your understanding of confidence, or hope, in real interventions and how that contributes to a positive attitude. But...how I feel toward someone else who is in pain, even if I am also....this is the true test of my compassion, and my ability to love others as I love myself. Who here, having suffered, can feel anything other than pain for someone else's suffering? The alternative is to become so narcissistically self-focused we become an alien to ourselves and to our society.

I can do both-have a positive attitude, and foster compassion toward others. This is how we make pain redemptive and not simply destructive. Blessings. lance

you are right.compassion is an expression,an action.
so the man in the wheel chair has really no idea about what we are talking as he probably never heard anything.
the rest as positive,negative attitude if it is just to measure our position,our rank in the place of things then its just self focused.
the world still remains the same as it is.

my grand mother when i was a child told me to eat all my food cause the children in africa where dying
from hunger.So i ate it all but the damn children where still dying.  :D

black wrote on Oct 4^th, 2010 at 11:09am:

my grand mother when i was a child told me to eat all my food cause the children in africa where dying from hunger.So i ate it all but the damn children where still dying.  :D

I ate it all, because I was hungry, and if my Grandma cooked it, it was good. ;)

black wrote on Oct 4^th, 2010 at 11:09am:

you are right.compassion is an expression,an action. so the man in the wheel chair has really no idea about what we are talking as he probably never heard anything. the rest as positive,negative attitude if it is just to measure our position,our rank in the place of things then its just self focused. the world still remains the same as it is. my grand mother when i was a child told me to eat all my food cause the children in africa where dying from hunger.So i ate it all but the damn children where still dying.  :D

I couldn't agree more. Compassion must result in action, not just sentimentality. And while we're on the subject, we must equally show compassion toward ourselves. Sounds contrary to what I said previously, but it's not. "Loving ourselves" so we can love others means to act in our own best interests rather than against them. This is why we seek the best alternatives to alleviate suffering from CHs, rather than the short term and ineffective pain interventions. Blessings! lance

Just to add on to this, one thing I always learned, as you all know, is that someone always has it worse. Even my CH is not half as bad as many of you here. I feel bad for those of you who have it worse, but I am grateful that I am not as bad as many. The second thing, which my wife always points out, is that I am a sufferer. I enjoy suffering physical pain. Perhaps it's years of sports, injuries, poking and prodding, and just my personality. I don't feel alive unless I'm suffering. I can tell you with CH, I feel very alive..... :P

Kind of Hemingway-ish, huh? Like running with the bulls too?
:D