:) i am a 49 years of age been married for 28 of them  have four children 3 girls and a boy the oldest is 28 and the boy is 22 should say man realy ? i work full thim as a roof tiler / lead worker ,ive had ch for about 6 years in total, at first they told me they were mini strokes so was treated for that, for about three years had ct,mir scans ect finily could,nt see my doc ,went to see another one and she said that i might be having ch (at least some one knows some thing ) so at last about three years ago i started getting treated for ch, i have high blood pressure& high colestrel all under cotrol now i take 9 tablets a day warfarin 4.5mg
rosuvastatin 10mg
ramipril 10mg
verapamil hydrochloride 120 mg
bendroflumethiazide 2.5 mg
topamax 25 mg times four a day = 100 mg
oramorph 10 mg in a bottle take when needed

i think that about all i try to keep busy with work ect i seem to always get my ch in the early part of the evening,. hope you all have a good new year  be pain free as possible take care pete . ;)

Welcome to the board! The verapamil dosing is low for CH, is that primarily for CH or for blood pressure? Verapamil is a common prevent for CH but we go as high as 960 mg a day on it. Topomax is also a common CH prevent.

Have you had a chance to read the oxygen info tab on the left? 32 year episodic sufferer here, I can abort an attack in 6-8 minutes by huffing oxygen. Been a real silver bullet for many people on the board.

The early evening attack is common, often referred to as the "let down" attack. Staying stressed and "up" tends to keep the beast at bay. As soon as you relax, WAM!

You have much reading to do on this board. A well educated CH'er hurts a lot less! ;)

Joe

thanks for the quick reply i think the verapmil is for the ch as the blood pressure has been under control for some time now i have never had the chance to go on oxygen no one over hear has even suggested it??

Helpful to learn some of the basics about Cluster. Explore the buttons, left, starting with the OUCH site. Then these two pieces:

PDF file, below.




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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Why the morphine?

             Potter

Hello Pete and welcome to the board!

How do you find Topamax? I have just come off of it due to becoming stupidly forgetful and not being able to write without getting my words/letters mixed up! However it was a good med for me as it helped lower the amount of attacks I was getting :)

Hope you have a good New Year too!

PFDAN x

i was giving the morphine as a pain blocker (the first 3 years i had nothing the pain was so big i use to pass out ,) so i just went with the flow i seem to have a high pain barrier so i think but most nights it would reduce me to cry like a little baby when i could,nt stand it any more i only take it now at the start of the ch and at the moment it seems to do the trick but i can still feel the big one kick in when it at the highest point befor it leaves , as for the topamax i find that ok (touch wood) i have been free from ch for about 10 weeks now still had a head ake for the last 6 weeks but i can live with that so long as that bitch stays away i dont mind.   


this might not mean anything but i work with lead a lot ,ie. makeing lead bays  chimney trays flashings ect, but every thim i was working with lead ( no gloves) i use to get an attack but now i am being a bit more care full ib seem to be ok ..thanks again take care . ;)

I'd skip the morphine and use oxygen to abort.

Using the method described with the link on the left I average killing a CH in about 6 minutes without any of the side affects and addiction risks associated with morphine. Plus morphine is unlikely to effectively deal with the pain of a CH.

I'm right there with Mike. Morphine never helped me, nor did any narcotic, to ease the pain of a hit. It helped with the aftermath, some...but I learned to deal with the hit through good abortives, primarily O2. And I can't tell you the relief I felt when I first sniffed that O2 and it made the hit bearable. I cried with relief. So we know what you're going through. Do read as much as you can here. The info and this community are amazing. God bless! lance

One more here voting yes for hi flow 100% O2, no on the morphine.

I bet having a nice M tank of O2 to come home to in the evening could be really good for you - especially if there's  no evening beer or other alcohol involved, since that is a trigger for so many of us.

An unfortunate fact about CH and most doctors is that they know little to nothing about it or how to treat it effectively. Good luck finding ANY doctor who will volunteer hi flow 100% hi flow O2 - doctors are pretty universally ingorant on the O2 subject. This is why so many of us weren't getting very effective relief until making it to this site and taking advantage of the info and advice here. Many here just use welding O2 and skip getting a prescription from a doctor.


Peter - have you been episodic or chronic these past 6 years?

the first four and a half years have been cronic but now i seem to be in remission only had five bad attacks in the last year & half the last ten weeks nothing ??