Hi all
I was just thinking, being as "shadows" is not a technical term, that it would be useful to each other if we were to write down what our individual perception of shadows is.

Here's mine , and I apologise to any one who has read this in a previous post ,as it is a direct copy.


What I perceive as shadows are all the symptoms of a ch hit but with either no pain or low levels of pain . My right eye starts to water, right nostril becomes blocked, the muscles around my right eye become stiff (like they would if you were out in a cold wind ) and I also get photo phobic on the right side , when I get some pain, it tends to be around my right eye and sometimes with points of pain around the right side of my head and the back of my neck, all though the pain is no worse than a mild "normal" run of the mill headache

God bless

Nigel

edit because I just noticed I'd hit the italics button , no need  :o

That is me exactly! I have had this since my last cycle back in dec 09 with some days worse than other's, but no major hits! I am confused about it as to say that I am chronic or episodic? any input?
thanks
anthony

Hey Nigel, good description but I would add that for me shadows, left untreated, will produce either a full CH or sometimes a migraine.  I have to chase the shadows or it is a precursor to something worse. Occasionally I will experience the sensation that my nose is broken as well. Blessings. lance

wimsey1 wrote on Jul 25^th, 2011 at 8:14am:

Hey Nigel, good description but I would add that for me shadows, left untreated, will produce either a full CH or sometimes a migraine.  I have to chase the shadows or it is a precursor to something worse. Occasionally I will experience the sensation that my nose is broken as well. Blessings. lance

That sucks! For me, Nigel's description is spot on, a CH that starts, and just never gets going. My shadows will generally go away by themselves left untreated. Excederin migrain will help if I'm away from my 02...(use Excederin VERY sparingly or risk rebound issues)

Joe

A Hot Coffee and Aspirin aborts these Shadows for me. But it also is a sign that a big CH is on the way.

After a year and a half of constant shadows (5-6 times a day) at no more than a k2, the last few days they've been pushing a k4.

Makes me wonder if I'm about to start my second ever cycle.

I'm not shore how I feel about that, on one hand it's no no not again and on the other it's an opportunity to carry on sorting out meds to kick it ass with.

Anyhoo Ive got several trex shots in the cupboard and I never leave home with out a supply of red bull .

My neuro prescribed gabapentin for me to try for my next cycle and I will be pushing my GP for O2 this time around, he seams like he knows a bit about CH as he diagnosed me on my first visit and prescribed verapamil and the trex shots after trying some migraine meds to check his diagnosis .

Sorry , rambling on again

God bless

Nigel

Wow, GABA is good for generalized and constant pain, but even at 3600mg/day it did not help me. Your experience will hopefully be better. It takes a while to build up so I guess give it some time. You should have a list of other prevents handy, though, in case this does not work. God bless. lance

Thanks Lance

My GP seams a little apprehensive about some of the other prevents which is why he sent me to a neurologist who prescribed the GABA .

It takes so long to get an appointment , if this dose become a full on cycle it will probably be over and done with by the time I get to see him again, just like last time .

So I plan to try and work with my GP best I can and may be print off some of Bob J's documents on other prevents to give him.

Here's hoping I'm just having a week or two of strong shadows.

God bless

Nigel

I call mine "aftershocks". After an attack it is like little lightning bolts going through the left side of my head and and occasional stab through my left eye. On other occasions I wake up as if I am hung over and that'll usually last an hour or so...

I always feel hung over after a hit even if only a strong shadow say a k4 ish

God bless

Nigel

I would call my shawdow, a h/a 'looming' in the wings..  sitting there waiting.... a 'tugging' on my eye..  it's sitting there waiting for you to do something to trigger the big one...   ghhhrrr

Done something really stupid today , I went to go out into the back garden and tried to walk through the door next to the open one, it gave my wife and my kids a good laugh but with that and  a k4 niggling away at me after a stinking hot days work in the full sun I didn't see the funny side. I went back into the dining room and grabbed a tissue to wipe the tears away only to find a large cut on my nose from my sunglasses.

Guess it was kinda funny though...in hind sight, but my nose hurts.

sorry that had nothing to do with this thread at all .

Err how about, don't walk into glass doors cos it makes shadows worse.

Nigel

Headache Boy uk wrote on Aug 3^rd, 2011 at 8:45pm:

Err how about, don't walk into glass doors cos it makes shadows worse.

OK, new preventive for shadows - walk through open doors. ;)

Mike NZ wrote on Aug 4^th, 2011 at 12:16am:

Headache Boy uk wrote on Aug 3rd, 2011 at 8:45pm: Err how about, don't walk into glass doors cos it makes shadows worse. OK, new preventive for shadows - walk through open doors. ;)

I didn't laugh...really I didn't!   Seriously, that sucks Nigel. :-[

Joe

Quote:

OK, new preventive for shadows - walk through open doors.

If only it were that easy

God bless

Nigel

Who knows what evil lurks within the hearts of men? The Shadow knows! He also knows what evil he can inflict on the heads of men (and women). Your description is right on, and its meaning is all too clear -- here comes trouble. Sorry to hear about the door incident. It seems sometimes one pain doesn't distract from another, but adds to the aggravation.

Hello all. :)
I'm new here, but definitely not new to cluster headaches. I've been having them for 8 years now.
I just wanted to say thanks for this description of shadows! I get these quite often, but never knew what to really call them. Shadows makes sense, lol. Every time I feel a shadow coming on, I get so afraid that a real headache is coming soon. Right now I'm at the beginning of a new cycle and I've been having lots of shadows throughout the day. I recently decided to keep a headache journal. Does anyone else do that?
Don't really know what else to say...besides thank you and I do hope to use this forum for support and learning new things.

Great description Nigel, although I think mines are closer to what Wendy describes.

To me, the shadow is like the 'demon', which is black smoke in my mind to begin with, hiding behind a tree in my front garden, ready and waiting to pounce. It is a presence, a looming, a darkness in my mind. It's not physical, there is no pain or droopy eye etc. I just have this overwhelming sense of impending doom.

A shadow can come and go, doesn't always mean a cluster is on its way. A shadow can also hang around for days before an attack, if one ever comes.

MG

My "shadows" tend to be painless for the most part, at least physically. It's kind of like a feeling like the veins in the side of my head are already a bit "over-sized" and puffed up just ready to go into overload when the real deal sets in. It's like whatever the physical manifestations that cause the actual excruciating pain that we feel are, whether it is truly directly caused by the dilation of the vessels in our heads or not, my shadows are those things sitting at the borderline or tipping scale instead of where they SHOULD be if I were like every other "normal" human being. They're teetering like a see-saw just waiting to tip just a little too far, and then all HELL breaks loose!

When the shadows start, it is preparation time. I do find that a strong black coffee generally aborts them; but still, it is time to get the oral prednisone lined up, the iced coffee in the fridge, the IV hidrocortisone explained and readied with your doctor and the oxygen organised (if like me you live in a country where it is a nuisance to arrange oxygen). Definitely keep a journal - you'll learn a lot. Definitely put up all lines of defence - the confidence of that will help a lot. Find what works for you, and then stick to it till the cycle has passed.

Thank You for your responses , I wrote this post to try and put a kinda general description of shadows on the board in the hope that others would ether agree or post there own , which people are doing .

being as the only definitive thing about CH is how much it hurts these descriptions are really helpful to people trying to figure out their condition and the terms used on this board.

I'm so happy that it is being found useful , it's good to give back to the place that has helped me so much over the last few years, thank you  to all on this board.

God bless
Nigel