I have had these freakin headaches for about 14 years now.  I will go 2 or 3 years in between cycles, then the come back for a couple of months then go away again.  This time has been really bad.  4 or 5 times a day, but usually at the same times.  I have read a lot of the posts about not going to sleep, which really hit home.  Nights are the worst, to be woken up with your eyeball on fire.  It's no wonder they are called suicide headaches.  I know why, and I have to admit, when you are in the throws of it, anything sounds better than what I have been going through.  Imitrex works, but my insurance sucks and will only cover the 9 pills per month.  We you eat 2 a day, thats over quick.  I have been taking Excedrine Migraine which also helps, but I feel like I am going to vomit all the time.  It really messes with my system.  Motrin doesn't do squat, and asprin is also too hard on my body.  I have smoked pot until I drop with no effect.  I am about 3 weeks deep on this cycle and ready to try anything.  I just can't take the pain anymore.  Is there anything over the counter that works for anyone?

Ugh.  I'm so sorry you had to come looking for us again.
U mention you take OTC pain meds.  Those types of meds are met with very little success amongst us clusterheads.  Especially for me, any more than 2 pills of anything will be bad news.  Some do report that the caffeine in the excedrine helps them with shadowing.
Aside from the imitrex, do you use any other abortives?  Have you tried to use Oxygen?  You can read about oxygen use in the buttons to the left.  I think substantially more than half of us get total relief from oxygen at 15 to 30 litres per minute on a non-rebreather mask.
Also, the cocktail of melatonin and dyphenhydramine seems to be a godsend at night.  Doses range from 3 to 15mg of melatonin and 50 to 100 mg of dyphenhydramine (benadryl).  I started low and found terrific results.  Several years after I started, it still works well.  The only downside is that I am now dependant on the sleep aids.
Let us know what you have tried as a preventative too.

Welcome aboard!
B$

Good advice from the Monee man, those otc's will screw up your internal organs, stomach, liver etc., I know it's hard to think long term when your head is exploding but excessive doses of benign otc's like aspirin and tylenol can really screw you up long term. Get to a headache specialist and get going on a 2 pronged approach.

1: a good preventative, something you take daily to reduce frequency and intensity of your hits. I use lithium, other popular prevents are verapamil and topomax. Many more to read about on the med section.

2: a good abortive strategy. You have a head ache, now what? Oxygen should be your first line abortive. I can abort a headache in less then 10 minutes using only oxygen. High flow rate, 15 LPM or better, using a Non Re Breather Mask, started at the first sign of an attack. Other great abortives are imitrex injectables and nasal sprays. many others for you to read up on in the med section.

Nothing yet will cure them, no one pill will ease everything, but with an organized attack these things are very manageable. For now, try slamming a red bull or rock start type energy drink, any containing both caffeine and taurine, many can abort an attack or at least reduce the pain using these. Try taking melatonin before bed time, 9-12 mg a night 30 minutes before bedtime, many can avoid the night time terrors that way.

Now get yourself to a decent neuro.....trying to face these with only OTC's would scare the crap outta me!

Keeping you in our thoughts..

Guiseppi

Since i get them only every few years, I have not had to do a lot ofr research.  this episode has been way worse than any of the others that I can remember.  When they first started, it was only at night.  Now I am getting them during the day, and it's really causing problems.  As far as preventative goes, I did not know there is anything to prevent.  I have always been told you have to wait for it to start then take something.  My wife is picking something up from the pharm today for me.  the Dr prescribed something else since my insurance rats will cover half an imitrex every year or 2.  I will talk to my doc about the 02, he had mentioned something about it when I initially went to see him.  Can someone tell me what R.C seeds are?  I have access to shrooms and am actually quite fond of them.  I have not done them in years, but if it will break the cycle, I will do it.

Hi Shannon,
Go to START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE for some in depth info on the shroom therapy.  That method has also been met with good results from many.

What is it that is being picked up from the pharmacy?  

Shannon, I run without drugs but find Red Bull very effective for my occasional daytime hit.  Early morning hits I can resolve with a strong cup of coffee.  The trick is to slam the stuff down at the first indication of a hit.

Although O2 is not that effective for me (I find I can do almost as well by breathing very deeply), almost everybody here swears by it.  Even without insurance, it is inexpensive...I'm sure somebody will help you figure out how to go about it.  Heve you gone through the old message board - an absolute wealth of information.

I promised I would try schrooms when a cycle through again;; now may be the time...Kai

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

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)
================
Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute for another list of treatments and other articles:

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=========
MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $50 at Amazon.Com.  It covers all types of headache and is primarily focused on medications. While the two chapters on CH total 42-pages, the actual relevant material is longer because of multiple references to material in chapters on migraine, reflecting the overlap in drugs used to treat. I'd suggest reading the chapters on migraine for three reasons: he makes references to CH & medications which are not in the index; there are "clinical pearls" about how to approach the treatment of headache; and, you gain better perspective on the nature of headache, in general, and the complexities of treatment (which need to be considered when we create expectations about what is possible). Finally, women will appreciate & benefit from his running information on hormones/menstrual cycles as they affect headache. Chapter on headache following head trauma, also. Obviously, I'm impressed with Robbins' work (even if the book needs the touch of a good editor!) (Somewhat longer review/content statement at 3/22/00, "Good book....")

HEADACHE HELP, Revised edition, 2000; Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, $15. Written for a nonprofessional audience, it contains almost all the material in the preceding volume but it's much easier reading. Highly recommended.




 

Please be careful with the Excedrin - it will eat your liver.  Aspirin and Ibuprofen just eat your stomach lining.  Plus the rebounds are awful.  

Shannon_C wrote on May 29^th, 2008 at 7:39pm:

I have access to shrooms and am actually quite fond of them.

Call me a Doubting Thomas, but I find this comment very strange.
TomM

i was running out of money buying imitrex that way , look at your health care, most have it if you get a three month scrip, you can send it in to there place and they ship it to your door for the copay, mine was 20 dallors for 3 months , for 2 injections a day , also it sound like your useing it as a perventive drug , 100 mg pill will hold my headaces for 12 hours for the start , i used so much of the stuff at one time i should of been dead.

Hi Shannon, welcome aboard, there are wonderful people here. I'm a relative newcomer here myself though a wily veteran of this horrifying pain we all share.

I can't say enough about O2. I hadn't tried it until recently, and it most certainly works for me. Kills the most acute attacks in 15 minutes, although you need a minimum of 15 liters per minute flow. If your insurance won't help you on this, get some welder's oxygen. Read up on some of the posts on the old board. There are people here with vast experience with this who have helped me, and I'm sure they'll guide you as well.

My neurologist teaches at USC and has put me on Topomax. He contends that it's the latest therapy in terms of a preventive. The side effects, at least for me, are not pleasant, but after 2 weeks on what I gather from reading and his comments is not a terribly high dose (50 mg twice a day), I'm getting used to them. And it's finally aborting my headaches, keeping them down to a dull roar. If you can get it on your insurance please ask your doc about it. It's less expensive than Imitrex and, again at least for me, it works.

Keep us all posted. We're all pulling for you!

David