Hello all, I self diagnosed myself last fall during my first ever visit from the beast. I don't know how I missed this site then, but glad I have found it  now.I have spent two days reading the messages boards and have certainly learned alot. I haven't been to a dr yet, but will try the water treatment and the red bull slam. I am extremely lucky that my ha's are ususally not worse than 6-7's , with lots of visits in the shadowland (which wear me down a bit).My only known triggers are sleeping ( oh, don't I woe that nap I tried to take on Monday !) and alcohol. I am pf today, thank God !  I love the sense of humor seen on the boards and the : I can beat it attitude ! Thanks all for being here. Cathyyosha@msn.com

Hi cathy,

   I, too...diagnosed myself.  Then I went to a Dr. had an MRI and saw one of the foremost Dr.s in this field in So. California.  Dr. Lee Kudrow.

Diagnosing oneself is fine as long as there is a follow-up with ones Physician to rule out other things. When you see your Doctor..please ask for a script for Oxygen, with a regulator that goes to at least 15  lpm and a non-rebreather mask.

The humor here?   It's all a front.   ;D

Linda

Hello, Cathy, and welcome aboard.

Hi Cathy,

Welcome to your 2nd home.  As the saying goes, I'm glad you are here but sorry you had to find us.


Linda_Howell wrote on Jun 4^th, 2008 at 8:30pm:

Diagnosing oneself is fine as long as there is a follow-up with ones Physician to rule out other things. When you see your Doctor..please ask for a script for Oxygen, with a regulator that goes to at least 15  lpm and a non-rebreather mask.

You are already reading.  That's great.  I have to 2nd Linda's sage advice on getting a medical opinion on your condition.  You should do it to rule out anything nasty and, if for not other reason, to get Oxygen.  No side effects and very effective for a lot of us.

Let us know how we can help...

-Dennis-

Hi Cathy - Welcome

I think a lot of people with CH figure it out before the Dr does. I think because the Dr spends about three minutes with us before deciding what we have, while the patient spends hours on line trying to figure out why we are in so much pain. They others are right, see a Dr for an official diagnosis.  I was so relived the day I finally got a diagnosis that made sense - after years of pain. Plus you'll be able to add more to your arsenal.

Of course, we have an "I can beat it attitude" (most of the time) We  survive one of the most painful things a human can experience over and over again. Hey we clusterheads can do anything  ;)

~Kris

Glad you found us, Lord knows you won't find a more comprehensive site in the world when it comes to "real life" information about CH. Get to a doc and demand a prescription for oxygen! ;) (starts to sound like a recording don't it???) Imagine feeling an a$$ kicker headache coming on, and being completely pain free less then 10 minutes later!!!(Now I sound like an info mercial!) Oxygen really is that miraculous for many of us. Hope it works as well for you, welcome to your new second home!

Guiseppi

Thank you all for your welcomes. I will get to a dr. I kept telling myself to pick up the phone today and start the search, but something kept stopping me. I went to my gp at kaiser last fall and let myself be treated with three rounds of antibiotics for sinusitus...had oral surgery...got glasses. By the third round of antibiotics the beast had left... the oral surgeon said, Gee, that shouldn't have been causing you that much pain." But, hey, I got bifocals without lines and now I don't have to keep looking for my readers.
Here's hoping I pick up the phone tomorow..I am probably in some sort of weird denial.  Thanks again, Cathy

Welcome, Cathy! :)

I'm glad you found us this time around. I hope that the beast will leave you alone shortly.

Wishing you PF time,
Sanna

Hi Cat, I'm pretty darn grateful myself for having stumbled upon this site.
I don't know any other clusterheads in real life, as I guess most here don't, so that was in that respect many a lonely years. And trying to explain it to the people around you for the 700th time is just not the same as meeting others who DO know the pain.

Maalstroom.