Hi I am quite new to this site - it is brilliant!  I have seen that a lot of people recommend Melatonin.  By far the majority of my attacks are during the night, starting around 1.30 - 2.00am lasting from 1 to 2 hours.  I'd prefer it to stay this way but it does leave me somewhat tired if I have an early start for work. Does anyone know that if I took Melatonin is there a likelihood that it would disrupt the pattern and shift the attacks to daylight hours?  I couldn't possibly do my work if I suffered daytime attacks.   Thankfully the only impact it has had on my working life so far is that I have cancelled flying due to a pretty solid weekend of attacks - whilst on the subject of flying - is cabin pressure likely to trigger an attack? 
Lastly, whilst I am ranting (I am just off the back of an attack and feeling pretty lively!) I know my wife is worried about my headaches and has been discussing it with my/her family - I know it is stressing her out that I won't talk to her too much about it, I just let her know how great it feels when I have got through the latest attack.  Does she really need to know more?  I am a bit embarrassed that this happens to me - I don't want anyone seeing me as being weak.  Many thanks.  This site really does help though!

I have not had melatonin "delay" an attack, what it does for me is eliminate the night time attacks.  I have always gotten both day-time and night-time attacks.  But getting a decent night's sleep helps me battle through the day.  You may have to adjust your dosage and I've found a combo of regular melatonin and timed release melatonin work the best for me when dealing with CH.

Having a supporter is not an embarrassment.   I've supported my husband of 28 years through 20 years of CH.  I'm sure she feels useless and scared and sad and dismal watching you go through what you do.

She may not feel your CH pain, but she feels another, just as valid pain.  She can't make it stop, and chances are she can't help you while you're in pain.

Send her here to read up on all that CH entails for both sufferers and supporters.  She'll find kindred spirits and shoulders to cry on or shout at.  She'll realize (like you did) that she's not alone and never has to go through this alone again.

She'll learn what to do and what not to do, how to help (even minimally) and learn to live between the hits, just like the rest of us.

Don't shut her out due to perceived embarrassment.  She needs us just as much as you do.  And we need her (and you) to add to our collected knowledge and compassion.  Would you be embarrassed by having cancer or lupus or a brain tumor?  CH is just as real and just as valid and just as  painful (if not more) than any of those conditions.  Please help us help her, and you to move beyond being seen as weak.  Clusterheads are the strongest people I know - and I now A LOT of them.

Knowledge is power.  This rare condition of ours is no exception.  You say she is stressed because you won't talk about it.  I can understand that and it really would behoove you to tell her everything you know and like Pat said...send her here where she can read and talk to other supporters who have doing this for decades.
Talking to her/your  family isn't going to do too much since most folks have never even heard of Cluster headaches, much less be able to help her. 

I guarantte that once she talks to others here and asks questions...she will stress a LOT less.

Like Agostino, melatonin only eliminates the nighttime attacks for me, it does not postpone them. If it did that, my cycles would become infinitely long. And they don't.

Have your supporter come here and read this:

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

I'm sure she'll become as great a supporter as I have in my bride (the wench, see above). At first she didn't know what to do or how to react. Now she knows that all I really need from her is to be in earshot, maybe grab me an icepack or an energy drink, and let me be alone. Then, most importantly, be there to hear me out if I need to bitch afterward (not AT her, but about IT).

I am very uncomfortable having anybody else see me getting hit, but it's nothing to be embarrassed about. I guess I just don't have to worry about how I look if there's nobody else in the same room.

Thanks all for your advice, I will give my wife the website address so that she can read up.  I think I will try the Melatonin - unfortunately my hits are increasing in frequency, seem to be getting one in the morning after the night before which looks more disruptive to life than they have been so far - not funny!!  >:(

Couple of things. Welcome to the board, damned glad you found us. I kept my wife in the dark for years about CH. She is a strong willed lass and eventually beat the door down to my doctor's office to get more info! Since then she has become the world's best supporter....well Brew will argue as will several others on the board that THEIR supporter is the best. My point is, a knowledgeable supporter is a tremendous blessing when it comes to lightening the CH load. It's too damned much to carry alone.

Just as important...melatonin is a useful medication for reducing or even eliminating night time hits. PLEASE tell me you have more! Oxygen to abort the attacks? Imitrex injectables as abortives? A good prevent like Verapamil, Lithium, Topomax? Have you tried energy drinks for attacks and shadows?

The old days many of us endured in the 70's and the 80's are the dark ages! :) There is so much available now to help us manage the beast. Let us know what you have, maybe we can make some suggestions to take back to your doc.

And get that lass onto the board. We've got a great bunch of supporters that'll adopt her and take danged good care of her, guaranteed!

Joe

Thanks Guiseppe, I have been prescribed Naproxen and Naratriptan.  The latter used to seem to work quite well (during my last bouts a couple of years ago - funny I was saying to my father in law 2 weeks before they started up again that I thought I was over it!).  I am also taking asproclear and codene - any time I have the slightest inkling that I may get a headache I pump myself full of everything I can. I haven't tried red bull yet but will get some in.  I am quite lucky at the moment I seem to be only getting hit every 36 hours as opposed to the normal 24 hourly hit, however, they are coming x2 in relatively quick succession (from what I am used to).  The worst thing is getting to sleep - the slightest pang (just a heart beats worth) - whether or not it turns into a full blown headache keeps me awake at the moment which is quite exhausting.  The only doctor at our surgery that understands this - an initially diagnosed it (when I thought it was a sinus problem) has a month long waiting list to see him.  I know that he suffers himself from either migraine or CH, so he is greatly interested.  When I first saw him 5 years ago he mentioned that o2 was emerging as an abortive so he is certainly clued up.  It will be a month until I get to him so I have to stick with the drugs they have given me plus what I can get over the counter - I think the aspro clear helps get the other drugs into the bloodstream more quickly than just water - presumably red bull would do the same.  Doesn't the red bull keep you awake afterwards though?  Under normal circumstances I avoid it as it makes me buzz!

Red Bull actually doesn't have that much caffeine in it.  It is the combo of the caffeine and the taurine that is what helps us CH'ers. Not a cure all by any means but chugged at the first sign of an attack, it will abort or really reduce a hit for many. Some will keep an open can in the fridge so it loses it's fizz and can be chugged easier. Speed is really of the essence!

Joe

Guiseppi wrote on Jul 30^th, 2010 at 6:04pm:

Red Bull actually doesn't have that much caffeine in it.  It is the combo of the caffeine and the taurine that is what helps us CH'ers. Not a cure all by any means but chugged at the first sign of an attack, it will abort or really reduce a hit for many. Some will keep an open can in the fridge so it loses it's fizz and can be chugged easier. Speed is really of the essence! Joe

It has as much caffeine as a medium-strength cup of coffee, dude. For people who are ultra sensitive, it'll keep you up 'til dawn if taken at 3:00 a.m.

Guiseppi wrote on Jul 30^th, 2010 at 6:04pm:

Red Bull actually doesn't have that much caffeine in it.  It is the combo of the caffeine and the taurine that is what helps us CH'ers. Not a cure all by any means but chugged at the first sign of an attack, it will abort or really reduce a hit for many. Some will keep an open can in the fridge so it loses it's fizz and can be chugged easier. Speed is really of the essence!

I suspect that the fizz also helps it absorb into the bloodstream quicker.

Have you ever noticed how sparkling wine goes to your head quicker that still wine, even though it's the same percentage alcohol?

Similarly, if you drink an alcoholic drink through a straw it too is absorbed quicker, although I've not tried doing this with a Red Bull yet.

Good point. Alcohol which is carbonated, (champagne for instance) is absorbed into your system faster then wine which is not carbonated. May be a good reason to keep the fizz in the energy drink when you chug it! ;)

Joe

I also try to hold the last mouthfull of the drink in my mouth for a few seconds too as the mouth has a lot of blood vessels very close to the inside of the mouth, which should make it absorb things quicker.

This is based on the reason why people snort cocaine or snuff as there is a similar concentration blood vessels in the nose.

Hi LutonEd, welcome to the board. Sorry I missed your earlier posts. Few comments that I have for you:

The naproxen is an NSAID which can be both hard on your stomach long term and takes too long for your body to absorb it to deal with the CH of the moment.

Same for codeine and( if the other meds you mentioned are painkillers) any other pain killer.

For fast and effective way to abort a CH read up on the oxygen info we have here. Imagine 15 minutes being pain free without feeling loopy afterwards. Imitrex is also a self-injecting shot you can take for times when you are out and about without an oxygen tank.

My husband Guiseppi has been able to get on with his life since O2 came along. He takes lithium as a preventive once he goes on cycle. Then he uses O2 and Imitrex for those that break through.  Please read messages posted in the treatments and meds area.

In terms of support, what others said is true. When I didn't understand this condition I was frustrated by the drugs, the missed opportunities when we had to cancel plans etc. I had the phrase "Joe's having one of his headaches" as an explanation for everything. Now I know how to recognize when he's getting hit, or I notice he's disappeared (he also prefers privacy) and I take him a red bull and an icepack. I don't say anything, and I leave him be because that's what he prefers.

I'd suggest you speak with your wife about what you do and don't like during an attack. That way she knows what she can do to help. Watching someone suffer is nearly as agonizing as suffering, at least it is for me.

And be sure to show her this section of the board for supporters where we can help support each other too. MosaicWench and I have become great friends through this (and others too) and we help each other too when our loved ones are suffering.

Take care and again, welcome.

LutonEd wrote on Jul 28^th, 2010 at 10:59pm:

I am a bit embarrassed that this happens to me - I don't want anyone seeing me as being weak.

I'm just going to interject here and ask you if you think that someone having a broken leg is weak because they sit down alot or use crutches.  Is a person with a asthma weak because they can't breathe when moving fast or exercising?

Your CH is biological.  It is not a choice.  It is nerve endings and blood vessels.  You cannot ignore it or will it away.  It is in your body and, while it is in your brain, it is not (only) in your mind.

You are not weak.  Anybody who lives with this is sooooo not weak...

Do heed the advice on O2. For your wife and other supporters, I have come up with this list I do want from those closest to me:

1.  Take a little time and read this website; I am neither crazy nor suffering from a hangnail.
2.  Assist me with abortives when the pain is too great for me to be able to think straight.
3.  Shield me from "unwanted" outside contacts who may not like my "dance with the beast."
4.  Remind and encourage me to continuously evaluate the preventatives I am taking, and to seek out other, better ways to deal with this.
5.  Talk to me; don't let me sink into a black hole pity party which so easily comes.
Blessings! lance

wimsey1 wrote on Aug 2^nd, 2010 at 8:10am:

Do heed the advice on O2. For your wife and other supporters, I have come up with this list I do want from those closest to me: 1.  Take a little time and read this website; I am neither crazy nor suffering from a hangnail. 2.  Assist me with abortives when the pain is too great for me to be able to think straight. 3.  Shield me from "unwanted" outside contacts who may not like my "dance with the beast." 4.  Remind and encourage me to continuously evaluate the preventatives I am taking, and to seek out other, better ways to deal with this. 5.  Talk to me; don't let me sink into a black hole pity party which so easily comes. Blessings! lance

Wonderful list, Lance.

I'm with the Wench Lance, great "instruction sheet" for the care and handling of a CH'er! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Joe

Wimsey, I love your list.  Thank you for the insight -- you hit the nail on the head 5 times!

Lance that's awesome! That is SOOOO right on!

wimsey1 wrote on Aug 2^nd, 2010 at 8:10am:

Do heed the advice on O2. For your wife and other supporters, I have come up with this list I do want from those closest to me: 1.  Take a little time and read this website; I am neither crazy nor suffering from a hangnail. 2.  Assist me with abortives when the pain is too great for me to be able to think straight. 3.  Shield me from "unwanted" outside contacts who may not like my "dance with the beast." 4.  Remind and encourage me to continuously evaluate the preventatives I am taking, and to seek out other, better ways to deal with this. 5.  Talk to me; don't let me sink into a black hole pity party which so easily comes. Blessings! lance

Great supporters cheat sheet Lance!!  8-)