Welcome.

I haven't forgotten what it's like to be new to these.  The pain is not only extremely intense--it's frightening.  It really is unlike anything else, not only in its magnitude, but in the way it "feels".

I know how difficult it is, but approaching the thing calmly is the best way.  Try not to get upset.  It won't kill you, and it more than likely won't do you any permanent harm.  It just is.

If you are episodic (and chances are that you are--somewhere around 90 percent of us are episodics) it will eventually go away.

Unfortunately, there is no "typical" time period for episodic CH.  Perhaps it will last a couple of weeks.  Could be 6-10 weeks.  Could be longer.  The best advice I've ever seen here is to take it one day at a time, one hit at a time.  Enjoy your painfree time, and deal with it when it comes.  Get hit, live anyway.

As far as practical approaches go, ask your doctor to look at preventives for you, as well as abortives.  (The imitrex nasal spray you're taking is an abortive--kills one headache at a time.)  Most people have discovered that imitrex injectables are more effective and faster-acting than the nasal spray.  Preventives are intended to "prevent" attacks, and are typically used in concert with abortives.  They include verapamil and lithium. 

Read the "oxygen info" in the link to your left.  Oxygen, properly administered, is an extremely effective abortive for around 70 percent of us.

Discuss the possibility of a prednisone taper with your doctor.  Prednisone is often used in conjunction with preventives, and seems to act to stop the attacks until the preventive kicks in.  It's not for extended use, however.

I'm hoping that Bob Johnson and others will weigh in with links to accepted treatment protocols for CH.

Read, read, read.  There are hundreds of years of accumulated experience with CH and with the medications used to treat it here.

And again....welcome home.

Best wishes,

George

Start by learning!
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.
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Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or Dr. Robbins site. Then explore the entire site by deleting
everything following. com/ and then hit enter.
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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)
 
Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or

At the onset of the headache grab a can of Red Bull and down it - that helps a lot of us (the caffeine and taurine) or a strong cup of coffee (or several cups).

O2 with a non rebreather mask (at 15+ liters a minute) works for "most" of us as an abortative.

Melatonin at night (12-15mg) works for a "lot" of us to help us get thru the night hits.

A good "preventative" is what it sounds like you need - you've been given the links - read up on them and talk it over with your doc.

Read Read REad... Go to the doc with information and DISCUSS these things. You are your best advocate. But you must be informed. You do the research and THEN disucss with your doc. He/she doesn't have the time to research and probably doesn't know that much about CH.

Keep us informed.

Hugs BD

sosomatt1123 wrote on Jun 9^th, 2008 at 11:45am:


I've not seen much convincing evidence that they have anything to do with allergic reactions.  Stress is interesting--some report that stress can trigger CH attacks, and many others report that the RELIEF of stress can trigger an onslaught.  In my personal experience, I've not noticed that stress had much to do with them either way.

The actual cause is unknown, although good evidence suggests that it may have something to do with a malformation of the hypothalamus in the brain. 

Please take a look at:

Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or

And follow the links there.  You may find much useful information about the condition.

Again--read, read, read.

Best wishes, and hang in there,

George