Hello all...thank you for your kind responses to my quick post about depression.  Let me introduce myself.
I am 32, have a 5 year old boy, live with my fiance and I had just started going back to school after a 10 year absence...got diagnosed with severe ADHD this summer, and started meds for the first time- now I was blazing awesome and top of my classes!  And then the beast hit.

It started low, you know, so I thought I was having sinus allergy stuff...or the barometric pressure headaches me and my sisters get, or a stress migraine...then a few weeks later I get the stomach flu- so a few weeks go by before I start to realize something is wrong...by this time, my doc has tried everything, and she introduces me to my new best friend- cluster headaches.  I had never heard of them before, and I wish I never had.

Now it's too late to drop classes and I'm going full time.  AND, between peaks, I'm still having migraine symptoms- nausea, light and sound sensitivity, etc.  This happened once before (that I am aware of) about three years ago, and yup, it lasted about 6 months then, too. Had every test done they could think of, but no one EVER mentioned CH.  They just said it was stress!   

So I'll tell ya, we've tried everything- even oxygen (helped for five minutes, got the beast to let go of my eyeball, but the pain came right back.)  Nothing helped.  But I started the clusterbusters treatment, and it seems to be working wonderfully...except I found out that when you are trying to abort an ongoing cycle, you HAVE to repeat the process again every five days at LEAST three times;  I tried it, and was PF for two glorious weeks- but it came back with a vengeance.  So I found out that I was supposed to dose two more times to really "reboot" my hypothalamus...so, here I am again- I tried the RC seeds this time, and had no ill side-effects, and the cluster AND the migraines were completely gone for four days- but now I'm getting shadows, so I'm going to dose again tonight.

It's been about 6 months of torture.  my body is worn out.  my soul is worn out.  I feel like a wrung-out dishrag.  There is absolutely no joy in my life.  Yes, I see a therapist- he is wonderful- and he's helping me get through this...but even he admits that this is just so much more than anyone should have to go through!! 

And I am sooooo behind in my schoolwork...my brain is just mush...but I already find comfort here with you guys, who know what it's like- because you just can't explain it to someone who hasn't been there.  Even my sisters, who have chronic migraines, just don't get it.  They say "you need to get rid of the stress in your life."  Oh, so, I should what- quit school and give my kid up for adoption?!?  Or, "can't you just get some strong painkillers and go lie down?"   Sheesh. They didn't believe me three years ago, either- at least this time I have a real diagnosis I can show them.

I'll tell you this, though- the only meds that have made any kind of a dent in it is Adderall (dextroamphetamine.)  I was on 70mg Vyvanse, a time release amphetamine, but I am highly drug tolerant and it was wearing off in 3 hours instead of 12, so they switched me to 20mg of the dextro to take several times a day.  Well, i noticed that the only time I felt better was in the mornings when my meds have the highest effect (you get a temporary tolerance to it, so the third dose of 20mg acts half as strong as the first dose that day.)  So I said wtf! and started taking 40mg every three hours...and it really did take a bite outta the beast.  And when I added on some Dramamine (non-drowsy formula,)  I could cut some of the nausea too, and make it through the day (relatively) better.

I've also been on Zoloft for anxiety (related to my ADD) but I had to cut that out for the clusterbuster treatment, because SSRI's will totally negate the effects of any other seratonin receptor antagonists, which explains why I was the only person at the party NOT "having fun" last year, wink wink...I was like, did I get all the duds??

Anyhoo, thanks for letting me rant...I'm glad to have company here in purgatory, harhar...  I'm trying to keep my spirits up, but I'm just so WORN OUT...mostly I just NEED to be LISTENED to, ya know?!?  I just need to be understood.  And believed.  thank you for that.
-Paige

Hello Paige,
     Sorry to hear you are going through this.

Have you tried Prednisone and Verapamil yet?  Search the threads for info on these.  Seems to work for many of us.

Also check out the info on oxygen.  You may not be using it correctly.  I had that problem several years ago and just recently got educated by the fine folks here.  It works for me now.  In a nutshell, you must have a non-rebreather mask at 15LPM flow rate.

                                 Best of Luck To You
                                        JPC

Wotcha Radar,

Welcome to the site (I'm a n00b myself). Thanks for sharing with us your experiences.

In the short space of time that I have been a member of this board (like all of 2 days now) I have come to realise what an amazing set of compassionate, funny and (not the least) intelligent people populate these boards. There will *always* be someone here to listen to you and share your pain.

Take care bud,

Ade.