I'm 52 and about 1.5 weeks into a cluster.  I get the clusters less than once a year recently, it was more often when they started, 20 years ago.  My typical cluster is ~2 weeks with ~ 1 to 2 headaches a day.  I may have gotten to Kip9 once or twice, Kip8 perhaps 15% of the time (including last night), otherwise Kip 7 or 6 is my typical (and I am very grateful for that).  

I spent the first 6 years thinking I must have mold in my house and it was giving me headaches intermittently.  Then I moved and they showed up in the new place!  Doctors were useless, I was diagnosed with "atypical migraines."  I have to say my relatively low exposure to them kept me from going to doctors a lot, maybe they would have figured it out.  But I finally figured it out once the web finally got invented.  

I have a neurologist apointment tomorrow, since i got three headaches nuking ~4 hours sleep last night, I'm going for the gold.  Or rather the drugs and the O2.  I hope to come away with prednisone, lidocaine, and O2.  We'll see what the dr thinks.  As it stands, my sister "loaned" me some percoset, which I fogot about until at nearly 4 AM the 3rd headache was starting (with perhaps 40 minutes of shadow after 2nd one "ended.")  I don't know if it was the percoset or if I was just finally done for the night but boy did I sleep good... for about 3.3 hours when my wife woke me to see if I was driving the offspring to school.  Boy did it feel good to wake up pain free!  

So Percoset tonight (as needed) hopefully prednisone, O2, and lidocaine tomorrow!

I am so grateful that this site exists.  I have printed off the medical treatment stuff so I know what and how to ask for stuff tomorrow.  


Mike

Talk to your doctor about prophylactic treatment like Verapamil; he may put you on a prednisone taper too.  Read through the site; pain meds are not recommended for CH.  Regular NSAIDS are not effective, either.  Try Melatonin; I take 10mgs a half hour before I go to bed and after doing that for less than a week, I haven't had a night hit.  O2 is great and effective.

Good luck!

Mike,

How did the appointment go? Do you feel like you are going to make some progress?

Good or bad - let us know how you are doing.

Marc

I had the appointment on Friday and it is now Monday. 

I got Verapamil, Relpax, and Melatonin.  I got a prescription for Oxygen but seem to be having a hard time getting that filled.  Any suggestions, especially from anyone in San Diego (esp North county) would be appreciated on how to actually get my hands on some oxygen. 

Friday I had only one midnight headache which seemed to abort with a 40 mg Relpax.  I thought wow, that was fast, I've got things semi-licked. 

Saturday nowhere near as good.  Up for about 3 hours midnight on, took 2nd 40mg Relpax about 1.5 hours in and took the Percoset then as well. 

Last night was the best yet by far, maybe the verapamil/melatonin are finally doing their job.  I woke at midnight with the start of a real headache, took 40 mg Relpax (and only one Percoset, my attitude: I'll worry about addiction when I want one without a headache).  THe headache did not seem as bad as usual so I actually lay down in bed and probably in 15 minutes fell asleep and made it through the night! 

I'm guessing the Verapamil primarily is doing the trick, and I can go to 3 of them today according to prescription. 

So far so good.  Thanks for the replies and encouragement. 

Mike

QnHeartMM wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2009 at 5:11pm:


What she said!

APRIA is one of the bigger outfits in San Diego and should be able to handle it.

Joe