Hi everyone!

Boy, am I glad to have found you all.

About me.....I'm a married lady in her 40s and I've suffered from what-I-now-know-to-be Cluster brainpains.  Thank goodness for the internet.

For a couple of decades now I've had these recurring headaches. I used to call them migraines because that's what my GP called them although she did admit that they didn't fit the standard migraine pattern.

One of the notable differences was that I had to get up and move around to make the pain at least bearable, or bang my head, or pound my head, whereas migraines usually force the sufferer to lie down in the dark.  Occasionally I do feel nauseous, however, I just think that's the pain, I'm never physically ill.

Anyway, last week I had another attack.  Now my husband is wonderful - thankfully. He has always been highly concerned when I have an attack.  He has spent countless hours trying to find solutions on the internet, he has asked friends, neighbors, relatives for ideas.  One of the most creative solutions he came across was to pull a wire coat hanger down tightly over my head - I think the theory is pressure on the head would help dull the pain.  Well, I can throw the coat hanger away now - I'm sure the neighbors though I was nuts!

About my brainpains.....they always occur on the left side of my head.  It usually feels like someone is poking my eye out with a redhot poker.  They always wake me around 3:00 am in the morning.  Once I'm awake, I can't get back to sleep.  I toss and turn and try to find a comfortable position in which to lay my head - that never happens though .

Usually after a few hours, the pain subsides but then returns within another hour.  This usually continues for most of the day.  Eventually, usually in the evening, the pain subsides and fades away to almost nothing, although it is still there for the rest of the night.

I usually get these headaches about every 4 to 6 weeks.  Sometimes they don't recur for a few months but they always come back eventually.

Well, that's my story.  I've been reading various posts on here and I'm learning a lot.

Oh, one thing I should add is whenever I got these headaches I instinctively drank gallons of water - well, it felt like gallons.  When the pain first wakes me, I just drink lots of water.

Not having any insurance makes getting medical treatment unlikely, so I'll stick to trying some of the "alternative" therapies.  Other than that, I'll just wait them out like I always have.

One thing my husband says he hates about me when I get these headaches is that I cry.  Sometimes I just feel so depressed and angry at myself that all I can do is cry.  Once the episode is over, I go back to my usual cheery self.  But my husband just hates the crying.  He says it makes him feel so helpless that he can't do anything to help me except to hold me and try to console me.  I guess that's normal.

Thanks for listening, and I look forward to reading more of everyone's posts.

Joe,
I gotta say, it is pretty freakin cool knowing your one of America's Finest, (or close to...SD) and suggesting Clusterbusters.  

Thomas

Hello there..

                Im Bill, Im 41 and I have had the brainpains just like you since my early 20's. This site is the beacon callin you home huh. Well try to think of it like this, You did'nt finally find us WE finally found you.

              Also dont worry so much about the crying thing Im a 41 year old strong guy, and this evil shit we call our " brainpains" has had me crying like a 10 year old boy more than one time. Also try to think about it like this, How much do you really know about yourself untill you have spent a hour at kip 9.???

                        Welcome home,  Coach Bill 

Thank you so much to everyone.  I'll have to gather together all the suggestions and keep them close at hand.

I spent about 20 years going through my episodes all alone.  I am so fortunate to have found my husband - big, strong, caring love of my life. 

Thanks for the tips on "abortives".  I'm just like a kid in a candy store.

Hi, Honey, I'm home. 

I've been on vacation so haven't had a chance to check the boards lately.

I will say that I did try the energy drink, Monster, abortive and SUCCESS!!

I have woken a couple of times with the beginnings of a headache, taken about half a can of Monster and the headache has dissipated within 10 minutes or so, enough for me to get back to sleep and awake without a headache.

Thank you for this tip.  It's much easier having an energy drink on hand than some of the other suggestions, so I'll stick with this for now.

Thank you one and all.