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casscastonsc

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Dreading the next one
Mar 17^th, 2010 at 10:07pm

I have been having headaches for the past two weeks , some worse than others. They were very weird in the same place and all seemed to come at night after I would get home from work, I have a very stressful job at a nuclear station. a FEW NIGHTS AGO IT GOT REALLYY BAD. i HAD THREE IN THE SPAN OF ABOUT 5 HOURS. OVER THE LEFT EYE ON FORHEAD ,DOWN IN FRONT OF MY LEFT EAR AND NECK TOO. i COULDNT TELL IF IT WAS SINUS,TOOTHACHE, OR NECK PAIN. I have a bad neck problem and need surgery but no insurance. last night it got so bad i had to go to ER, the DR diagnosed CH's when i told him all the symptoms he new exactly what it was. I haven't had the wake up ones yet but some mild ones in the day but I dread sundown. I wanted to die. really. I have had broken spine and many painful things but this was crazy. My wife and I have lost two children and had a tough time for the past seven years. we lost our 12 year old in a house fire in 03, and our oldest in 08 from a unintentional overdose. I was wondering if stress can onset these things, also I have had a congested head and nagging cough lately but these things are horrible. oh I also just got glasses the progressive lens type, and they make you feel like you are looking through a fish bowl. I was wondering if they could trigger these things because when they start i cannot stand the ear or side piece pressing against my temple and around my ear. also my glands in my neck ,hell my whole left side neck forehead and face is very sore to the touch when and before these demons invade my head. oh well sounds like I'm not alone. Thanks for this site. oh another thing is because on my spine problems i take lortabs daily and when this started i took 3 10 mg tablets. it never touched the pain. didn't help at all. when i told the ER Dr this he seemed to take me more serious as I think he thought I was after pain meds, i told him from the start I'm not seeking pain meds i have all of that i need. i told him i just wanted something or some advice to let me know what will help. he referred me to my GP to see what she recommended. My CH had stopped by the time I got back to see the ER Doc. my GP knows i have no insurance so she gave me a could of samples of Zomig to try. haven't needed it yet keeping my fingers crossed.

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bejeeber

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Re: Dreading the next one
Reply #1 - Mar 18^th, 2010 at 12:50am

Man that's terrible that you've had to go thru all that and now here's the CH.

I haven't seen any evidence that stress causes cluster headaches. Although once you've got 'em, and you're in cycle, stress and various other things could possibly trigger an attack.

Alcohol is a very common trigger BTW if you hadn't heard - or experienced - that yet, so it should be seriously avoided.

Hey O2 a la the oxygen linfo link to the left of this page could probably do something for you - it's done a lot for people around here.

Then there's the Cluster Busters approach (another link to the left).

Hang in there, and with any luck that Zomig could come to your aid and help you through for the next little while..

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CH according to Bejeeber:

Strictly relying on doctors for CH treatment is often a prescription that will keep you in a whole lot of PAIN. Doctors are WAY behind in many respects, and they are usually completely unaware of the benefits of high flow 100% O2.

There are lots of effective treatments documented at this site. Take matters into your own hands, learn as much as you can here and at clusterbusters.com, put it into practice, then tell this CH beast Jeebs said hello right before you bash him so hard with a swift uppercut knockout punch that his stupid horns go flinging right off.

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coach_bill CH.com Hall of Famer Offline "Dont expect me to lay down for this" Posts: 680 x0\|euclid\|USA\|\|0\|0\|OH,Ohio Gender:	Re: Dreading the next one Reply #2 - Mar 19^th, 2010 at 10:15pm Welcome to the house that pain built. Now all you need is a slege hammer... Coach Bill
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Bob Johnson

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Re: Dreading the next one
Reply #3 - Mar 20^th, 2010 at 9:31am

Under "cluster headache specific" section, is a helpful hints file which you might explore.

Print out this abstract and ask your doc if he would give you a sample to try. You will know with 1-2 uses whether it works for you. Many of us have found it as rapid acting as Imitrex injections and the per dose cost basis will likely make it affordable even if you have to pay full price.
=======

Headache 2001 Sep;41(8):813-6

Olanzapine as an Abortive Agent for Cluster Headache.

Rozen TD.

Department of Neurology, Jefferson Headache Center/Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate olanzapine as a cluster headache abortive agent in an open-label trial. BACKGROUND: Cluster headache is the most painful headache syndrome known. There are very few recognized abortive therapies for cluster headache and fewer for patients who have contraindications to vasoconstrictive drugs. METHODS: Olanzapine was given as an abortive agent to five patients with cluster headache in an open-label trial. THE INITIAL OLANZAPINE DOSE WAS 5 MG, AND THE DOSE WAS INCREASED TO 10 MG IF THERE WAS NO PAIN RELIEF. THE DOSAGE WAS DECREASED TO 2.5 MG IF THE 5-MG DOSE WAS EFFECTIVE BUT CAUSED ADVERSE EFFECTS. To be included in the study, each patient had to treat at least two attacks with either an effective dose or the highest tolerated dose. RESULTS: Five patients completed the investigation (four men, one woman; four with chronic cluster, one with episodic cluster). Olanzapine reduced cluster pain by at least 80% in four of five patients, and TWO PATIENTS BECAME HEADACHE-FREE AFTER TAKING THE DRUG. Olanzapine typically alleviated pain within 20 minutes after oral dosing and treatment response was consistent across multiple treated attacks. The only adverse event was sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: Olanzapine appears to be a good abortive agent for cluster headache. IT ALLEVIATES PAIN QUICKLY AND HAS A CONSISTENT RESPONSE ACROSS MULTIPLE TREATED ATTACKS. IT APPEARS TO WORK IN BOTH EPISODIC AND CHRONIC CLUSTER HEADACHE.

PMID 11576207 PubMed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Olanzapine has a brand name of "Zyprexa" and is a antipsychotic. Don't be put off by this primary usage. Several of the drugs used to treat CH are cross over applications, that is, drugs approved by the FDA for one purpose which are found to be effective with unrelated conditions--BJ.

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Bob Johnson

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neuropath

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Re: Dreading the next one
Reply #4 - Mar 20^th, 2010 at 10:04am

I have always been of the opinion that the onset or outbreak of CH is not triggered by one isolated cause, be it lifestyle, genetic disposition, hormones, smoking, stress etc., but that the sum of all all parts is ultimately responsible and that at one stage an overload of one of these elements "flicks a switch".

You have had a lot to deal with, both physically and emotionally and I believe that your body may have decided that the time has come to "flick that switch" as a response.

My beast started to show its ugly head after circumstances and a history not too dissimilar to yours, i.e. various physical traumata in the past and some very severe emotional stress. It would be interesting to hear from others that have a comparable experience.

Look for a headache specialist in your area (can be found via the Ouch website on the left of this page) to discuss treatment and prevention. GPs and many Neurologists are often ill-trained on and unaware of the complexities of CH and you really want a headache specialist to set you on the path of understanding and dealing with an illness that, once it has entered your life, is a) here to stay and b) that will morph continuously.

O2, if used correctly, is the abortive of choice for many of us, particularly if you have no insurance cover. Also on the left of this page is the Oxygen Info on how to use it correctly.

Imitrex injections are another frequently used abortive by many, yet their relatively high cost per dose may make them an issue without insurance coverage. A possible alternative is a drug called Olanzapine, which is significantly less expensive, but known to also be fast-acting.

Another low-cost abortive that appears to help many here is energy drinks that include taurine and caffeine, when consumed at the first sign of an attack. When they don't abort completely they appear to often lessen the pain levels considerably.

I hope this helps and that you will be pain free again soon.

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Potter

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Re: Dreading the next one
Reply #5 - Mar 20^th, 2010 at 11:48am

neuropath wrote on Mar 20^th, 2010 at 10:04am:

I have always been of the opinion that the onset or outbreak of CH is not triggered by one isolated cause, be it lifestyle, genetic disposition, hormones, smoking, stress etc., but that the sum of all all parts is ultimately responsible and that at one stage an overload of one of these elements "flicks a switch".

You have had a lot to deal with, both physically and emotionally and I believe that your body may have decided that the time has come to "flick that switch" as a response.

My beast started to show its ugly head after circumstances and a history not too dissimilar to yours, i.e. various physical traumata in the past and some very severe emotional stress. It would be interesting to hear from others that have a comparable experience.

Look for a headache specialist in your area (can be found via the Ouch website on the left of this page) to discuss treatment and prevention. GPs and many Neurologists are often ill-trained on and unaware of the complexities of CH and you really want a headache specialist to set you on the path of understanding and dealing with an illness that, once it has entered your life, is a) here to stay and b) that will morph continuously.

O2, if used correctly, is the abortive of choice for many of us, particularly if you have no insurance cover. Also on the left of this page is the Oxygen Info on how to use it correctly.

Imitrex injections are another frequently used abortive by many, yet their relatively high cost per dose may make them an issue without insurance coverage. A possible alternative is a drug called Olanzapine, which is significantly less expensive, but known to also be fast-acting.

Another low-cost abortive that appears to help many here is energy drinks that include taurine and caffeine, when consumed at the first sign of an attack. When they don't abort completely they appear to often lessen the pain levels considerably.

I hope this helps and that you will be pain free again soon.

If you have insurance is there something better? I think not.

Potter

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