First and MOST IMPORTANTLY

Follow this link to the medications section of this board and read the post 

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

It’s a vitamin/mineral/fish oil supplement, all over the counter stuff. It’s up to an 81% success rate of those who try it and respond to the survey so you’re just shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t give it a shot. I’m 3 years pain free on it after a 35 plus year track record with episodic CH. Best of all, it’s healthy for you even without CH!

As of January 20, 2013, the compiled raw data indicates an efficacy of 80%. 240 out of the 300 CH'ers who have started this regimen and stayed on it for a month or more have experienced a significant reduction in the frequency and severity of their CH... 78% of the 300 CH'ers experienced a pain free response and 60% of the 300 have remained essentially pain free. Episodic and chronic CH'ers respond to this regimen at roughly the same rate.

Preliminary survey results indicate most of these CH'ers were pain free before the end of the third week with some responding in a little as 12 to 24 hours. The average time to respond is five days


Bless your heart for being a supporter, my wife found the original streaming CH site and saved my sanity!

Joe

Thanks Joe and Greg.  I didnt mean to sound that drinking was my priority and I was actually worried it would come across like that!  Just trying to get tips on how to manage a normal life whilst living with CH.   We are really active, social people and for 3 months of the year it becomes near on impossible to be normal as you will all know.  I cant speak for Chris but for me, I swing between being overly supportive and doing everything in my power to help, to sometimes even resentful and frustrated.  Then I feel guilty and selfish etc etc.

The only thing Chris hasnt tried is the oxygen mainly because we dont really know how to get started with it.  Our doctor hasnt suggested it, just lots of drugs that dont work.  Perhaps time for a new doctor?? We have most of the things on the list from Joe's link so I will go to the chemist today and get the missing things.

Thanks for your support

" I cant speak for Chris but for me, I swing between being overly supportive and doing everything in my power to help, to sometimes even resentful and frustrated.  Then I feel guilty and selfish etc etc."

Sadly, this is the consequence of trying to accept his responsibility. Love and concern does not give you control: only he can decide to drink or not, to seek medical care, or not, and so on.

It appears that the best move you both could make is to find a good headache specialist to work out an effective treatment plan--which your husband will have make work.
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LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

2.  Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

3. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or ; On-line screen to find a physician.

4. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

5. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
        Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.

Hi everyone - I just wanted to let you all know that Chris has been almost p/f since I found this site! Thanks to your advice he has started the D3 regime and drinking red bulls the second his shadows start and aside from a couple of few minute long headaches and shadows - nothing! Surprised it is starting to work so quickly - so thanks so much! So far so good! Don't worry - we know the next one is around the corner