Posted by J. Hollander on August 19, 1998 at 01:20:59:
I'm 45 y.o./male/smoker/insomniac/sinus problems
(re: smoking, I suspect it's not a cause but rather
a symptom of the root cause of all the above problems)
I've suffered from headaches my whole life, even before
I ever smoked. I remember the first bad one at age 4.
I can't touch alcohol as I get an immediate
headache. Once I suspected the sulfites from a can
of tuna causing an episode.
Over past two years started having clusters as described
by most others in this newsgroup.
Everything mentioned has helped at times, mainly IMITREX
but now it doesn't seem to work unless taken
immediately at first hint of a cluster. At about $15
a spray, I sometimes avoid using it as my insurance
doesn't cover prescriptions.
The other night I had the worst cluster ever and the
Imitrex didn't work. The intense pain spread from
behind my left eye socket to my left ear, molars,
and throat-
the whole side of my face seemed to go into a spasm.
Not only could I not sit still but I couldn't stand
the feel of clothes on me. I started suffocating and
experienced palpitations. I got into the shower and
ran the cold water, then without warning violently
purged and voided.
My outlook on life in general became distorted- the
thought of anything felt displeasurable and wanted
to die. I had taken 20mg Valium which calmed me a bit
and then another 20mg an hr. later until I finally
felt relief and fell asleep.
Once I tried giving in- not fighting the pain, not
trying to distract it by moving, feeling the full force
of it but it didn't subside, only got worse.
I'm on Prednisone and Calan which seem to help.
However, now that I know the Imitrix spray doesn't
always work, I live in constant fear of having another
super cluster attack.
Has anyone else experienced the purging?
If I don't take Imitrix immediately, the rush from
it seems to make it worse.
Also, once, the zest from an orange seemed to trigger
an episode.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
Jeremy Hollander