Posted by Jeremy on October 13, 1998 at 15:59:28:
In Reply to: psychologist with cluster, some recommendations posted by GERHARD STEENKAMP (JERRY) on October 12, 1998 at 09:44:37:
Glad to hear you have the clusters under control
and want to thank you for passing the information
along.
I will give the hydration method a try.
Regarding the method of not fighting the pain-
I thought of the same thing a while back,
sort of like Chinese handcuffs- the more you try
to fight it the more it grips you.
So during an attack I let myself
(as much as possible) feel the
full extent of the pain, i.e.-
stopped scrambling for relief, stopped pacing, etc.
Sadly for me, however, it didn't make a difference.
Another time I took so much Valium I might have
stopped breathing, but I too relaxed to fight the
pain and it was worst.
But most of my clusters wake me up from sleep
so for me it's not a case of tensing-up from
attempting to fight it.
My psychotherapist had a theory that the root cause
of this pathological condition was repressed anger,
guilt, and a need for punishment based on mental
abuse suffered in childhood.
A number of concerned friends have recommended
holistic approaches, herbs, acupuncture, even
magnets. Another friend advised me to follow a
spiritual route to rid myself of the demons.
The neurologist chose to focus on the manifestation,
no matter what the root cause might have been.
So far, the medicines he prescribed help the most.
The excrucuatung pain caused by cluster attacks
demands immediate and aggressive intervention
and does not tolerate
the luxury of entertaining theories.
The medications may even be harmful but they are
better than death.
Regarding the smoking: I smoke but my clusters started
before I started smoking and became addicted.
But even if smoking did exacerbate the clusters,
or contribute to the root cause of what you suggest
as increasing plaque in the arteries,
why would you, a psychologist, simply tell others
to stop? Wouldn't this add anxiety and guilt?
because surely you must know that a smoker can't
simply stop, especially when going through clusters.
And most of us can't afford to go to Betty Ford.
If ones arteries were so clogged as to cause the
clusters, wouldn't it be too late anyway?
In any case, I don't believe a scientific correlation
has been made between smoking and clusters, and
the jury is still out as to any other root causes.
In my case, I can FEEL the connection between
alcohol and the clusters, so much so it has
turned me against so much as even a drop in years.
I wish smoking did bring on the attacks, then
I wouldn't even have to try to stop- I would
have turned against it.
But it seems these days it's a popular scapegoat
for everyhting to the point of overlooking other
environmental hazards.
As expressed by many on this message board,
there's a terrible lonliness to all this, since
not even loving family and friends, and most
doctors for that matter, can understand
the pain and fear of recurances of cluster
attacks.
AT least we have one another, and this message
board has kept me sane and hopeful.
Wishing you continued relief from the monsters!
And anxious to give the hydration a try.
Sincerely,
Jeremy