Posted by cheryl allman (195.92.194.46) on April 25, 2000 at 17:52:41:
In Reply to: Follow-up letter tp 20/20 posted by Kenn on April 25, 2000 at 17:10:05:
Hello Kenn, I am new to the site and also suffer from CH. Your email was very sad to read and I was nearly in tears reading about the suicides.
Its not suprising though is it? My old doctor that I recently had to leave because of a change of address [or he could not afford for me to have another attack because of the cost or time and patience] has a doctor friend that suffers also and he told me that you can only take a certain amount of Sumatriptan[this is what I take] during a cluster, but his friend used to take more or less as much as he needed sometimes two injections at one go just to get rid of the pain.
Last year I went to AandE because I had an acute attack, even the ambulance driver recognised me from the year before because he could not believe that a headache could be so painful. When I arrived at the hospital they tried to take my blood pressure but failed to do so as I could not sit still long enough, so the nurse became very nasty with me and then left me for over an hour while I suffered. I shouted for someone to help me and they just said that there were people there that were in more pain than I. I had every sympathy with those other patients, but I too was in just as much pain. In the end a male nurse said to me I believe you have a headache, and tried to give me two paracetamol. I got off the bed and told them all out of frustration to get lost and rang a taxi to take me home. When I arrived I was totally exhausted and decided to take an out of date injection. Then I got ready to die as I did not know what the injection would do to me. Fortunately for my family and I, I woke in the morning alive and painfree.
For such a debilitating condition you would think that people of the medical profession would know something of this but they do not. I have thought of downloading information and sending it to the hospital emergency department ready for my next visit.
Love from Cheryl