Posted by jamina (195.252.57.71) on September 19, 2000 at 11:35:54:
In Reply to: Q!! Also... posted by Miguel on September 18, 2000 at 21:32:27:
Returning to one of your favorites - have not yet found the study I quoted earlier, but here's from the website of the "German Migraine and Headache Assoc." DMKG
WWW.DMKG.ORG/ARCHB/CLUSTER.HTM
pAGE 3: Therapy (translation)
Contrary to other primary headache, cluster headache is only minimally influenced by psychic mechanisms. Relaxation techniques, stress management techniques and other measures that play an important role in therapy of migraine and tension headache do not have any important effect on CH. The use of alternative non-medicinal therapy like acupuncture, neuraltherapy, biofeedback, massage, manual therapy, TENS, etc. is meaningless with CH and delays the initiation of an effective therapy.
Information of the patient by the doctor is of decisive importance. It takes in general 5 years to get a diagnosis of CH. Any therapeutic attempts before the diagnosis are condemned to failure, because effectfull substances and attitudes are different for CH than for other headache types. During this long "trial and error" phase the patient is helpless against his destructive pain attacks. Understandably there may result a loss of confidence in doctors and drive the patient into resignation.
Further:..... avoid triggers like alcohol, vasodilatory substances like nitrate or histamine, also nicotine (smoking).