Posted by Gus on April 05, 1999 at 11:18:13:
In Reply to: another night from hell posted by tami on April 04, 1999 at 23:34:41:
tammi,
I definitely Know what you are going through. I haven't heard many people talk of weight loss. But that is a problem with me also. I am 6' tall and there are times when I've weighed 145lb. that's not good for someone with my bone structure and height. I looked anorexic or something of that sort. The best thing I've found for myself (it may not be the best for you) is oxygen and Imitrex injections. I've been able to keep my weight up this way through a bout of these damn CH's. Something I've been trying lately is meditation. I've been able to sideline the shadow headaches and lessen the severity of a cluster. John Davis was talking about it a couple of weeks ago and I thought it was worth a try. I think with time and practice I will be able to abort these clusters in this way. John claims to have aborted Cluster bouts with meditation. Personally I BELIEVE him.
Also there is a steroid that is used as a preventative that works for some. It also makes you eat like crazy but there are other side effects. Talk to your Dr.
Look through the archives and read some of John Davis' entries. Where you live there must be access to a good teacher. whether it be Zen meditation or some other type I don't think it matters that much. John stresses that one find a teacher. I live in the sticks on the Canadian Border ( 165 miles from the nearest Wall-mart, my wife keeps reminding me ) so there are no teachers up here I had to read a book. I used to meditate all the time but I quit for whatever reason so I had some experience meditating. There are other benefits also. Maybe I'm crazy but meditation is the only preventative that has benefits instead of side effects. After all we are after QUALITY OF LIFE not just a band-ade. By the way I've suffered from these damn headaches for over 20 yrs. and I'm a walking testimonial that they won't kill you but sometimes I wish I were dead. I get really scared sometimes but I always know there's one more day. I reach deep into my soul and pull out one more day and color it with sunshine. Sometimes it turns blood red with pain but there's still one more day. Take it a day at a time.
With Love to a Fellow sufferer, Gus