dmlonghorn

Yup! The wife asked me how I was doing yesterday, this was my exact reply.

I'm on Verapamil which keeps the beast "managed", but the "pre-symptoms" you've described are persistent. It's such a weird feeling, going from perfectly fine to riding the peaks & valleys of depression and irritability. I'm coming up on my 1 year CH anniversary (episodic Mar/Sept), so I'm still learning, but I'm on board with what Dan describes. I'm open to suggestions, but there's not much I do to deal with them, other than make sure my wife knows what I'm experiencing. I think just talking about these things with your significant other can make those peaks and valleys less daunting. Best of luck to both of you.

I'm having a lot of tinnitus with this latest cycle. I should add that sound is a trigger for me. Taking this a little further, not just single sounds which can trigger an attack (think ambulance siren or a very high pitched tone), but it's more so with multiple, simultaneous sounds, like being in a scenario with several conversations going on, kids playing, TV on, dog barking outside. My guess is that it's sensory overload, which brings in my friend "anxiety" and so on and so forth.

5:18PM and 10:18 PM Me too...

Thanks CHF - This is pretty darn close to what I was looking for.

Yeah - I've already started to create my own crude tracking system using IFTTT + Google Spreadsheets.

Has anyone found a reliable app to track pain / symptoms related to CH? There's a ton of these apps out there, but I've found they're often bloated with irrelevant features or just kinda work for CH.

A brief update here: The Research Center touched base with me for the first time since I initially took part in the study. They asked to speak with my parents about behaviors I exhibited as a child. I found that interesting. Edit: Yes, my Mother obliged and is now actually going to take part in the study as well. She's suffered from headache disorders for quite a while as well.

My setup is an M tank, with a non-rebreather mask and a 15 LPM regulator. I'm currently experiencing foggy shadows that are becoming more "dense" (uncomfortable) as the days go on. I use the hyperventilative method anywhere between 5-10 mins. The fog will clear, but for only maybe 15 mins before it settles back in. Has anyone used a concentrator+canula in addition to their regular O2 to help supplement or prolong the benefits achieved after hitting the regular O2? Now these are shadows I'm trying to address, not sure if all of the O2 aborting protocols apply to shadows as well as attacks. Thanks, DM

I always thought the O2 was supposed to be used for the bad attacks, but sure enough, cleared up the fog like a warm sunrise. Thank you. And Thanks all for your feedback. Now when I hear hoofs, I'll think O2.

I’ve been having some low level headaches, nothing really crazy or even that painful, but there’s this lingering “fog” that is more bothersome than anything and concentration has been a bit challenging. I have no issues with my high-level headache indicators, sleep, hydration and hunger – all A-OK. I haven’t consumed caffeine or energy drinks to specifically address CH before, so I figured I’d see if it would affect the fog. So I grabbed a bottle of cold brew coffee, took several large gulps and after about 10 mins, success! The fog cleared up. I’m about a month away from my 1 year CH anniversary and of course my fearful/over-analytical mind wants to attribute these latest developments to something other than CH, but my gut is telling me the beast is stirring and the fog = shadows...? Always go with your gut. Well, I don’t want to.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29969187

That's awesome news!

Quite interesting, thank you

I can empathize. My kids were 3 & 4 when I came into my first cycle (last year). I quickly learned that sound was one of my triggers and with kids just being kids, they can be, well, loud. Tore me up inside to realize the sound of my kiddos playing brought me pain. In certain situations, I would have to quickly cover my ears with my hands to dampen the "sonic invasion." Evidently, I had done this behavior enough times that my 3 year old son picked up on it and would start to cover his ears with his hands, simply wanting to be like his Daddy. Since they're a little older now, my wife and I are going to gradually begin educating them about my clustered situation. Hang in there man!

Very well-said! I'm "counting down" to the same time period and it's good to read reminders like this. Thank you!

Hello Everyone, This could be a great opportunity to participate in the clinical trial conducted by the Will Erwin Headache Research Center at the Memorial Hermann Mischer Neuroscience Institute (MNI) in Houston, TX - only a 30 min flight from Dallas. It's a blood draw and a questionnaire, I've done it, it's very simple. If you're considering coming to Dallas for the conference, please consider flying through Houston. More info on the study / foundation can be found here: http://www.cureheadaches.org/our-story PFW!

Hoping this is random, but I just got hit last night and the September equinox is just a few days away. Crap.

Hey Everyone, Brief preface: Episodic sufferer diagnosed earlier this year, only had one cycle that was aborted by a Prednisone taper. Haven't had a second cycle yet. I've done some very brief research on on the impact of poor sleep & clusters. In general, there appears to be some sort of correlation, not to be confused with cycling in and out of REM triggering an attack. I'll define "poor sleep" as being tired, laying in bed, wanting to sleep, but simply cannot fall asleep, ultimately getting only 2-3 hours per night for several consecutive nights, which is exactly my situation for the past 3 nights. I've had some bad nights of sleep here and there throughout my life, but this week is an exception. There have been no recent major changes or life events to look back at and say, "Yep - THAT'S why I can't sleep". I would say my stress and anxiety levels are no greater than the many months preceding my inability to sleep. Anecdotally, this may fall under the category of episodic insomnia..? As a result, I'm noticing an increased frequency of low-level headaches or possibly shadows, however, I can't distinguish if the pain is from the cluster realm or just an "I need sleep" headache. The pain is not unilateral, nor am I exhibiting the other telltale signs of a cluster. Anyhow, I've read a lot of your posts regarding lack of sleep or poor sleep quality being a trigger. I'm curious to know that, if you're impacted by this type of trigger: Does it start a single, standalone attack for you or does it start a full on multi-day/week cycle? Have you noticed lack of sleep serve as an indicator of an impending cycle? I don't have much personal cluster-history to pull from, so ANY input or personal experiences on the topic would be appreciated, thanks in advance! PFW All!

Hello! Any news on the conference agenda/topics? Thanks!

I understand there are tons of variables when it comes to starting & stopping of episodic cluster cycles. However, I've only had one cycle (my first) in March (2018), which was aborted relatively quickly with prednisone and I've been on Verapamil ever since. I'm attempting to understand or at least narrow in on when my next cycle will/could start. Are there stats anywhere on episodic CH most common cycle start times? From what I understand the most common is Spring & Fall, but how many suffers (%) only deal with Spring cycles and vice versa with Fall? Does geography play a factor? Again, I get that just when you learn your cycle-pattern, CH will go off script and start whenever it wants - I'm simply looking for either personal experiences regarding the time between your first & second ever cycles or any type of data on the subject, official or unofficial. Thanks!

I am experiencing this exact type of pain right now, however, I'm not in cycle and I think it's because it was the way I slept last night.... but it's oddly exactly what you've described.

Yeah, that's probably a more accurate description of my 'audio-book' experience... tuned them out...

Damn. Yeah, I noticed that when I was listening to an audio book yesterday, for a good 2 hours, I didn't experience one shadow. Edit: I was experiencing shadows before listening to the book and the shadows resumed in mild form, about an hour later.

If your full-attacks were predictable enough, could you immerse yourself in a game, let's say, 30-60 mins before the attack is supposed to start and see if it reduces the severity?