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CH lasting longer than 3 hours- Are they Shadows?


coolestnurse
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I get different types of headaches, CH, migraine, tension and some other milder type I haven't figured out yet. Each is their own animal and for the most part do their own thing. However, sometimes I get the classic symptoms of a CH but it is a little milder and it lasts 3-6 hours.Does anyone have an idea what the heck that could be? Same burning, sharp pain in the eyeball and temporal area, but less other symptoms of restlessness, cognitive issues, less photophobia, pain at about a 4-6.

 I am still learning about shadows and maybe that is what it is?  I thought my shadows were another phenomenon that I get, but maybe it is a different presentation.  What I thought my shadows were was when I got more of the other symptoms of the CH but less pain. With those the pain is about a 1-3, but horrible photophobia, cognitive issues, restlessness, left sided runny nose and watery eye, etc.

 

Thoughts? Does anyone else get this?

 

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hi coolestnurse and welcome!

Most people report 'shadows' as sort of -Here comes a hit. No. Actually. it never reached that level. They are described differently by different people. Rather like a low level hit. For me, it feels like the beginning of a hit that never materialized. Not a low level CH with the runny eye and all, just the beginning pains of a hit. It sounds like you have a very mixed bag of headaches!

I find caffeine (energy drinks, coffee, etc) helps and so does ginger candy. Shadows can last all day sometimes. My pain can oscillate up and down depending on what I am doing. Lean over and pain goes up. That sort of thing. 

Of course this is my experience.

What are you taking for your CH?

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9 minutes ago, spiny said:

Hi coolestnurse and welcome!

Most people report 'shadows' as sort of -Here comes a hit. No. Actually. it never reached that level. They are described differently by different people. Rather like a low level hit. For me, it feels like the beginning of a hit that never materialized. Not a low level CH with the runny eye and all, just the beginning pains of a hit. It sounds like you have a very mixed bag of headaches!

I find caffeine (energy drinks, coffee, etc) helps and so does ginger candy. Shadows can last all day sometimes. My pain can oscillate up and down depending on what I am doing. Lean over and pain goes up. That sort of thing. 

Of course this is my experience.

What are you taking for your CH?

I've only had full peak attacks on my right side, behind the eye, prior to taking the steroids. I believe I'm experiencing shadows, but they're sort of all over the head, various pings of "reminder pain" but rarely near the original area where my attacks took place, behind the right eye... Does that sound familiar or common?

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Hey CoolestNurse,

Welcome to Clusterbusters...  Having a medical professional in our midst is always a treat... even more so when the medical professional suffers from the same headaches as the rest of us...

What I would suggest is you need to see your PCP about lab tests of your serum 25(OH)D.  8 years providing information outreach on the benefits of vitamin D3, Omega-3 fish oil and the vitamin D3 cofactors has produced a wealth of data...  For starters, cluster headache sufferers (CHers) and migraineurs presenting with active bouts of headache are almost always vitamin D3 deficient/insufficient... i.e., a serum 25(OH)D less than 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/l).  Moreover, if these headache sufferers take sufficient amounts of vitamin D3, (10,000 IU/day plus all the cofactors, better than 80% of them experience a significant reduction in the frequency of their headaches from an average of 3 CH/day down to an average of 3 CH/week.  54% of them experience a complete cessation of CH symptoms. 

Migraineurs have a similar response to this regimen except they need a higher maintenance dose of vitamin D3 in a range between 15,000 and 25,000 IU/day.

Download a copy of the anti-inflammatory regimen CH and MH preventative treatment protocol at the following link and discuss it with your PCP...

http://www.vitamindwiki.com/tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=7708

 

This is not a joke and I don't sell anything.  I've been providing information outreach to migraineurs and CHers on the benefits of this regimen and vitamin D3 since December of 2010.  If you've any doubts about starting this regimen, click on the following VitaminDwiki link.  It will take you to a page at that site that's all about my work with CHers taking this regimen with vitamin D3 and the cofactors.

http://is.gd/clustervitd

If you’re still in doubt about starting this regimen, see your PCP for the 25(OH)D lab test.  The normal reference range for 25(OH)D is 30 to 100 ng/mL.  It's a very safe bet your results will come back less than 30 ng/mL.  As CHers and migraineurs, we need to keep our serum 25(OH)D concentration up between 80 and 120 ng/mL.  I also suggest you read the following posts by other CHers who started this regimen.  I have hundreds more just like them.

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1291969416/798/#798

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1393027277/2/#2

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1291969416/1425/#1425

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1291969416/1465/#1465

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1324046404/278/#278

Please feel free to ask questions... Most CHers have them when starting this regimen...  I'm here to help.

Take care and please keep us posted. 

V/R, Batch 

 

Edited by Batch
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Thank you everyone!!!

I have had CH for almost 20 years and yes a mixed bag of headaches! I am currently on Verapamil for my preventative. I also take Magnesium and recently added Vitamin D as well as fish oil! Currently I don't have an abortive that works, but I am going to ask my doc to try oxygen again. I tried it the other day at work, and it worked! I am hopeful that maybe something will work. I have tried over 20 meds and many more supplements in the past and this so far is the best I have been able to come up with. I have looked up other hemicranias before, but I will look at them again.

 

Thank you everyone for your support!

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Coolestnurse,

When I get CH attacks they last at least 3 hours and have had them last for 5 hours. The time between hits is usually with about 1/2 hour. The most hits I have ever had in a day was 4, typically I only get 3 hits a day. 

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