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Just another story


Napoli
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Hey guys.  I am new to this site.  Haven't spent so much time googleing CH info since I my last episode when I was diagnosed 2 years ago. 

Fortunately for me, I had been pain free since then until about three weeks ago when I started another cluster.  Since then I've had about 1-3 attacks a day with most attacks being 7-8 Kips and a few 9's. 

Its hard to say when I had my first cluster headache.  It must have been in my late teens are early 20's. I have always been somewhat of an anti-doctor/ medicine / procedure type of  nut job and so my first few experiences I figured it would eventually "go away". Sure enough eventually they did and usually without lasting a very extended period of time.  I was convinced at the time that the headaches were due to my wisdom teeth. Afterall, the pain always shadowed in the back of my right jaw before getting really intense and spreading out to my right eye and nostril.

Well two years ago I had an intense cluster.  Attacks were strong and occuring several times a day.  The attacks began to seriously affect my daily life. At work I began chewing exedrin and sneaking away to the conference room where I would close myself in and wait for it to pass. I would be drinking with my friends and then suddenly have to go of to my room to fight the beast. I figured it was time to go to the dentist and have that tooth removed.  So there I go and book the appointment finally resigned to the fact that I would have to get my wisdom tooth yanked out. Imagine my surprise then when the dentist told me that it was extremely unlikely for it to be wisdom tooth as there was plenty of room in my mouth!!  At that point I was starting to get freaked out and started imagining the worst. I booked an emergency appointment with my doctor.  As I was in the waiting room I got hit with an attack.  My eye got all red, droopy and teary, my nose started to run, but the pain was a manageable mid-kip. Well my awkward appearance really freaked out my doc and his staff. He thought I could have some type of infection that was spreading to my brain or something so he sent me to get an MRI. A day or two later the results of the mri came back clean. Then it was off to the eye doctor and nose and ear doctor.  Neither could find anything wrong. Finally, I wound up at a neurologist who diagnosed me and gave me a bunch of meds to take.

Well when I got home I decided to do some research on the meds I was given and saw that some had some serious adverse side effects. I decided I would hold off on taking them a few days to see if the cluster would break as it had always done in the past. Luckily for me, it did and I never had to use any meds.

And all was good for over a year!!  Last month however I moved back over to Italy where I now live and work teaching English. About a week after I got here the beast came back!  I've been riding through the storm on my own knowing that it should go away like it usually does.  I think I might be coming toward the end as they are becoming further spaced a part but longer and more intense. I remember the same thing happening during my last cluster.

Being in a foreign country and without having a trusted doctor, it is hard to find a solution other than wait it out. I have found that for mid-kip attacks pounding a good amount of cold espresso (which I keep on the side specifically for this purpose) can help. At times, I thought that assuming the islamic praying position has helped (but I'm not so sure as it didn't seem to work the last few times even the the first time i tried it and it worked i had sworn i found a cure!). As for the really strong attacks.....well thats when it gets difficult to deal with.  Aside from the extreme pain during the attack I usually feel crippled for most of the day following.

I have read that a lot of you use Monster energy drinks to help during an attack. I suppose red bull would work just as well no?  I haven't seen monster around here but I know i've seen redbull.

Are there any other remedies any of you could suggest to me?  I don't know how I would go about getting tanks of oxygen as I've read it is the most effective.

Has anybody tried taking magnesium supplements? I think I might start there as I've read it can help and should be easy to come by.

This is a great website. I think an attack can be one of the most painful and lonely experiences there are and having a place like this really helps you to feel connected and grounded again.

I try to consider myself lucky when I read some other stories on here. It is difficult enough to deal and cope with in the sporadic form that I suffer from. All the respect, support and love to all those who have to constantly struggle with the beast. 

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Welcome,  I know about the teeth pain all to well. For me it starts there.When I feel it in my teeth I know I'm in for a hell of a ride, and it comes real quick after hitting the teeth.   I see you are in Italy, try and find a welding supply warehouse,U can get o2 there. You will think you found a miracle once you use O2.but you have to catch it quick with the o2!  I'm glad you found your way here,as you are not alone and the folks here we be glad to help send you in the right direction for getting yourself some relief from the pain. Best wishes for you. Educate yourself here, and you can help yourself, help yourself!!  Sorry ,forgot. yes redbull!! and Ice packs they will help as well.

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Thanks for the welcome!  I am going to buy a few energy drinks and keep some in my bookbag to try and combat any attacks i might get at school or out and about.  Also going to look into the oxygen as based on everybody's feedback that really seems the best way to go.

I was curious about magnesium. I've read some things on some other sites but have yet to read anything on here or the clusterbuster files.  Have you had any personal experience with using magnesium supplements to combat CH or read of others who have had success?

I've also began reading up a bit on RC seeds.  If this cluster doesnt break soon ill look into getting my hands on some.  Thank you all for your help! 

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@ Tingeling wow  that sounds rough.  I was lucky that I was diagnosed relatively quickly compared to others and that by the time I discovered I had it there was a decent amount of info on the web about it that I was able to look up and read (Today I am happy to say that there is even more info out there and a great community such as this one that offers invaluable help).

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