Showing all posts by "Gaz"
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Posted in Reduced frequency and changing pattern with age. on 13 Mar, 2018 - 1:22 pm
It's been 5 years without an attack, almost long enough to get complacent - but not really, and here they are again. They hit about 2 weeks ago just in time for a family holiday.
I used to get them twice a year, every year through my 20s and early 30s. I am now about to turn 40 and they have returned but the pattern has changed. Not getting them daily during this cluster and the severity is different each time - sometimes "mild" and sometimes drill into your skull, smash your head against the wall intense.
While I prefer not getting the 10/10 pain each time, the random nature of this attack almost makes me more anxious about each day and what level of CH it will bring.
Has anyone had a similar experience to this?
Posted in on 13 Mar, 2018 - 1:19 pm
It's been 5 years without an attack, almost long enough to get complacent - but not really, and here they are again. They hit about 2 weeks ago just in time for a family holiday.
I used to get them twice a year, every year through my 20s and early 30s. I am now about to turn 40 and they have returned but the pattern has changed. Not getting them daily during this cluster and the severity is different each time - sometimes "mild" and sometimes drill into your skull, smash your head against the wall intense.
While I prefer not getting the 10/10 pain each time, the random nature of this attack almost makes me more anxious about each day and what level of CH it will bring.
Has anyone had a similar experience to this?
Posted in Sumatriptan 6mg auto injectable on 18 Dec, 2013 - 9:05 am
I have used the Maxalt (got a couple as samples from my GP) and the Imigran nasal spray. I find the nasal spray much more effective than the wafers. They worked faster and just plain better. The Maxalt sort of eased the headache where the Imigran could stop it in its tracks. It was especially effective if I took it when the first shadows appeared. The nasal spray is $25 for two single dose sprays, so also a lot cheaper than the injectables.
Posted in Subconscious Mind on 18 Dec, 2013 - 8:52 am
I think it would be an interesting area to explore further but I do agree with you that it is highly unlikely anyone will ever study this.
I can't say for sure that there is a link, but in my own case I can't rule it out either. I think I am predisposed to CH and that I would have gotten them regardless of any buried issues, but I also think that my experience with the relief I have received from alternative therapies is interesting. Perhaps it is coincidence, perhaps there is something in it? We will probably never know for sure.
All I do know is that I am willing to try just about anything to get relief and I am extremely happy that, after 20 years of going to doctors about headaches, I finally found a GP that knew a lot about them (she even has a nephew that suffers from them) and that she gave me the right medication to abort the headache.
So, I am all for science and I hope they keep making progress and find a way to stop them altogether. In the meantime though, I will keep trying whatever is out there that I think will help.
Posted in Subconscious Mind on 11 Dec, 2013 - 1:05 pm
Hi Kathy,
I think I know what you are getting at here and I have thought along the same lines myself with with subconscious mind element.
I used to suffer CHs at regular 6 month intervals, around 3 weeks a cycle, for 15 years straight with the headaches increasing in intensity every cycle. I struggled to find a doctor who even knew what they were and was eventually prescribed ergotamine to deal with them (horrible stuff).
I see a chiropractor who also dabbles in something called neuro emotional technique. The basic premise is that subconscious emotional responses to events or incidents earlier in our life can trigger physical responses (usually in the form anxiety).
I decided to give it a go and after one treatment my cycle ended abruptly. I was in the clear for 18 months before another cycle and decided to go back. I had another single treatment and the cycle ended that night and I was in the clear for 3 years (until around 2 weeks ago).
That said, I went back this time and tried again and it hasn't worked BUT he did say at the time I hadn't cleared everything. Considering going back next week.
Now, I am not suggesting that you go and get NET, I am no fanboy for it and I know it's not for everyone. What I do believe is that, for some people, there is a link between CH and subconscious emotional response.
Also, as a more immediate reprieve for your next cycle, try Imigran nasal spray. It has stopped 5 headaches in their tracks this cycle.
Gary.
Posted in Untitled on 07 Jun, 2011 - 11:20 am
I too feel like one of the luckier (rather than lucky) ones as I generally suffer attacks twice a year for about 3 weeks - even though this has been happening with increased severity since my mid teens (now 33).
I have never been on medication for CH apart from ergotomine for pain management and it took until about 4 years ago for me to be diagnosed. I would go to the doctor every attack and I was told it was anything from sinus headaches to meningitis and was put on nasal sprays and antibiotics (obviously they were no help!)
This site has been great, just knowing there is support and information out there has been a big help and also knowing that there are lots of treatment options that I have not explored yet. Luckily I am pain free at the moment but I can always feel those shadows lurking (it really is an accurate description).
What is clear to me is that everyone is different and seems to react to medications and treatments in different ways, making this condition all the more difficult to understand and control.
Posted in Neuro Emotional Technique - again on 16 May, 2011 - 11:41 am
Hi all, just wanted to bring up a treatment again that has worked for me twice now. It stopped my cycle in its tracks both times and the first time I had this treatment I was clear of CH for 18 months (I was having a cycle every 6 months for many years prior, with the headaches getting worse each time).
Each time I had this done it drew out a pretty deep negative emotional issue and once that was gone, so were the headaches. No medication, no hypnosis and about 10 minutes in the chiropractor's office to be headache free. I have no doubt they will return some day, probably when another deep emotional problem roots itself somewhere but I am confident that more NET treatment will stop the cycle again.
It will not be for everyone, but I know as well as you do that anything is worth a shot when it comes to CH!
Check it out here: http://www.universalhealth.com.au/services/net.php
Gary.
Posted in Suffering now on 27 Jan, 2011 - 3:10 pm
Just finished a cycle. Lasted about three weeks over Christmas and new year. Decided to give NET a go again (see my post in treatments) and had one headache that same night and nothing since. There seems to be some correlation with my headaches and underlying stress. Hoping I get at least another 18 months free instead of the usual 6!
Posted in Untitled on 27 Jan, 2011 - 3:04 pm
Thanks heather and matt. Will look into those contacts.
Posted in Untitled on 09 Jan, 2011 - 11:23 am
Well, I got my longest reprieve ever of one and a half years but the headaches are back with avengence. Such familiar yet unwelcome pain.
Anyone know of a specialist in Sydney?
Posted in Untitled on 14 Apr, 2010 - 4:12 pm
Hi everyone‚ I am a new member and suffered from cluster headaches for 15 years. No one could tell me what was wrong until just a couple of years back when a GP finally picked up that the symptons sounded like cluster headaches.
After much searching and trying different remedies my chiro happened to mention that he is a practicioner of neuro emotional technique (NET). I was willing to give anything a go so I went for one session while in a cycle‚ which took approximately 20 minutes‚ and the cycle ubruptly ended and the headaches have not returned for a year now (was averaging two cycles a year of two weeks each).
The basis of this technique is that medical conditions are outward symptoms of emotional scarring (I know‚ a little new age but it makes sense if you think about it). Through NET‚ he was able to find a buried emotion and help me release the anxiety and scarring.
This may not be for everyone but it certainly worked for me after just one session. Fingers crossed these horrible things never return!
I hope this can help some of you.