MY HUSBANDS CLUSTER HEADACHES

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MY HUSBAND HAS BEEN SUFFERING FROM CLUSTER HEADACHES FOR ABOUT 7 YRS. HE HAS BEEN TO 2 NEUROLOGISTS, 2 GPS, 1 CHIROPRACTOR, 1 HYPNOTIST, 1 ACCUPUNTURIST AND NO RELIEF. HE DID TAKE TOPOMAX, SHOULD BE CALLED DOPEOMAX, IMITREX, THE ONLY THING THAT HELPS SOMEWHAT, AS LONG AS HE CAN CATCH THE HEADACHE WHEN IT STARTS, USUALLY WHEN HE IS SOUND ASLEEP, THEN ITS TOO LATE!!! ANYBODY OUT THERE CAN HELP US? PLEASE, LINDA H

mitamins111 · Newbie Joined: 05 Feb 2007 Posts: 46

Hi, Linda.

Cluster headache is a sharp, recurring pain around the eye or upper face may mean more than your average headache. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may help you control it:

Manage pain with melatonin
Take 10 mg of this natural hormone before bedtime to decrease the frequency of cluster headaches
Consider capsaicin
Consult a healthcare provider experienced with intranasal capsaicin treatment, which may ease the pain and reduce recurrences
Experiment with oxygen therapy
See a healthcare provider experienced with oxygen therapy to find out if it reduces the pain of cluster headache attacks

These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist.

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To Linda,

I have suffered with cluster headaches for years. I have been prescribed many types of "preventative" medications in an attempt to stop or limit the number of individual headaches or length of headache cycles. Everything from Beta Blockers, Calcium Channel Blockers, Prednisone and Ergotemines. None have been very successful. Narcotic type pain medications such as Soma Compund (muscle relaxant), Soma w/codeine, Hydrocodone and even Thorizine and Demerol injections to combat the pain. The presription pain medications seemed to help the best, but the associated side effects were a negative. Doctors now days shy away from prescribing narcotic type pain medications for Cluster headaches because of the potential for dependency of the drugs.
One thing I have found that helps is to hold an ice compress against my head in the area of the pain. This seems to lessen the pain somewhat during the attack, but if I remove the compress before the headache subsides, the "full force" of the pain returns fairly quickly.
The sad fact is there is no cure for cluster headaches and, in my reaseach, few sufferers rarely gain any substantial relief from "preventitive" medications.
The good news, however, is that research shows that cluster headache cycles deminish as one ages.

MY HUSBANDS CLUSTER HEADACHES

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