Quote:
Originally Posted by ExtremeBank_Adam
Yep... that's what I go through. But, mine have NEVER lasted for only 15 minutes. They have always been on the other end of that spectrum (3+ hours). I do get an "aura" right before they come, and I typically start downing Percocets right when I feel that aura. The reason they are called suicide headaches (according to my neurologist) is because of the number of people who have committed suicide because they couldn't deal with the pain. My own doctor says he has had a couple of patients himself.
|
Yes, there has been extensive documentation of the suicides and suicidal thoughts; one survey I saw said that more than half of people with cluster headaches had at least considered suicide.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ExtremeBank_Adam
It's funny, because I have had these for many years, and I never really researched them too much because I've always just dealt with them the best I could and trusted my doctor. This thread has made me do a few Google searches and I'm quite amazed at some of the stuff I've read.
|
Well, it sounds like yours are a lot closer to clusters than migraines - although from what I understand, the long-lasting ones (3+ hours) aren't that common; mine are usually about 30 minutes which I understand is fairly usual. But the pain part of it....
Quote:
Originally Posted by ExtremeBank_Adam
What can cause a grown man to groan out loud, rock back and forth on the floor, dig his hands into the carpet, cradle his head or crawl on his knees?
|
is from my experience a pretty exact description of the pain from a cluster. At least my wife doesn't freak out anymore when she wakes up and sees me in the bedroom corner like that with my face glued to the window (breathing cold air definitely helps me). Until she got used to it, I went into the bathroom in order to rock, bang the wall and breathe cold air so I wouldn't scare her too much lol.
But the other real defining feature of cluster headaches is that they usually occur at just about *exactly* the same times of day, every day, when you're in a cluster. Ever since I started the verapamil and I was down to (usually) one headache a day, it's 1 1/2 hours after I go to bed, give or take 15 minutes....and it makes you dread going to sleep. And when I get a shadow (which from my understanding is the term that's used for cluster patients rather than aura, which is used for migraine patients - I'm not sure if they really are different or not, but I *think* aura comes with light of some sort, while the shadow is more of a flicker of a headache along with a sense of dread, similar to the sense of dread people supposedly get before a heart attack) - percocets or anything else don't help me, it's just a matter of waiting for it to come. Not sure if the *exact* time thing is part of your headache or not...but I think it makes things even worse, since it's not a matter of hoping you won't get one for a while, you *know* exactly when it's going to come.
That's why the cafergot was such a god-send. Once I started taking it at night before bed (when I was in a cluster) I knew I wouldn't get the headache - and I don't live in a constant state of panic and dread when I'm in a cluster anymore. The only thing I have to be careful of is not being stupid lol --- last year I was in a cluster, but without thinking went out to dinner with my wife for our anniversary. And within 10 minutes of having half a glass of champagne --- bang. (Drinking when you're in a cluster will bring on a headache 99 times out 100
)
If it helps at all, there's a support group where you can get a lot more information:
http://www.clusterheadaches.com/[/URL"]http://www.clusterheadaches.com/