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Cluster Headaches, Cluster Migraine or suicide headaches abbreviated simply as CH are a type of headache that is so severe the medical profession have labelled them the most excruciating pain known to mankind, and many sufferers have even committed suicide to stop the pain. Unfortunately I too am a sufferer of this evil condition and have only recently discovered what it actually is called. ARE YOU A CLUSTER HEAD? Thousands of sufferers out there are still unaware of the conditions name and what it actually is. On this webpage I hope to make the condition more clear.
I elaborate on the extreme pain that CH delivers, as basically that's all it does, with no other ill effects after an attack. During a bout of CH, the eyeballs and eye sockets, temples, forehead deliver excrutiating pain, also the, teeth, shoulders and neck joints can start to ache. One also becomes irritable, restless, hot and sweaty. The primary pain though, is concentrated behind the eye and in the temple, usually only one side of the head is effected. I used to get them on both sides at different times, now its only ever on the left side. There is now a recognised focus/self help group called O.U.C.H, standing for Organization for Understanding Cluster Headaches and below I present a Youtube video I sourced as an introduction to this webpage...
They are called Cluster Headaches or Cluster Migraines as the attacks occur in spates or clusters, several attacks a day for several days or weeks, then as quick as they come, they stop. They can stop for maybe a year or even two years then BAM! they start all over again in their cluster attacks. It is absolutely imperative that you see your Doctor and get prescribed painkillers and other medication to arrest or at least ease the pain, I myself am taking Tramadol Hydrochloride and these when taken 5 up to 8 x 50Mg capsules do arrest the pain or at least some of it. Codeine Phosphate are also quite powerful but did not completely stop the pain.
Some say that even my powerful prescription painkillers do not actually do anything as an average attack is 15 to 30 minutes and that's how long they generally last even when I take the powerful painkillers. I dare not be without them though and always take them if I feel a slight twinge of CH coming on. My CH does not appear suddenly but starts in the distance as it were, over 30 seconds to a minute, it builds up to its excruciating crescendo and stays there. There are two strains of CH, Episodic and Chronic. Episodic bouts last a few weeks then will disappear for months or even a year, whilst chronic bouts is an all year syndrome, I myself am now a chronic sufferer...typical! I was an Episodic sufferer, for about 20 years but in the last 10 years I have been a Chronic sufferer...the beast switched? If I can catch CH before it goes full tilt, the agony subsides after 15 to 30 minutes. If I am woken up by one, its too late and is going ballistic, painkillers then take ages before abating it, if they actually do abate it. I recently had a most severe and brutal attack that made me shout out to God to stop the pain, to take it away. Fact: Even Atheists call out to God when they suffer a CH attack! You don't actually call out to God straight away, only after about 15 minutes of the torture.
CH is not a headache, it is not a migraine, instead it is a neurological condition that simply renders perpetual evil pain in the temple, eye socket and eyeball of one side of the head. An attack may last from 15 minutes right up to 3 agonizing hours, however, 7 continous hours is the longest I have suffered. I had no medication when that particular attack occurred, never again will I be without my painkillers, Tramadol Hydrochloride I carry them with me all the time as they do help...not much, but they do make me a little better. Tramadol Hydrochloride are a very powerful painkiller but even after I take 500mg backed up with 1000mg of ibuprofen or paracetomol or even dispersible aspirin it can still take up to 30 minutes to arrest the agony. Because an average bout can last 15 to 30 minutes is why some say they don't actually do anything, but I have never had an hour or two of it in one torture session since. IMPORTANT UPDATE - IMPORTANT UPDATE - IMPORTANT UPDATE POSSIBLE CURE FOUND. I believe the solution and cure to the pain has been found as I now take beta blockers every 24 hours and since taking them there has been no more pain. The side effects are acute drowsiness but the payoff is well well worth it! These beta blockers have worked for over 4 months now so I believe its ok to say that they work 100% as I have had no pain since taking them. Yehaaaw and Yipee Yi Yay! The tablets are called Propranolol Hydrochloride. Half Beta-Prograne 80mg and they have totally eliminated all the pain I suffered with these damn cluster migraines. Please see you doctor and try them out if your a cluster headache sufferer, as so far this is the only medication that has worked. They are a new tablet and have only been available over the last couple of years at time of this update January 16th 2012. If you know someone who suffers from cluster
headaches then please notify them of this new tablet and maybe you could
save someone from suffering excruciating pain. AT NERVES END! The trigeminal nerve center is where the agony is emitted from. This nerve center, when triggered gets over stimulated and goes ballistic as the blood vessels dilate. This dilation of the blood vessels actually applies a lot of pressure to the nerve, as if it was being squeezed in a vice
The trigeminal nerves based in the temples, branch off from the main left and right hand brainstem behind the eyes and send pain impulses throughout the effected side of the head. Teeth and joints can also start aching in sympathy to the main pulse, also the nose becomes semi-blocked and starts to run in cycles. Below is a Youtube Video of a guy who is suffering a brutal CH attack, this is an exact duplicate of how I am when I have brutal bouts...luckily I don't have the brutal bouts every time, again...Thank God. I too could have made this video but this guy is behaving just like I do, so what the hell...I will use his video instead. People who suffer CH are the true Kings of pain and its not nioce to see someone suffering from this condition...
Luckily not many people suffer from this neurological condition, only 0.1% of the worlds population. It is as if you are being systematically tortured, but as the medical profession states, its a worse pain that can be generated by the nerves and brain in tandem...I have to agree! It is as though some little demon is personaly working on pulling out your eye and tearing up your eyelids making them swell, itch and agitate.
Women who suffer CH say its worse than childbirth. I describe it as like multiple bad toothaches that if they were all to kick off at the same time and concentrate the pain into one spot behind the eye and in the temple...it would be a close description. The guy in the Youtube video below relates a good description of the condition.
Warriors of Pain is a good description for sufferers of this evil condition and sadly I too am a warrior of pain. There is currently no known cure as the condition is not really understood by the medical profession, but the O.U.C.H organization is constantly researching for possible causes.
THE HAIR TRIGGER I am sure that as a sufferer for many years that there must be a trigger, something that is eaten or drunk to set it off. Triggers like chocolate, nuts, coffee, dairy products are good candidates as are some soda /pop drinks with Aspartame. Foods with lots of chemicals in like monosodium glutamate should not be overlooked either. Bright lights are also another great possibility and permanently wearing sunglasses would be a good solution for this. CH sufferers need to try to tally up an attack, going back at least 12 hours to try to pinpoint a possible source, the catalyst for the attack. After years of suffering CH, I am now determined to find out the cause, as I am not happy with apparent spontaneous attacks with no defined catalyst.
If CH is not a reaction to something eaten or drunk then the another alternative cause that I have pondered on is an atmospheric pressure problem in that as low or high air pressure changes, CH sufferers heads don't equalise with it, hence pressure builds inside the head. If the air pressure at sea level is 14.7 lbs psi pressing in, then the body exudes 14.7 lbs psi pressing out. As air pressure changes to say 15½ lbs psi then the body does the same to acclimatise and equalise to this, if the body didn't then the head, especially the eyeballs would experience great pain and I think this is a great possibility. I would suggest taking a CH sufferer up to 30,000 feet in a decompression chamber to see if there is any equalization of internal pressure, who knows it might even fix the problem.
The fact that blowing the nose can relieve a small fraction of the pain and that the nose gets semi-blocked indicates a build up of internal pressure is evident. This could imply that there is an air blockage far up in the sinuses and surgery or the decompression chamber could remedy this problem. I would like this hypothesis looked into by the medical profession as a cure needs to be sought for this, the worlds most truly agonising condition. My update may offer the right advice for a solution, a possible cure to the pain. Time will tell if this becomes a global fix...I hope for the sake of all the CH sufferers that it is indeed the cure and we can finally say goodbye to this evil condition. INFORMATION AND ADVICE Please sent me your CH feedback to clusterheads@vincelewis.net and any good advice or other solutions that you have discovered that arrested the pain 100% and it will be published with your permission. Remember that we need to work together to beat this. Below are some official websites that deal specifically with CH and its suffers. Please do visit them, I believe that they request a yearly pay subscription, its up to you if you wish to subscribe...I haven't subscribed due to poor finances where I need every buck and besides I have been cured...so far. Please do link this webpage wherever you see fit to
help spread the word to others. Do your bit to help, don't just
sit and suffer alone!
Updated January 27th 2012. |
