12th September 2007
Lynne,
I'm a female who has suffered from Cluster headaches (Chronic Paroxsymal Hemicrania) since the age of 9. I was finally diagnosed and treated around the age of 30. My neurologist wanted to know how I dealt with the pain all those years without medication. I sat and rocked squeezing my head between my knees, and cried. The pain was always on the top, right side of my head. I can pinpoint it with a finger. It's just like someone takes an icepick and repeatedly stabs me in the same spot of my head. Most people get the pain behind an eye. I'm afraid I'd be blind by now if I had gotten pain there!
Anyway, my neurologist said proper treatment is a very strong anti-inflammatory. He put me on Indocin. Indocin really works well when I get CHP attacks, but it takes about 24 hours to build up in my system before it kicks in. I'm not sure if Indocin is something a person can take in a preventative sense. Anti-inflammatories are hard on the stomach. My attacks are months apart lasting for 1-2 weeks at a time. If your husband's attacks have long breaks between, and he hasn't tried Indocin, it might be worth discussing with his doctor.
I'm a female who has suffered from Cluster headaches (Chronic Paroxsymal Hemicrania) since the age of 9. I was finally diagnosed and treated around the age of 30. My neurologist wanted to know how I dealt with the pain all those years without medication. I sat and rocked squeezing my head between my knees, and cried. The pain was always on the top, right side of my head. I can pinpoint it with a finger. It's just like someone takes an icepick and repeatedly stabs me in the same spot of my head. Most people get the pain behind an eye. I'm afraid I'd be blind by now if I had gotten pain there!
Anyway, my neurologist said proper treatment is a very strong anti-inflammatory. He put me on Indocin. Indocin really works well when I get CHP attacks, but it takes about 24 hours to build up in my system before it kicks in. I'm not sure if Indocin is something a person can take in a preventative sense. Anti-inflammatories are hard on the stomach. My attacks are months apart lasting for 1-2 weeks at a time. If your husband's attacks have long breaks between, and he hasn't tried Indocin, it might be worth discussing with his doctor.