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Cluster migraines?

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Migraine Headache
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Posted 6/18/2010 2:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hello all! I am a 22 year old, otherwise healthy male, and I opened an account here in hopes of finding knowledgeable support for what I have been told were cluster migraines.

as of typing this I have been out of the hospital for about 7 hours, after a 4 day stay. I am sorry if this post becomes a little "wordy" but my head is still foggy and I would like to leave as much detail as possible to receive the most relevant advice possible.

My girlfriend called an ambulance after I found myself vomiting and shaking uncontrollably from what at the time I could only best describe as the worst pain I have ever experienced. I have had similar feeling headaches a handful of times in the past, but this one was exponentially worse than anything I ever felt.
With every beat of my heart I felt a driving pain that shot up the back of my neck and filled my entire head with the sensation that a "lead balloon" was being inflated on top of my brain; it felt like my eyeballs were being pushed out of my sockets from the inside and whatever was pushing on them was sharp and red hot.

I was experiencing intense visual "disturbances" and hallucinations and could not move, talk, walk, or otherwise control my body because with every throbbing beat of my heart that "inflated the lead balloon" further I could only collapse into a fetal position holding my head in a quite futile attempt to "counteract" the pressure i felt inside my head. as the pain grew in intensity all i could think about was committing suicide just to end the pain and relentless vomiting and shaking.

when I arrived in the hospital their first instinct was to pump me full of narcotic pain killers and let me writhe as they found some clue as to what was going on with me. This was of course after an hour long stay in the admissions office of screaming and crying and laying on their floor with my head tucked between my knees.

after still being in level 10 pain after 6 shots of morphine and dilaudid in the first two hours of my stay they decided to actually do a little bit of "investigating" and they did a CT scan, MRI, a spinal tap, and 3 rounds of blood work. none of the tests showed anything "interesting" as the doctor put it, and after the 3rd day of suicidal pain a neurologist was brought in to examine me.
she decided that it was some form of vascular migraine, more than likely cluster migraines because of the way that it was occuring, and after another 24 hours of observation and another round of blood work i was discharged with a list of prescriptions: Imitrex, Hydrocodone, Elavil, and promethazine.

I am still getting small waves of the migraines coming back in much shorter duration and intensity. though, I am already finding a bit of relief from what i think is the imitrex and the elavil because the hydrocodone of course does nothing other than bring these smaller waves down a notch.
However, I can't help but feel like the doctors did not have much confidence in their diagnosis and I am hoping that I can find some advice from someone with any similarly described migraines. I do not have any form of insurance, in fact I am quite surprised that the hospital allowed me to stay and took such good care of me knowing that I had no insurance, so I will not likely be able to do any follow ups with my referred neurologist as I was barely able to afford the prescriptions that i walked out the doors with.

I am looking for any helpful advice and any helping hands out there that can lead me to any kind of relief from this hell that i find my self suddenly enthralled in.
Posted 6/18/2010 5:05 PM (GMT 0)
Lack of proper nutrition could be the root cause of your headaches. We all know and have read that our foods do not have the same nutrition in them today as they did 50 years ago, and our soil has been depleted of most of the minerals our bodies need. With that in mind, notice the increase in headaches and migraines, look at all the people searching for relief from constant headache pain. The doctors usual answer, drugs. They are pumping more chemicals in our bodies trying to relieve your pain and usually causing more problems from all the side effects. It’s time to look at nutrition as your answer for migraines and headaches. There is an all natural, safe way to prevent your pain.

From personal experience, as having lived with a migraine sufferer for 25 years, I know how miserable migraines are, both for the one suffering and from those close to them. I’ve had to walk on eggshells, be quiet, sit in the dark, miss many family events, all due to headaches. I have sat in the emergency rooms and doctors offices, hoping this drug or that drug would stop his head from hurting and not stop his heart. Forget about the long term side effects, we just had to get through this day.

I am hear to share with you, we found that it was a lack of nutrition. Sounds simple but it was not easy getting to this point. There is a safe, natural solution We are glad we tried ‘one more thing’.

Hope this info helps you, too.




I have edited your post to remove the web addy and would refer you to the forum rules on advertising. Ann

Post Edited By Moderator (Annuk) : 6/21/2010 4:27:48 AM (GMT-6)
Posted 6/18/2010 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
I would love to believe that it was that simple, and im sure i could use a revamp on my diet basics, but I have been an athlete since the 7th grade priding myself in my own health and what i put into my body I have always had a strong grip on the basic essentials that are incorporated into my diet. I never bought into the whole "everything the body needs in one pill" propaganda, and it has suited me well in all areas except these migraines.

thank you very much for your input, because i never actually thought about my diet and nutrition as a factor, so i may be missing a few simple things that could very well stop the cycle
Posted 6/21/2010 10:24 AM (GMT 0)
Hi,

Welcome to Healing Well. So sorry to hear that you are suffering so much!! Firstly, I believe your instincts were right and the Neuro was not sure of his diagnosis, because Migraine and Cluster Headache are two very distinct diseases, there is no such thing as Cluster Migraines!!!!!

I work on a help line for Cluster Headache here in the UK and have had some limited medical training with headache. I am not a Doc and cannot pretend to know it all!

Granted the pain level sounds very similar to Clusterheadache, but the duration doesn't seem to fit so forgive me for asking a few questions.

Are you painfree between attacks? Do you get any other symptoms such as eye watering, eye drooping, blocked nose on the affected side? Do you need to lay down with the pain or are you aggitated and need to walk about? How long does each attack last? How frequent are your attacks? Do you get these attacks in bouts - say once or twice a year?

As I say I am not a Doc, but may be able to give you some guidance if you are able to give me the above information. The best thing for you to do really would be to find a Neurologist who is a Headache Specialist as they only can make a definitive diagnosis!!

take care

Ann
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