Cluster Headache Exchange

I just wanted to let you know that there is help for this terrible disorder!!! It may have taken me nearly a half a century to find relief but I have actually found it!!!!!
I was mis diagnosed for years to begin with. I was prescribed every med / treatment there was out there for migraine headaches.
Finally diagnosed.
Not much research conducted for this disorder of the hypothalimus. So not much help.
Once again prescribed and treated by everything known for this disorder.
Over medicated! - - - - not good
Repeated job loss, confined to home....... well you know. It's no wonder they are referred to as suicide headaches.
After obtaining some relief during attacks through the use of oxygen I was elated. It definately is a life saver. However the attacks still went on and on and on. So though I could make it through each attack with some sort of life line easing the whole ordeal to some degree, I still could not stand the ultimate consequences of months upon months of each year being stripped from me as these attacks / boughts would continue.
Reasearch myself. Learn. Understand what I was dealing with. Reasearch, research, research.
Once I understood why the disorder is believed to occur (hypothalimus) I was on a mission to seek a way to end each cycle instead of just getting through. Regain my life. I found many research ed areas on surgeries and "unethical" treatments. I ruled any surgery to my brain out. TOO risky, not enough results to be messing with. Although believe me it sounded tempting - ANYTHING for these to end. It seemed that the hallucinigenic drugs had the best results yet I was petrified to try this not to mention illegal. LSD - hmmm - pretty chemical, did I want a bad acid trip that I didnt come out of? Well maybe lol considering my life was no longer mine anyway, with any luck I'd take a permanant trip to a great place instead of this already bad trip like life I was living. Nah - chemical too sketchy.
Well I was desperate! No Dr. no Nuerologist, no one could help me. I actually felt bad for them. I decided to take the natural route.
I searched and searched for a safe place to obtain some hallucinigenic mushrooms. Still a bit frightened by the idea I rounded up my family to lets say babysit me while I tried this method. No need for them ultimately. I ate these in the evening, went to sleep, never had any strange dreams or any other weird happenings, just sleep. Awoke the next morning - NO HEADACHE GONE MAGIC
There appears to be a legitmate reason to the name "magic mushrooms"
I can not understand for the life of me why here in the U.S. this is not utilized in the medical field!!!!!!! They condone pumping us up with chemicals and man made pharmisuticals yet we are unable to reach out to mother nature to help those who suffer with this truly unbearable disorder.
Best Wishes
KC

Please help us. My husband has episodic CH. We would definitely try the mushroom route except I figure out how to get them. We are desperate and will try anything. We have taken all the meds and are doing the oxygen, but its no relief. The only good thing they stay away for about 18 months, but then come back. He is in the middle of an epidsode right now and it will probably last about 3 months. How are yours at this time?

Wow, that's pretty cool, never heard of anyone using 'shrooms before. The LSD method I can undersatnd as one of the drugs used is lysergiside which is related to LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide).

Did you have no luck with Imitrex?? THat works great for me as well as deep breathing excercises.

Have you tried Imitrex or Sumatrex ie: sumatriptan succinate?

I use it in tablet form (50mg) and injection (0.5ml vials) and have excellent success with it, although I would rather not have any of them.

Hi, I'm a clusterhead (nickname). Have the chronic kind for almost 4 yrs. and know the pain, yikes! Luckily no wall banging pain for awhile but you never know. It wakes me up at night and then I do the oxygen mask, climb back to bed and then wake up 2-3 hrs with the pain again it lasts about 3 to 4 days and back to normal. Only use about two bottles a month some times more or less. I'm not on other meds. anymore have tried verapamil. Full blast oxygen usually knocks it out if you use it right away as soon as you feel a symptom. try it you'll like it!

I have always wanted to, should check it out.

I just discovered my potential cure though (it's a 2 parter):

1) Was on an SSRI (selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor) drug Sertraline for a few years for anxiety and hadn't had the cluster migraines in the same time. I went off the drug for some reason and immediately they returned.

2) I had my first appointment with Dr. Brendan Cleary at the Toronto Migraine Clinic in Georgetown, Ont. Dr. Cleary uses a rare form of accupuncture to treat migraines and purportedly has >90% success rate. People from all over the world go there, even a lady made a pilgrimage from Afghanistan.

I went in there with a migraine and left without it and it hasn't returned all day. I have a few more appointments but believe this will work. I want off Imitrex.

Conclusion: SSRI drugs for prevention and Accupuncture at this clinic.

Good luck

There's a tight connection between serotonin and melatonin levels and these monsters. No surprise that taking an SSRi helped, but that must be your own brain chemistry. They do nothing for my clusters. Triptans for headaches, prednisone to break the cycle, calcium channel blockers to keep them away. Combo has worked for me in the 3 major episodes I've had in the past 8 years. In fact, although I HATE it, the prednisone treatment breaks the cycle immediately, usually within 24 hours. It's a nasty drug, and in this last bout I gained 12 pounds in 3 weeks, couldn't sleep, etc. But it broke the cycle. I would try triptans and oxygen first for immediate response, then add the prednisone and Calan right away for longer-term treatment. (However, I'm a woman, and I always onder if men and women need to be treated slightly differently.)