If you get them you know about them. They're also reffered to as Horton's syndrome, suicide headaches and there's loads more terms I believe. I spent a year or two suffering before I went to the doc who reffered me to the hospital. Since then I've had about one bout a year which lasts between a month and three months with attacks at between one and four a day.
I only posted up cos I was curious and I'd felt a few bad tinglings the past few nights.
What syptoms do you get? I have a niggling in the back of the neck, mental pain like my right eyeball is being pinched with tweezers from behind, watery eye and I've felt sick from time to time. For a year or two I had to use the nasal spray which I found almost useless. Then I signed up to do an oxygen test thingy where I get one oxygen tank and a placebo but then my bout went. Then it came back and I got the injections. My word they're brilliant for me. I can handle ten minutes of agony compared to forty. I admit I'm pretty fortunate compared to some.
I've used
this charity a few times when I've been a bit desperate and I think it was them who put me onto the oxygen trials (since which I've lost all the details). Any sufferers or mates/relatives tell others.
Here's a little tip for when and if you get the nasty niggling on the neck and eye before a headache comes on. I found out by chance when I had no treatment on me and popped into a petrol garage. I got whatever rubbish painkillers they had and took them with a can of V energy drink. it completely aborted the attack! When I spoke to the helpline form OUCH the fella said that ice cold redbull often stops them if you time it right. Thinking now though I reckon room temperature would work better due to the fact it'd get absorbed quicker.
Tim that's a terrible story. I don't know what the thing your Sister in Law had removed but I'm sure it had to come out anyway. I'm glad she's had it diagnosed. Again I consider myself fortunate that I diagnosed it myself when I remembered an episode of casualty. There was a man on a wheely stretcher in agony and it baffled everyone until (in true casualty style) someone had a hinch and that was that. I went to see the head doctor and he confirmed it to me. I could've kissed him.
For those that suffer or think they do look at this website:
http://www.ouchuk.org/html/ (same as the one I linked to earlier). If you think that's your problem, get it confirmed by refferal and then push and push your doc until you get at least the injections of sumatriptan. Oxygen through a special high flow respirator thingy seems to be the best treatment but the most expensive. That is why the trial I mentioned earlier was on, to get it licensed. I'm not even sure now which but I think the injection is the only official treatment but doctors will try the cheapest first. Sumatrptan by the way stimulates the seratonin receptors in the brain (again I think! I'm having a drink) shich oddly are the bits that give out the happy hormones.
Hope this helped a bit. Other sufferers lets have your tips.
BTW stopping drinking, smoking, drugs, sex, rock and roll... none of it seems to help. I've tried and so has the only other person I know who's suffered. (Stopping some or slowing them down may help a bit). I've always thought tiredness might have something to do with it but it's hard to tell.
