Posted by drummer (209.105.134.180) on July 16, 1999 at 07:39:10:
I think I may be confused. I think I may have a lack of understanding and awareness. I think I may be more angry than I already had been over the past 15 years. Is it possible that having Cluster Headaches is becoming “fashionable”, “hip” or even “cool”?
Let me explain. Listen. WE have all tried to spread OUR knowledge of Clusters to the general public and to the medical community. WE have all calmly explained that the pain in OUR heads is fucking awful. WE have explained OUR frustrations with being miss-diagnosed with migraines, tension or sinus headaches. I have read a great deal of horror stories on this board about visits to the Emergency room. (Looking like a drug addict that needs a “fix”). When all WE need is some Oxygen and maybe a really, really big shot of Imitrex (Imigran).
I talked to a real clusterhead last night. He and I were discussing the “hipness” of having Clusters. Hang on. Let me explain again. Sometimes I find it difficult to get to the point. Ok. Here’s the point.
I work in an office of 250 employees. WE all know that Clusters affect 4-6 in every 100,000 people. (At least that is the statistics that I have seen). Well, 2 young ladies that I work with came to me the other day and said that they had just been diagnosed with Clusters. You would think that I would have been terribly excited to finally meet in person a real live clusterhead. Since I’m a major pessimistic cynic, this wasn’t the case. If you have ever talked to me you would know that I have a little test I give to people that claim to have Clusters. The test has one question. The question is this. Oh my God, what do you do when you get the headache?
I asked the young ladies that I work with this same question. The answer that they both gave me was this; “I have to go to a dark room and lay down”. I am absolutely positively convinced that it is impossible to lay down when a Cluster attack arrives. Could I be wrong? I have thought about the patients that Dr. Goadsby placed into an MRI machine during a Cluster attack. I assume they were laying down. How does that happen? For the life of me I can’t lay down during a Cluster attack.
I lied to the women at work and told them that I was really busy. I asked them nicely if they would please go away. As a teenager when I worked in the retail business at the local toy store, I would have to wear a name-tag so customers would know my name. All the employees that worked with me had to wear a name-tag too. I found most customers to be rather stupid and annoying. So, one day I changed my name-tag to read, “go away” instead of “Dave”.
Am I the only one that cannot lay down during a Cluster attack? Is my assumption that the 2 ladies at work are not suffering from Clusters wrong? Is it possible that as WE begin to educate the general public about Cluster Headaches and this disease becomes more “known” that WE will find more people miss-diagnosed with Clusters? Am I being an idiot?
Just some thoughts. I readily admit that I may not have a clue. Thanks for your time.