Posted by Liz (204.152.12.86) on July 16, 1999 at 14:31:28:
I am a 27 year old female, and my neurologist believes
I have cluster headaches. I sort of fit the profile,
but only if you ignore some of my other symptoms. The
pain started about 3 months ago and have not let up,
and steadily gets worse (two weeks ago I was in the
emergency room). When the pain lessens (not that often)
it only goes down to about a 5 (on the scale of 1-10).
The pain starts behind my left eye and feels like a balloon
being blown up, then proceeds over to the right,
then the top of my head - where it starts to burn,
then to the back of my head - where it feels like
I have been it with a baseball bat, and when it is
at it's worse continues down my spine.
Shortly before this started I began loosing my ability
to write (my passion in life). Now I am increasingly
loosing my ability to reason and comprehend. I will find
myself repeating phrases and questions to people several times
before I realize I already said that. My reading and
comprehension used to be at a post grad level and
now are no where near that. When I read it takes 5-10
times as long as it used to, and then I really don't understand
all I am reading. There are time when I have trouble walking
and I lost part of the peripheral vision in my left eye.
I am not very comfortable with the diagnoses of cluster headache,
I feel as if something else is being overlooked. Every
major medicine prescribed and mentioned I have tried.
Does this sound like any one else?
Thanks -