Posted by BobC (206.213.90.70) on August 11, 1999 at 12:45:25:
I'm 38 and have been en episodic CH sufferer for 7 years. I have a great wife, great house, great dogs and a great job. Guess what? Life sucks! It's amazing that what amounts to about 8.5% of my life can make the rest of it so completely unbearable. I pretty much know (or think I know) when the CH is going to hit but this cluster has been different. A little history; for the past two years, I've been taking 800mg Magnesium/day. I think I read about it here on this board. My episodes have typically occured during the late summer/early fall so this one is about "on time". Last year, I experienced a relatively weak episode (about 2 weeks of mild clusters) and assumed it was due to the magnesium. I take it religiously. I'm paranoid to leave home overnight without my "mag". I take them camping, fishing, motorcycle touring and on business. I thought I had this SOB under control. No way. I had the single worst CH of my life last night. I also had a nasty one at work yesterday (which never happens). This whole episode has been worse "pain-wise" than I've had in the past but the headaches only seem to last about an hour. They're always on the left side along with the tearing, teeth-ache, runny nose. Nothing really works anymore (O2, hot showers, Imitrex). I feel so bad for my wife (especially after reading DJ's post below). She's an angel. I don't know how I can ever repay her. This has turned into a rambling post, I'm afraid. It just occurs to me that everyone here is the same. CarlD, I can't imagine what you're going through, I wish I could do something to help. DJ, Simon. All class acts. On the other end of the spectrum, we find Incog Nito, an insignificant waste of space. I'll continue lurking here and if I come across ANYTHING that helps even the slightest amount, you can be sure I'll post it. Feel free to email me if you need to rave a bit. I live in the Seattle, WA area.