Doc's Cluster Headache Journal

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Dec 9th 2005

For the last few weeks the "long and low" headaches have been slowly tapering off. In many ways they are more annoying than the intense classic clusters. I mean to say that I am exhausted, beaten to a pulp and instead of the really bad ones just ending like they used to now they "uncompress" like a giant spring. For quite a while I was waking up with a bad headache (bad being around what I call a "1 or 2" so not bad in cluster terms). And having that same headache around the clock... sometimes longer. 30+ hours with no break.

Well that has slowed down now and I am starting to have to "search" for them... I have to think about wether I have a headache... this my seem odd to people but when you go for months with horrifying bursts of pain that slowly tapers off and eventually becomes a constant yet less intense pain you just get used to it and when it starts to fade your mind tends to ignore the lesser pain even as it is effecting you in thousands of subtle ways.

So at this point I will still get headaches that approach a 1-2 but they are more like very slow "throbs" that may take half a day to "throb" I am hoping that within a few weeks I will be out of it and I can start thinking about how to live like a normal person again.

The spring thing is a good metaphor... I need to illustrate it.

Doc.

3 Comments:

  • I understand what you're going through. I'm so sorry that you're going through this. I hope they drop off completely for you. Do you get steady cycles or do yours appear at any time for no good reason? I'm going to start following your blog now that I've found it. I'll put a link to it on my site, too. I get clusters on top of my migraines and I don't think I could describe them or the pain like you do. Good writing. Good luck to your wife on her docu, too.

    By Blogger Jessica, at 1/08/2006 12:29 PM  

  • Jessica,

    My cycles have no discernible pattern. Over the last 14-15 years there have been times that I have gone as long as 10-12 months with little pain. But there have also been times that the cycle ramps down only to start climbing up again before it fully goes away.

    Before this last cycle I can tell you that I had had a nice long break from the really bad ones... every time that happens you start to think and hope that it could finally be over once and for all. So when they return It can be a real kick in the stomach emotionally.

    By Blogger Murdock Scott, at 1/08/2006 4:32 PM  

  • Pamo,

    I trust you got my email. Thanks for your interest.

    By Blogger Murdock Scott, at 1/08/2006 4:32 PM  

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