What a Cluster!

Headaches anyone?



I suffer from headaches at least once a month. Well let me rephrase that: I get little headaches often. Some people hold all their stress in their stomachs, I hold mine in my back and shoulders. Tight shoulders leads to tension headaches, which I usually just deal with (oh how I wish insurance paid for messages!!).

The once a month headaches I'm speaking of are cluster headaches, which I think are a type of migraine. The start behind my right eye and sometimes lift into the right side of my forehead. I've been given a prescription for generic imitrex, but I'm afraid to take it again. The first time, I took it right at bedtime, feel asleep, and woke up not quite headache-free, but close enough.

The second time? Not so much.

I took another one at bedtime, but had some trouble falling asleep. Since I wasn't snoozing when the meds kicked in, I started to feel odd. Sort of like I was filled with water and rocks, and whichever side of me was against the bed was where all the rocks were, weighing me down. It made me feel like I had to move, then move again, then again, just to keep the "rocks" from settling. I did finally fall asleep, but when I woke the next morning, my headache was still there full force. Needless to say I didn't take another one.

Last month when I got it, I called in a refill for some plain ol' pain meds. They didn't relieve the pain entirely, but enough that I could function. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday and will ask him if he's willing to write for something else. Luckily, I know what my insurance covers without a prior authorization, so there's no guessing involved.

How do you handle headaches? Dry heat? Moist heat? Ice pack? Meds? Obviously I have one now and I'm hoping to get rid of it by tomorrow before work.