---anonymous
Utrecht, Netherlands -

I am a 33 year old male who has finally found some relief from the overwhelming pain of migrane/cluster headaches. I had lived with the daily "power surge" of pain for over 9 years, putting my head on my desk, closing my eyes and riding out the latest, greatest episode. I tried it alone until I thought I would go mad. I went to several Drs. all of whom had different opinions and solutions regarding these headaches. None of the first 4 Drs. that I saw would agree that my pain was caused, at least in part, by the knotted muscles and stress in my upper back and neck. The chiropractors were of the opinion that all of the pain was caused by a mis-alingment of my spine. In desperation I looked for a Dr. who believed that at least some of my pain could be stress related. I found a neurologist who fit the profile. He used a combination of drug, physical and bio therapies. I still have clusters but the frequency is down by over 70% and the intensity has diminished as well. The drug I take is Corgard 80mg per day. For the first month of treatment I went to therapy twice per week. Bio-Feedback, Accu-pulse, Myopulse, auricular therapy all were used. I am down to one treatment every other week and so far so good. I hope this helps someone else-good luck.

---John Cullen <JohnCullen@worldnet.att.net>
Omaha, NE USA -

I am a 33 year old male who has finally found some relief from the overwhelming pain of migrane/cluster headaches. I had lived with the daily "power surge" of pain for over 9 years, putting my head on my desk, closing my eyes and riding out the latest, greatest episode. I tried it alone until I thought I would go mad. I went to several Drs. all of whom had different opinions and solutions regarding these headaches. None of the first 4 Drs. that I saw would agree that my pain was caused, at least in part, by the knotted muscles and stress in my upper back and neck. The chiropractors were of the opinion that all of the pain was caused by a mis-alingment of my spine. In desperation I looked for a Dr. who believed that at least some of my pain could be stress related. I found a neourologist who fit the profile. He used a combination of drug, physical and bio therapies. I still have clusters but the frequency is down by over 70% and the intensity has diminished as well. The drug I take is Corgard 80mg per day. For the first month of treatment I went to therapy twice per week. Bio-Feedback, Accu-pulse, Myopulse, auricular therapy all were used. I am down to one treatment every other week and so far so good. I hope this helps someone else-good luck.

---John Cullen <JohnCullen@worldnet.att.net>
Omaha, NE USA -

Wow! I didn't know there were so many people with this same problem. I don't feel so alone. I have had migraines since I was a teenager. I am now 25. They seem to have increased as I have gotten older and especially after a car accident last year. Usually they are on the left side above the eye and on the temple. I have sensitivity to light and sounds and severe nausea. They usually occur around my menstrual cycle but are not limited to that time. I am taking Immitrex,(25 mg pill and nasal spray), Ultram & Fioricet. I take the Immitrex nasal spray when the nausea is so bad I cannot even hold down water. I also have asthma. So currently I take about 4 different drugs a week for these two problems. I feel bad when I miss work or go home sick. Them I work like a madwoman when I am feeling well to make up for the lost time. Does anyone else feel like that? Sometimes it feels like my boss doesn't believe me because I miss up to 3 days a month. Only 3 work days because the rest fall on the weekend. I am glad to have found a group of people who truly understand the "invisible" pain I feel. I hope to hear from some of you.

---Yvette Hall <annastassia@juno.com>
Southfield, MI USA -

I will be 50 this year and have suffered from migraines most all my life. As a teenager, Excedrin did okay. Over the years, they grew worse and I sought help from a neurologist. They are classic migraines accompanied with stroke symptoms. My whole left side is affected. The pain is in a localized spot behind my left ear and it stays there. The auras are my left leg getting real tired, left arm aches, left side of face goes numb (sometimes my lips and tongue) and tingles. Light doesn't bother me, but sound does. I get 2 a month, one is bad and the other is very bad. Sometimes, I'll get the painless ones where I go half blind. There will be a squiggly circle that grows and in the middle of the circle is nothingness. I'm unable to see anything I look at directly, but can see it out of the corner of my right eye. No pain is involved with this. a Fiorinal helps with comfort during this time. If I'm driving, I have to pull off the road and wait for 15 minutes to a half hour. It seems there is no more than a week of no symptoms in a month's time. The pain is quite severe. Usually, I can handle it with medication when it's the bad one. But the one that's worse than the bad one is the one that knocks me off my feet for one to three days. The trouble is that the worst day I have no memory of. One day a month (sometimes 2) is completely wiped from my memory. Another thing that happens before a migraine is I get clumsy and bump into things, drop things, trip over my feet, talk with slurred speech and blurry vision. Presently I'm getting relief only from the severity of the pain. Imatrex is too risky for me to try due to the stroke symptoms. So, I'm on Inderal, Amitryptilline, Depakote, 40 Fiorinal a month and 20 Darvon a month. The ER experiences are when I just have to have a narcotic. It's too scarry for me to handle the narcotics on my own because I lose good judgment when in pain and just want relief. As long as you have a good doctor treating you who understands and knows what you are going through, the ER visits will go smoothly and efficiently usually. They don't treat me as a drug addict--they know who my doctor is and they give me relief. The difficult thing for me is the aftermath. When I get back on my feet, it's as if I just went through a terrible trauma. I'm so exhausted that all I can do after then pain is sleep for a day or two. Perhaps it's my age? When younger, I bounced back better. Now, they drain me and recovery takes longer. I stay away from foods containing tyramine. My career has been affected and had to change it so I could give myself needful rest. Perhaps if you can relate to these symptoms, it won't be as scarry for you. You are not alone. Karen, oype@earthlink.net
Karen <oype@earthlink.net>
Tacoma, WA USA -

I have had classic migraines on and off all my life--flashing lights etc. The last 5 years I have had them with auditory aura as well, although they have not been painful, just pressure. The about three years ago, I started getting cluster headaches which would wake me up with an icepick at about 4 AM, and lasted for weeks at a time. these continued for about a year, with MDs saying it was because I was depressed or perimenopausl. Then during a routine pelvic a cervical polyp was found and removed. the cluster heeadaches stopped and (it's been two years) didn't return. I'm guessing this had something to do with estrogen production from the polyp. Has anyone had a similar experience?

---Kala Ladenheim <kalae@gwu.edu>
Washington, DC USA -

First, let me apologize. I provided the wrong E Mail address on my letter a couple of days ago. The right one appears below. I have suffered from migraines for 28 years. My story is already journalized on Ronda's website. My heart goes out to everyone of you who suffers from the affliction of migraines. I am hoping to hear from someone who has a success story, and is not simply selling a product. I'm praying that your success can be mine, and will help others who suffer. PLEASE, answer if you have had any significant degree of success in treating your migraines. With sincere thanks, Beverly T

---beverly t <beverlyt@webtv.net>
dedham, ma USA -