UHAM050

WHAT DO TH EY FEEL LIKE? * 33

Aft er my third experience I was prescribed 80 mg of propranolol to be taken daily and have ha d j ust one incident of m igra me sińce.

Oatherine, 20

Although the migraine in this case was alarming, with hallucinations, the solution was a simple one. Catherine was frightened by the experience, but all was well in the end. If you experience any symptoms like this, please do not panie. To be safe, however, you must contact a doctor.

Cluster headaches

These are predominantly a małe burden, and are intensely painful. They are focused around one eye, usually on one side of the head only, and are sharp and stabbing. Before the headache, a ‘warning’ may occur, of aching on one side of the head and they often begin during sleep. They can last for less than an hour, but may exceed three or four hours. Sufferers may experience them many times a day for a period of weeks or months, and then they usually stop for some time. Indeed, they can go away forever, or for decades, only to return again. During the headaches the eye may stream and the nose might be blocked, which can lead to a mistaken diagnosis of hay fever, or some other allergy. Because they are morę likely to occur during spring or autumn, they do seem like seasonal allergic reactions, hence the misdiagnosis. Furthermore, the fact that they are centred around the eye can lead doctors up a blind alley looking for causes in the eye itself or in the nerves in the neck and head.

The principal characteristic of this type of headache is the severity of the pain. It is often the worst pain the person has ever or will ever feel. It is so strong that during the headaches the sufferers may dance around to distract themselves from the pain, or hit themselves in the head. They may even repeatedly bang their heads against a wali or door post, although this is not to be recommended, of course. Because the pain is so strong, suicide is higher among people with cluster headaches than it is among people generally, or among migraineurs. Samuel tells his story:

^bbMy cluster headaches first beganwhen I was in mytwenties. I noticed

that alcohol tends to bring them on, so I don't touch it anymore, which