Personal experiences CH

I want to tell our story of how Annalisa Lentini (through the Association of Headaches Ticino) helped us in a very difficult moment … My husband Svend suffers from cluster headaches. At first, his cluster cycles occurred every two years with an attack during the night and at least a week. Two and a half years later it changed radically: the cluster cycles re-occurred with four or five attacks a night. It seemed to have no end! It was really terrible!!! Svend was taken to a hospital, but no treatment was effective. After that he was transferred to another hospital in Lucerne. They tried everything possible (again without success) but couldn’t block the cluster attack (they even almost caused him a heart attack!!). At the time he was really desperate and was suffering from an unbearable pain, so strong that he threatened to commit suicide!

I was very concerned about him and fully panicked. I didn’t know what to do and where or who I could turn to. We were completely “inexperienced”, we felt totally alone in the fight against this pain! Svend was monitored 24/24 hours while I was at home with two small children (one of whom never slept). I desperately began to search on the Internet, when I finally found the Association of Headaches Ticino website.

With courage and so much hope I dialed the association’s phone number. Annalisa answered the phone, she listened to me carefully, helped me and encourage me to keep calm and brave. She explained me the difference between the different headache types, symptomatic, preventive and emergency treatments. Annalisa realized the seriousness of the problem, acted immediately and gave me a phone number… The phone number that saved us! This is the phone number of a specialist doctor in Baden (AG), who immediately took Svend in care. He was treated immediately with an injection directly into a nerve (don’t ask me which). Finally, the cluster was interrupted and my husband was reborn! Svend is currently still one of his patients. Now Svend knows that when the cluster attack starts he needs to contact his specialist to request the “painful” injection to stop the cluster attack. Since then, we live better and we will always be grateful for Annalisa’s support. She came as a godsend! I don’t know what we would have done without her and the Association of HeadachesTicino. A tip: If you know someone who suffers from cluster headache or any other headache-type (primary or secondary), don’t hesitate to contact the association. You can only win,  we have earned a lot.

Monica Pedersen 12.02.16