‘Pain drove me to brink of suicide’ (From The Argus)
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Sussex teacher's pain drove her to brink of suicide
7:00am Saturday 9th February 2013 in News By Bill Gardner
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Rebecca Rossi-Bennett with her cluster headache relief kit
A teacher driven to the brink of suicide by crippling headaches has finally found a “miracle” cure.
Rebecca Rossi-Bennett had decided her life “was simply not worth living” after suffering head-splitting pain for the past five years.
During her frequent seizures, the 25-year-old from Peacehaven would punch herself in the face and bang her head against a wall as a distraction from the agony.
Some doctors and scientists have described cluster headaches as the most intense pain a human can endure – worse than giving birth, burns or broken bones.
In the past, the unbearable suffering has driven many victims to suicide.
Mrs Rossi-Bennett said: “The actual pain is like someone stabbing needles into your eye. It pulses at the back of your head until you can barely breathe.”
The primary school teacher’s family said her constant attacks were like watching a horror movie.
Mrs Rossi-Bennett said: “My husband said it was like a scene from The Exorcist. I was paralysed by pain and I didn’t know what was going on, just moaning and screaming.
“It was terrible when the doctors said there was no cure – I was so depressed. To be honest I didn’t see the point of going on.”
Migraine charity
It was only when her husband found the National Migraine Centre, a dedicated headache charity, that mrs Rossi-Bennett saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
Experts at the charity’s London clinic told her she was suffering from Sjaastad syndrome, a rare and severe form of cluster headache.
Now, regular injections in the back of her neck have brought her some relief at last, with attacks only happening around once a month.
Mrs Rossi-Bennett said: “It’s allowed me to live my life again. I’ve gone back to work full time and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Her husband Ashley Rossi-Bennett is running the Brighton Marathon in April in aid of the National Migraine Centre.
To donate visit his Just Giving Page www.uk.virginmoneygiving.com/AshleyRossiBennett.
For more information visit www.nationalmigrainecentre.org.uk.
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Comments(4)
lordenglandofsussex
says...
8:48am Sat 9 Feb 13
Morpheus
says...
9:21am Sat 9 Feb 13
samson61
says...
10:40am Sat 9 Feb 13
Imagine a burning hot rod being pushed through the back of eye and then feeling like the front of your head will explode...that's pretty close to how horrible these headaches are.
If anyone else suffers from these, what works really well for me when I feel an attack coming on is a strong espresso and do as many press ups as you can. Sounds weird I know, but i've tried everything and this does it for me. Oh, and bananas really help - 3 a day for a few weeks really reduced the number of attacks I had.
Valerie Paynter says...
8:07am Sat 9 Feb 13
I attended a Migraine clinic in London and tried all kinds of things to deal with it. Every attack left me looking hungover and feeling ill for a good 3 days after. Attacks were once or twice a month long. Having any kind of a life was challenging.
In 1990 I went into end-stage renal failure in a life-threatening way. Dialysis....then the transplant I still have.
From the day I entered hospital to be saved from dying to the present day I have never had another Migraine. I never throw up.
The lesson for me was that the 'Migraine' must in some way have been connected with failing renal function. Blood pressure was not the problem during those years. So what was going on?
I never found out. But anyone else with migraines should look to some underlying organic cause. I had one. It must be true for others.