Case Report

Oral High-Dose Thiamine Improves the Symptoms of Chronic Cluster Headache

Table 1

Cluster headache quality of life scale (CHQ). The table indicates the frequency with which cluster headache influences the events indicated in the questions below. Linkert’s scale (gives a numerical value to each answer): never = 1; occasionally = 2; sometimes = 3; often = 4; always = 5. The higher the score is, the more the headache influences negatively the patient’s quality of life. The scale goes from 28 (the headache does not influence the patient’s life) to 140 (it influences it maximally).

BeforeAfter

(1) Did it avoid you leaving the house?41
(2) Did it avoid making plans due to unpredictability of CH e.g. holidays?51
(3) Did you feel unable to complete duties at work?41
(4) Did you have difficulty in getting involved in leisure activities e.g. cinema, theatre, etc?41
(5) Did you avoid crowded and noisy places e.g., public transport, pubs, etc?51
(6) Did you feel that the severity of cluster headache affected your daily activities?51
(7) Have you been less involved in family affairs e.g. interactions with children, planning holidays?41
(8) Have you been unable to socialize/spend time with friends and family?41
(9) Have you been unable to achieve your daily goals and carry out routines and chores?41
(10) Did you feel less respected by others?31
(11) Did you have problem with close personal relationships?31
(12) Did you feel you were burden for family and friends?31
(13) Did you feel self-conscious and uncomfortable about your appearance after a cluster headache attack (e.g. swelling redness of eyes and facial sweating, etc)?41
(14) Did you feel that others are dismissive of your cluster headache?31
(15) Did you feel aggressive?31
(16) Did you feel bad about yourself, lose self-confidence or feel worthless?21
(17) Did you feel like harming yourself or suicidal?21
(18) Have you been irritable, impatient or less tolerant?31
(19) Have you been forgetful e.g., missed appointments?41
(20) Have you been unable to take care of your appearance (e.g. take a bath, put make-up on, change clothe etc)?31
(21) Did you feel isolated, lonely or vulnerable?31
(22) Did you find your pain is unbearable if untreated?51
(23) Did you dread that the headache would not go away?51
(24) Did you feel lacking in energy and constantly tired?41
(25) Did you feel sleepy, worn out or less able to concentrate due to nocturnal attacks of CH?51
(26) Did you have problems concentrating e.g., reading paper, watching TV, etc.?51
(27) Have you been unable to think clearly?41
(28) Did you feel tense or anxious?41
Total score: …/14010728

VAS: it measures how much the person is satisfied of her/his life (0 = completely unsatisfied; 100 = completely satisfied). The score of our patient was 40 before therapy and 100 after therapy with thiamine.