Ok, I can see that there are alot of people who have CH. Not cool, sorry guys. Maybe those of you with a little experience can help me out.
I am 23 years old, and for about four years I have had to deal with migraine headaches. Recently though, I found myself with a different type of headache. This headache was waking me up in the middle of the night,  and it felt like somebody took the liberty to plant a knife in the back of my neck; my eyeball; the top of my head; forehead; and the side of my skull above the ear (goes near the temple). I also felt a bit of discomfort in my mouth. At first, I thought it was wisdom teeth, I got my remaining ones pulled. The headaches continued. Grasping at straws, I thought "maybe I need new pillows". Nope, come to find out; pillows dont have a shelf-life, so they were good. The headaches continued. They wake me up atleast 6 nights a week, and now they are acting up during the day, they last for hours at a time. I'm on immitrex for migraines, but it does nothing for it. I always seem to want to drink a coke as soon as they start to act up(does that make any sense to anyone? I hope so) I did some research and I think that Cluster Headaches is what I'm looking at. I am setting up an appointment for a neurologist ASAP because life like this horrible. There isnt an hour of the day my head doesnt kind of hurt, and up to 15 hours out of a day it hurts tremendously. Overall I know nothing about cluster headaches, can ANYBODY please give me some info about this? What causes these? Could it be stress? Are cluster headaches known to be an indicator of something bad like a tumor? Do they try to give you a spinal tap to run tests for cluster headaches (I ask that because I had a spinal tap go wrong when testing for a migraine, and it gave me a "spinal headache", and that was a fate worse than death, I would really like to never experience that again)? How can they be treated? Do they last forever?  Please any info that can be given about this to me will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank ALL of you who took the time to read this,

Ken :-?

Also, all of this happens on the left side of my head, the right side is all sunshine and lollipops.

Ken.
Welcome?? I am sorry you are dealing with this beast, but, if it is CH, you've landed in the right spot.
The gang here is going to ask for more info, so I'll start this off by suggesting you take the Cluster quiz in the sidebar on the left..in fact, read everything there, it will help.
As for a DX, get thee to a Neurologist. 02 is the preferred abortive, and used along with Verapamil, as a preventative, seem to be a first line of defense. Many also use Red Bull or Rock Star, energy drinks with Taurine, or even strong coffee......as caffeine does help some.
BTW, the Neuro should NOT need a spinal tap for your DX!
The length of your hits seems unclear to me. Are they constant for up to 15 hrs? It's not IMpossible, it's simply that most people's tops would be not more than 2 hrs, but every Clusterhead is different!
There are a ton of people here who are far more knowledgable than I, and I am certain they will have more questions and answers, so, pull up a chair, get comfy and read the buttons to the left, ask questions you have and get ready to meet some wodnerful people who do not want you in pain!
Wishing you a PF night,
Cathi

thank you, quiz was quite informative, looks like I may be in the right spot! Yeah, having my head pound for so many hours a day is getting old really quick. I look forward to talking with you guys! Yet again, thanks very much!

Hi Ken-

Not sure why they would do a spinal tap to test for migraine; perhaps it was to rule out another cause of the H/A's.  

You said you are on Imitrex for the migraines.  Is it oral or nasil or injection?  Oral is the least likely to work for CH.  Naisl is better and injection is the quickest way to abort.  

Not surprised to hear about wanting to drink Coke.  It has Caffeen and caffeen is a vasoconstricter.  Try stiff coffee, Red Bull or any other power drink with caffeen and taureen at the first sign of an attack. it will sometimes abort one but it usually lessens the severity.

Glad you found this place but sorry you had to come looking.  You are among understanding people here.  Read, read, read and ask questions!

-P.

Look for the link to print out the entire article.

 
Cluster headache.
From: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE (Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases)
[Easy to read; one of the best overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article if you are serious about keeping a
good medical library on the subject.]

Leroux E, Ducros A.

ABSTRACT: Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disease characterized by recurrent short-lasting attacks (15 to 180 minutes) of excruciating unilateral periorbital pain accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic signs (lacrimation, nasal congestion, ptosis, miosis, lid edema, redness of the eye). It affects young adults, predominantly males. Prevalence is estimated at 0.5-1.0/1,000. CH has a circannual and circadian periodicity, attacks being clustered (hence the name) in bouts that can occur during specific months of the year. ALCOHOL IS THE ONLY DIETARY TRIGGER OF CH, STRONG ODORS (MAINLY SOLVENTS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE) AND NAPPING MAY ALSO TRIGGER CH ATTACKS. During bouts, attacks may happen at precise hours, especially during the night. During the attacks, patients tend to be restless. CH may be episodic or chronic, depending on the presence of remission periods. CH IS ASSOCIATED WITH TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION AND NEUROENDOCRINE AND VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCES, HOWEVER, THE PRECISE CAUSATIVE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNKNOWN. Involvement of the hypothalamus (a structure regulating endocrine function and sleep-wake rhythms) has been confirmed, explaining, at least in part, the cyclic aspects of CH. The disease is familial in about 10% of cases. Genetic factors play a role in CH susceptibility, and a causative role has been suggested for the hypocretin receptor gene. Diagnosis is clinical. Differential diagnoses include other primary headache diseases such as migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania and SUNCT syndrome. At present, there is no curative treatment. There are efficient treatments to shorten the painful attacks (acute treatments) and to reduce the number of daily attacks (prophylactic treatments). Acute treatment is based on subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. Verapamil, lithium, methysergide, prednisone, greater occipital nerve blocks and topiramate may be used for prophylaxis. In refractory cases, deep-brain stimulation of the hypothalamus and greater occipital nerve stimulators have been tried in experimental settings.THE DISEASE COURSE OVER A LIFETIME IS UNPREDICTABLE. Some patients have only one period of attacks, while in others the disease evolves from episodic to chronic form.

PMID: 18651939 [PubMed]
============
Second title is affordable and autored by one of the better docs in the U.S.

MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $50 at Amazon.Com.  It covers all types of headache and is primarily focused on medications. While the two chapters on CH total 42-pages, the actual relevant material is longer because of multiple references to material in chapters on migraine, reflecting the overlap in drugs used to treat. I'd suggest reading the chapters on migraine for three reasons: he makes references to CH & medications which are not in the index; there are "clinical pearls" about how to approach the treatment of headache; and, you gain better perspective on the nature of headache, in general, and the complexities of treatment (which need to be considered when we create expectations about what is possible). Finally, women will appreciate & benefit from his running information on hormones/menstrual cycles as they affect headache. Chapter on headache following head trauma, also. Obviously, I'm impressed with Robbins' work (even if the book needs the touch of a good editor!) (Somewhat longer review/content statement at 3/22/00, "Good book....")

HEADACHE HELP, Revised edition, 2000; Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, $15. Written for a nonprofessional audience, it contains almost all the material in the preceding volume but it's much easier reading. Highly recommended.

hello Ken and welcome, i was 23 when i got mine and now im 40, you will get all the info you need here, just wanted to let you know your not alone and were all pulling for ya. Coach Bill

Welcome to the forum, Bob has given you some great reading. We'll guide you as best we can, point you to the right questions to ask your doc, but that diagnosis by a real doc is critical. There are hundreds of different headache types and what helps one can actually do harm to another. And while the odds are miniscule, it's equally important you rule out the sinister stuff too.

All that being said, digest the article Bob gave you. Start keeping a headache diary, the important points. When it starts, how fast it builds, how HIGH it builds, (read the link on the left to the KIP scale, great tool to measure pain), how long it stays at it's peak, and how fast it leaves. You describe headaches that last many hours, does it stay at peak for many hours? Build to a peak and keep going down and up? Build to a peak but leave you with a lingering dull headache? The diagnosis is in the details. The more info you can give to your doc, the better the chance of an accurate diagnosis.

I hope it's not CH, but if it is, DO NOT LOSE THIS LINK!

Wishing you the best brudder!

Guiseppi