Today has been quite a day...
I went to see my doctor about getting some strong painkillers because my killer toothache has been keeping me up at night. After a short chat she mentions Cluster Headaches. Having never heard of them i was thinking great its not a dental problem so a couple of painkillers and ill be set. Not quite.
I went straight home and found this website which has been amazing, I now know that my "toothache" was actually CH going as high as 9 on the kip scale and its left me feeling scared and sad but also encouraged.
Its such a relief to find so many of you guys freak out like me and that thumping yourself on the head with whatever is to hand is normal.
Learning about all the O2 and water treatments and Red Bull means i can get to work findin what works for me.
Thanks for such a great resource

It's what we're here for. Ask all the questions you want and we'll answer all we can.

Welcome home.

Read all that you can. Learn about 02, a major weapon in our arsenal and ask away. Like Brian said, we are here to help.

PS...Where in the heck did you get that name? :)

Sorry you had to find us, but it is, indeed, a GREAT resource.

My clusterhead went through the same thing.  But his toothache was in 1999 - and he did have problems with his teeth.  Getting that fixed didn't make the problem go away.  You are very fortunate to have gotten such a quick diagnosis!  Gary's attacks weren't "organized" enough to get a proper diagnosis until we found this site in 2006.

One of his docs mentioned it along the way.  I had the same reaction he did:  whatever this is, it is NOT a headache.  Thankfully, the term came back to me and we DID find this place!

There's lots of 02 info on the boards!  If used at a flow rate of between 15 litres per minute and 25 litres per minute with a non-rebreather mask (the perfect mask for cluster sufferers can be purchased through the link called "oxygen info" over on the left side of the screen).

Don't know where you're located, but if it's in the States, take a look in your state to see if there's a cluster sufferer-recommended doctor in your area:  START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

My best,

Laurie

Welcome,

   I went the toothache route when I first started.  Had two teeth pulled for no reason.

Read all you can here and get to a neuro.  You'll probably know more than him after reading everything here.

                                         Good Luck To Ya
                                                JPC

Awesome to hear you had a doctor with the knowledge to point you to CH; now just need one to treat you (as Laurie suggests).   The quicker you can get help, the quicker you can stop trying to claw your eye out!

I've learned a lot from the veterans on this site...I'm sure you will, too.

Take care.

Scott.

Just Plain Carl wrote on Dec 16^th, 2008 at 5:12pm:

Welcome,    I went the toothache route when I first started.  Had two teeth pulled for no reason. Read all you can here and get to a neuro.  You'll probably know more than him after reading everything here.                                          Good Luck To Ya                                                 JPC

Dentist refused to pull any of Gary's teeth.  A couple years later during a really bad attack, he pulled one himself.  It wasn't even loose.  Had to go get THAT fixed.

Hello Tarquin - cos you have to be a "tarquin" with a screen name like THAT!!! LOL

I'm in Notts too, what part are you in?

Did your doc mention any ch meds?

Also - you need to see a headache specialist neurologist for a proper evaluation. For one thing, there are over 600 types of headaches and a lot of symptoms overlap and for another - pain of this severity should never be presumed to be anything. You need an MRI to rule out anything more insidious. There is an extremely good HA (Head Ache) specialist neuro in Nottingham at QMC, Dr Evangelou. Ask for a referral to see him, I can't recommend him enough.

In the meantime, try knocking back a can of "Red Bull" at the first sign of an attack. don't be "nice" just chug that baby as fast as you can! Caffeine is a vaso constrictor and the taurine exacerbates the caffeine making it work even faster. The meds we use for CH are all vaso constrictors so this should work for you. The trick is to knock it back at first twinge and not wait and see. Strong coffee will work too but the beauty of "Red Bull" is that you can always have a can on you. To be honest, I don't buy red bull myself, I buy Asda's own blue charge or Tescos' or Morrisons - it makes no odds! They all taste vile but they all have the same quantities of caffeine and taurine and that's what counts!

I hope that helps, feel free to pm me if I can help any more.. I am "local" at least!

Regards
Helen

Thanks for all the input everyone, the red bull works a treat and i find drinking lots of water also helps. Ill have a word with my doc about seeing a neurologist and about O2 treatment.