All,

I notice that my cycles arrive at different times each year, but in the same general area of the calendar- fall for me.  While i get them in the fall months, it can be septemter, or late november when my cycle starts.

Also, the times of day are regular for a chunk of time within that cycle, but those also shift over the course of the 6 weeks of my cycle...  Seems that particularly the beginning of cycles there is no regularity in times of day- one day i can get 4, mostly during the daylight hours, the next day only one occurs, and at night, etc.  Then after the first week they settle to particular times of day for most days, with a little variation here and there.

Just curious how regular your cycles and attacks within those cycles are... any thoughts or input?

Thanks!
Bill

My high cycles have been like clockwork the past few years........until this year.

Short answer....yes...for many, the beast changes.

Why? Who knows?

Hi Bill,

back when I was episodic my cycles never were consistent regarding their timing and neither were the hits themselves.
This hasn't changed since I'm chronic.
The high and low cycles are still unpredictable as well as the hits themselves.

Oliver

Bill, as has been noted in many threads here, there seems to be little concensus among all of us great unwashed. I'd hazard a guess broadly speaking that most episodic sufferers, like me, generally get hit in either spring or fall or both... but I'm sure many will prove me wrong.

Personally, after many years of regularly yearly or half-yearly cycles, I went 4 years without anything more troubling than the occasional one-off hit. And then this past spring the monster returned for more than 2 months with a vengeance. Oh well, so much for consistency.

Welcome to the Madhouse.
David

Mine used to be pretty consistent. Now they slide around a bit. Still tow cycles a year, just not as certain which months they're going to come.

Scott

One of the most frustrating traits of the beast is the way that he messes with your mind.  As soon as you get "comfortable" with the time, length, style, and intensity of your hits and cycle, the beast changes them.

I have been a sufferer for 29 years.  My hits are nothing like they were when I first started this journey.  Just as you have to learn to accept the fact that you have clusters, you also have to accept the fact that they most likely will change.  Sometimes the change is for the better, some times it is for the worse, and other times it is just change.

Don't let it scare you too much. BUT, every significant change should be brought up to your doctor.

Good luck and welcome here!

Chuck

Chuck and the others hit the nail on the head.  Cluster headache patterns can and will change from year to year and sometimes more frequently.

V/R, Batch

Thanks all!  

I'm right there with ya!  I have been dealing with CH's for 14 years now.  Sometimes they skip years and other times I get 2 cycles per year.  Stress never helps!  Fall/Winter are when they are the worst.  And the left side of my head is where the worst ones occur - although twice I have had "Jumpers" where they start on the right for a few weeks and then jump to the left for 4-6 weeks - that's what I'm dealing with right now.

It wasn't until about 4 years ago that they started occuring in a time other than Fall/Winter.  Like I said, usually caused by stress in those other times of year - but clearly CH's!

Verapamil + Relpax has always been my cocktail of choice to abort and prevent but for some reason the Verapamil isn't working this time.  This is also the first time I have EVER tried oxygen which works fantastic at aborting at just 8 L/min for about 5-8 minutes.  But they usually come back 10 minutes after the oxygen stops.

Have you found any other tips?  I am noticing food triggers this time around - red meat, cheese, high fat meals.

Hi Bill,

  No rhyme or reason to mine.  I think the worst one was the 2nd day of vacation in July.  Been hit a few times through Christmas and New Years.

                              PFD's
                               JPC