Well, after thirty years of dealing with the beast, you would think that I wouldn't be surprised at the deviousness of the beast ... BUT, you would be wrong.

I get hit on both sides.  I never know which side I will get nailed on.  Lately, the beast is trying a new approach.  It isn't any worse, or anything, just confusing (easy to do for a senile old fart like me) and kind of interesting at the same time.

It used to be, that the first sign of a hit, was a pain to my temple area.  Then it morphed, and there would be times where the pain would start in my upper molars.  Now there is a new twist.  The pain will start like the old tension headaches that I used to get as a kid.  I NEVER get tension headaches, anymore, ever since I started dealing with the beast.

But this new variation starts out like a tension headache, in that it is an across the whole forehead sort of pain.  If I press in the old standby location, my temple, on either side, I feel a slight twinge, but that is it.  This last for several minutes, and then it starts to develope into a classic cluster attack.  It could go to either side.

Now, I have heard that the cluster hit attacks the side that has the most vulnerable vassal system.  In my case, I get it on both sides, so I guess each side has vulnerability.  With this new variation, I wonder if the triggering mechanism is activated, but is unsure which side to attack, so it just goes to a both side, forehead attack, until it sees its opening to a vulnerable vassal structure.  Once it finds the vulnerability, it then directs its powers to that point, henceforth, a side is determined.

It was confusing, at first, as it had been so long since I had a forehead type headache.  Now, I just accept the latest mind fuck that the beast is trying on me, and find it rather fascinating.

Have any of you, that get hit on both sides, experienced this?  Or is it just me, breaking another law, in the cluster headache rule book?

Weird Chuck

I dont get my headaches on both sides just on my left side. But there has been a time or two where its hit first in my forehead and then after a min or two goes to the normal left side.

I must have switched sides no more than 2 or maybe 3 crisis top all these years and if i remember well it hit me completely unguard.

what happens with the shadows?Is it still the same as they used to or do they appear on both sides?

I'm a righty and never been hit on my left (yet  :-/).  Having said that, occasionally I feel the hit begin centered in my forehead and then migrate and intensify to the right by way of my temple to eventually settle behind my right eye.  That's when the real fun begins.

What pisses me off about this type of attack is that I don't recognize it as a cluster hit right away.  That makes it all the harder to abort.

Had one last Thursday and needed to resort to trex for the first time this cycle.

-Dennis-

The only difference for me when the beast hits at the "wrong" side or when it hits double-sided is a faster onset and the failing of O2 and Imitrex.
There's no change in the pre-signs.

Oliver

ClusterChuck wrote on Jun 2^nd, 2009 at 12:51am:

...is it just me, breaking another law, in the cluster headache rule book?

Chuck,

You're not breaking any laws - the Beast is holding a legislative session in your forehead and passing new ones!   :-?

Regards,
Jim

I sometimes get that as well Chuck, but wrote it off as just a coincidence.  Now you have me reconsidering.  Mine still ususlly go to the right side.  I HATE it when it goes left!  Have trouble coping as all my compensating mechanisms are for the right side.

Jerry

It's always been my left side for the severe hits, but this current cycle has been an almost constant shadow, sometimes very briefly on the right side. I've never had a real attack on the right side, but I've also never felt any kind of shadow on that side either, so It has been changing the rules on me as well....
I'm trying that Kudzu stuff to see if that might help with the shadows, but so far it's only given me gas...only been a few days, so I'm going to hang with it a while and see what happens.
It's hard to deal with this thing when it keeps changing the rules whenever it wants to!!!

Chuckie, I'm sorry the beast is again morphing on you.

Being an episodic, and not a chronic old fart like you  ::), I don't know that anything I say will be of help, but ...

I've been a rightie since my CH first began in 1999, with two exceptions, when I was hit on the left side.  Both of these began with nothing more than a general old fashioned headache, across my forehead, both sides.  I took a couple of Excedrin, thinking it was "just a regular HA".  It then rapidly jumped to the left temple, above the left eyebrow, and into the left eye.

Both left side hits ended up being just as nasty as my usual righties, , but given the fact that I had a pretty set tried and true way of coping on the right (ice packs, pressure, etc), I was totally unprepared to cope on the left side.  Quickly aborting was a problem because the symptoms weren't the usual, so the hits seemed to last quite a bit longer.  Like Gizmo said, you don't realize it's a CH until it's later in the game, which makes it harder to abort.

I'm hoping your lifesaver O2 works on both sides of your head and bring relief to you quickly.  

My advice, when you get a "headache", right, left, middle, anywhere , don't wait to hit the tank.  

My problem is I've pretty much got my CH under control with the seeds, but have had three migraines in the last two weeks - short, not too severe, but no doubt a migraine.  Me, who had a migraine about every two to three years apart.

Maybe the beast and Ms. Meegraine got married and if one can't get me, the other will try. :-/

:(

Well my friend mine were usually on the right side and one day while trying to abort it it just stopped. 10 minutes later it came back on the left side and has raised holy hell ever since.  Now I get the same sensations you get, but whats strange is sometimes I will get an aura that kind of looks like little white knats zipping around.  I have been in cycle 4 months now and the last time I got an aura was probably 15 years ago now its all the time.