i havent been on here in a while...  but i just dont know what to do.

my symptoms when i get the really bad ones in order-

     1. i get sick to my stomach
     2. then a slight feeling of added weight to my head
2 1/2. light sensitivity (i turn off every light around me)
     3. eye starts watering
     4. pain starts in the forehead..  then moves to my nose, jaw, eye and behind my ear
     5. sweat on my forehead
     6. slight dizzy-ness

and then almost in one single breath..   the slightest ease begins...  and what took about 10 minutes
to get to its peak..  is almost always completely gone within 3 minutes.   some-times there is a lingering headache that almost feels, "normal" for up to 2 hours after..  but at that point i welcome the lesser painful headache....  when it is in its full bloom..  its more of a face-ache

i want to see a doctor and i dont have insurance and have no idea where to get started to find out what-ever it is that is going on with me....

i was wondering if anyone else has been in my shoes and how they went about it...

love you guys....  it is great you here and thanks to all of you who share

dax

How often do you get the attacks and how long do they last?

they started 6 months ago... at first i was getting them 3-4 times a week..  always at night..  lasting about 45 minutes...   then a month and a half ago..  it was maybe 2 - 3 a month...  and now, starting last week..  it is almost nightly..

Being a 39 year clusterhead, I'd diagnose cluters but I'm not a Dr.   The 10 minute build up and almost instant "draining away" of the pain is pretty typical.

Without insurance you're going to have to make some decisions on treatment vs cost.

Oxygen is the cheapest abort.  Be sure to follow the directions posted around here somewhere.  The triptans work very well but are very expensive.

Preventatives are also cheap, verapamil, lithium.

You could also take a look at clusterbusters.com  It could save you the cost of a doctor visit.

If you do go to see a Dr., call his/her office and make sure they are well versed in clusters before making an appointment.  No sense wasting the $ on a Dr. who's never heard of clusters.

Good luck.

BTW - I also became nauseated during attacks but it was usually toward the end of the attack.  I also didn't like "bright" lights or loud sounds but did want some light on and usually fought my attacks with the TV on (except for those 1 1/2 hour after going to sleep attacks).

ahh  thats funny about the t.v.  ..  i have blanket next to mine for the sole purpose of covering it upon an attack...  i hate just pacing in total silence..  so i usually lower the volume to almost nill... but just enough to hopefully keep my mind off the current situation..   well  thank you..  i will check these things out for sure...   i was hoping i could just go to the hospital and see the neurologist..  and get a bill in the mail...   which i am sure i would not pay in its entirety for years.....

ok thanks again

It's a mistake to take meds which mask the symptoms until you have some reasonable idea of what the condition is.

Couple of options:
1. Call the social work folks in your larger area hospitals and see if they have suggestions re. low cost/free clinics; call your local United Way agency also.

2. Buy the $15 version and see if the descriptions of various headache types fit your pattern. May not be M.D. quality but it's better than flying blind.
-------
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.
---------
3. Explore the headache type descriptions at:
START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE . And you will find good treatment information.