This is all new to me; I used to suffer migrains as a child but never knew what a cluster headach was until last autumn when I got my first bout of them. And now with the arrival of spring it seems the headachs have returned; and once again I did not expect them just as last time. I've done a fair share of research but nothing beats getting thoughts from folks who experience this...
Questions:
I have never had this issue before and now am I to presume I will get these every spring and autumn?

They seem to come and go very quickly sometimes lasting an hour or more or sometimes only 20min and then I'm fine for about the same duration before it comes back... is this cycling normal?

Last autumn the headachs occured every night between 2 - 3 am for a week; is this a typical length of time with or without treatment?

I currently take Maxalt when I first recognize the onset of the headach which seems to bring a great deal of relief albiet temporary as well as cold compress (that is until the following night) but it never seems to completely go away until the cycle is over.
Is there anything else I can do to maintain relief or lessen the intervals between headachs?

Anyway; thank you in advance, any insight would be greatly appreciated, I will continue to look about the forum for additional information.
Thank you,

Hi ClusterF***ed!  :)

Ha, that's the way a lot of us feel upon arrival here, and you're absolutely right, people here have put their heads together and found some good effective ways to combat this CH thing that you're unlikely to hear about on a medical site or from a doctor.

There will be the obligatory grilling about are you SURE you have CH? What exactly are your pain symptoms anyhoo? Have you received a diagnosis form a headache specialist? (they're typically the only type of neurologist to trust for CH).

Meantime, there are some harmless things that can be tried for aborting attacks (if you start running out of Maxalt or don't want to take it). High flow, non rebreather oxygen is wildly popular amongst members here due to it's non toxic/side effect free effectiveness, and is pretty much always the first thing mentioned. That oxygen info link to the left is a good place to go to look into that (many here get their O2 from a welding supply place without prescription BTW).

When you don't even have O2 on hand, but the attacks are coming on, like today for instance, you could always try the freeze abort trick, where at onset you run to the car, put your nose up to the blasting car air conditioner vent and breathe the freezing air deeply through the nose for 10 minutes or so. This works for some of us some of the time, but I think especially for those such as yourself in the earlier stages.

Another free abort that works for some is to exercise extremely vigorously at onset.

I went off on a bit of an abort tangent there, but now to your question about prevention - there's been a move towards very effective natural preventatives too - although some have to get past some arbitrary stigma/taboo, not to mention illegality, in order to consider them. Here's a Newsweek article on that subject of clusterbusters and CH: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

For your regularly scheduled night attacks, some are finding that melatonin at bedtime, anywhere from 9mg to 18mg or so, will actually prevent those hits.

Alrighty, well that's scratching the surface, welcome here, and another thing probably worthwhile for you would be to just read through some of the other's posts in this "Getting To Know Ya" board to get a quick feel for what is most often recommended.  8-)

[EDIT]: Oh yeah, stay clear of drinking any alcohol while you're in the midst of this episode! It's a huge, horrible trigger for most of us.

Oh thank you!!! Thank you... Thank you!!!
I have been reading through the forum and have read some great information thus far. I have been diagnosed by my pcp who has alot of first hand experience with this as his long time assistant also suffers from CH.
I honestly thought it was a one shot deal last autumn and never put much thought into it therafter. But now that spring is here it's happening all over again and I am less than amused.
From everything that I have read it explains exactly what I am experiencing to the "T" ...again less than amused... I had no idea a forum existed about it;


Going to read that link now! Thank you again, I really appreciate your response.

You're welcome ClusterF, and understood now about how you've been diagnosed and everything.

As proactive as I can see that you are, I'm betting that like many of us who have benefitted from the info and advice found here, you'll put together an arsenal of really effective counter punches to hit this beast with (it's always good to have a backup plan or two in place!).  8-)

Hi ClusterF - yea welcome to this rotten club of really nice people.

My husband started having CH in his early 20's although we didn't know what it was then. But yes - Fall and SPring - kind of with the time zone changes. It would last him a couple months, of getting hit daily or more. We used to combat with narcotics back then. Come a LONG way since then with O2, preventatives (lithium) and other tricks like Red Bull, etc.  But o2 serves the best. imitrex injections if he's out without O2.

Read up - and keep asking questions. Also take a look at the info Batch has been posting on the supplement regimen to balance PH. Joe's been following that too with the last cycle with some success.

Thank you bejeeber and QnHeartMM for your kind welcome; seems there are many knowledgeable folks here and I am grateful for the insight I have already read up on. As I continue readng I am sure to have many other question pertaining to the relativity of my experience with that of the folks here. Again this is all very new to me and in an effort of self preservation I tend to take things step by step ruling out those methods which work and those which do not.

Again I thank you for the warm welcome, it's nice to have found a place where folks share their insight as well as up to date information regarding this.

Please tell us where you live. Follow the next line to a message which explains why knowing your location will help us to help you.

Cluster Headache Help and Support › Getting to Know Ya › Newbies, Help us...help you

You can add your location by editing your profile. CP Member --> profile
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When CH is first developing it is very common for symptoms to vary in degree, location, etc. for weeks to months--even years--before settling down to a stable pattern. This makes it difficult to diagnose the situation and often requires changes in treatment, dosing, etc. Patience is a survival skill!!

Most helpful to be working with a headache specialist. These issues requires training and experience so often lacking with most docs.

Your residual light pain is common and may be help with an OTC pain med BUT you should be on a preventive med for the long haul and it will often help.

See PDF file, blow.
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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 better overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article--link, line above--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]
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Explore the buttons, left, starting with the OUCH site. Basic understanding is mandatory at this stage.

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ClusterF,
Welcome to the site! Probably wish you didn't have to be here but we're here for when you need good solid information. I've had these since I was 17 and I get them on average every 4 years. This past cycle was the most pain free I've ever had due to my use of Oxygen and the D3 etc. supplements. Both of these I found by reading various posts on this site. So, read on and hopefully you'll start being more in control and pain free!
-Gary