Hi, my name is Christen.
I'm 19, a full time college student during the year and full time customer service representative during the summer.

I moved out for the first time this past August with my boyfriend, and since about October '10 I've been getting these terrible terrible headaches... I had no idea what they were. It's always behind one of my eyeballs, and the pain is so bad that I can't help but cry, rock back and forth, and (I hate to say it...) smack my head. Smacking my head seems to at least distract me a little lol!

Usually I'll get this feeling that I'm going to get one, usually in the evening, and then some later that night when I'm asleep. I have my boyfriend bring me ibuprofen, water, and tissues, because my eyes tear (even if I don't cry) and my nose runs terribly (so majorly attractive). It usually only lasts 15 or so minutes. I usually then fall asleep and have some vertigo-like symptoms.

Doctor wanted for me to have a CT scan, but my insurance didn't approve it; now I'm stuck with these headaches. Sorry for the rant, but I hope/know you understand! I have a few other conditions: PCOS, RAD; asthma; and psoriasis, so I'm slightly more prone to illnesses. Also, just want to mention that I have never once drank alcohol or smoked... I'm straightedge. I also drink no caffeine and hardly ever use medicines.

Thanks!
Christen  ;D

Well, Christen, there are a few complications working against you here, aren't there?  The symptoms you describe could be CHs, but it's important to get a diagnosis from a good neuro. Will the insurance company pay for those visits, and why won't they cover a MRI?  Anyway, as you read along on this site, you'll discover some non-Rx interventions that can work, and have worked, for many. Here are just a few:

melatonin, up to 18mg @ night
the vitamin D3/fish oil/magnesium, calcium citrate regimen (see 123 days pain free and I think I know why thread)
energy drinks like Red Bull, Monster, or 5Hr which contain both caffeine (85mg or so) and taurine (1000mg or so)
clusterbusting
KING OF ALL O2!  read the link at the left

These are supplemental or nonRx interventions that many of us alongside whatever meds we might take.  You may go in and out of cycle so quickly you won't need more than this, or perhaps not even these preventatives and abortives. But you ought to explore them. There is no need to be in pain without addressing it. Glad to hear from you. Let us know how things develop. God bless. lance

Welcome to the board Christen. Wimsey has given you a great start. I'd push you really hard to take a few minutes, go to the meds section, and read the thread Wimsey mentioned, "123 pain free days and I think I know why." It's a vitamin/mineral supplement that's been helping a lot of people on the board.

The good news is CH won't kill you. The bad news is, if it is CH, it tends to get more severe as you go thru your teens and into your 20's. Not saying this to scare you, but to emphasize how important it is to get a firm diagnosis, and develop a treatment regimen. I'm 51, in my late teens and even early 20's I'd just keep going to the ER until the headaches stopped, and hope they'd never come back. They always do. :'(

Now with my established prevent, lithium, and my favorite abortive, oxygen, the beast no longer scares me like it used to. Just annoys me because I always have to have oxygen tanks around the house. A small price to pay to avoid the pain.

I hope you continue to work towards establishing a firm diagnosis. Your symptoms sound like my early stages, so it's possible you're a CHer. If so, don't ever lose this website, it'll be your new second home.

Joe

Hi Christen,

Considering the timing of the onset of your condition I think this is clearly all your boyfriend's fault.

Ha! But seriously though you have come to the right place, and between the O2, D3 and melatonin that the kind and very knowledgeable blokes above have mentioned, I have real hopes that you'll give this beast a nuclear ping intensity level pain behind HIS eye and make him go running back to his stoopid beast mommy.  :D

I also agree about how valuable it could be to get an appointment with an actual headache specialist for most accurate diagnosis. That specialist will likely want to pump you full of drugs, but heck with any luck by the time of your appointment you may have a good prevent/abort plan working nicely for you, in which case you don't have to go along with everydrug the doc prescribes.  :)

Thank you all for responding! :)

I was surprised to hear of the supplement combination above. I'm actually already taking fish oil (in gummy form, yum), magnesium, and calcium daily... at the advice of my Mom. haha; but really, I haven't had a headache in about a week now. Also maybe because this semester is over and my sleep schedule is a little more normal?

I'm sorry for the shorter post, but I have some errands to run and I want to check out some of the other boards before I start my day.

I'll keep posting! :)

Headache is a far more complex area of medicine than is commonly thought. Suggest you ask your primary care doc to check with your insurance co. to see if they would pay for a referral to a headache specialist, NOT a general neurologist. Thee are many disorders which appear to be Cluster but which mask other, often more serious problems. So, a good dianostic workup is essential.
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LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Search the OUCH site (button on left) for a list of recommended M.D.s.

2. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

3.  Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

4. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE; On-line screen to find a physician.

5. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

6. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
        Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.
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You've been told about some treatments for Cluster and some of them may work to relieve the pain but--the big "but"--that doesn't prove that you are treating the real cause. Need to rule out other possible sources of the headache. Roughly, it's like taking antacids for a chronic upset tummy. It's sooths but can also mask a bleeding ulcer. Some of the hardest problems in medicine are sorting thru the competiting, possible sources of our illness.

IF your insurance won't cover a referral, you can explore some alternatives by checking your local hospitals for free/low cost clinics. See, item #3 in the previous "finding" section.