hi everyone I am new here i do not suffer from ch but my best friend does and this morning he called me with the worst one he has ever had  :'( i didnt know what to do i almost took him to the er but he wouldnt let me he said that they would take too long and well i guess the probably would have, i have been looking on here to see about any tips and stuff that would help and ive got a couple but any more tips are ALWAYS welcome and appriciated  :)

Sazazzmilk you are a saint.  :)

I think it would be great if your friend could come here to do some direct research, but in the meantime, the effort you are putting in could truly save his life, or at least help relieve his incredible suffering, so stay with us  - I dare say that there is unlikely any more worthwhile pursuit for you at this time.

And let us know what tips you've already collected here.  :)

There are SO many things that can relieve CH and it's terrible to think of your friend suffering needlessly.

I'll mention some of my favorite non toxic stuff because 1) it is often the most effective, and 2) well, it's non toxic. :D

• High flow 100% oxygen as outlined in the oxygen info link to the left. Legions of forum members here swear by it because for the vast majority of us it works great, and happens to be relatively cheap
  

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• The clusterbusters.com approach. It might sound really left field at first - it did to me - but it turns out to be a more powerful preventative than any drug. Here's a Newsweek article specifically about clusterbusting: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE
  

• The high dose vitamin D3 regimen. Maybe not quite as proven yet due to the fact that it's pretty new on the scene, but initial results are impressive! If you read the first post in the topic I'll link to here, then skip to the last few pages, you'll get a sense: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

Some other random yet critical tidbits:

NO alcohol while in cycle! A huge trigger for most of us.

A headache specialist will likely be the ONLY type of doctor with a clue. Most other docs - including garden variety neurologists - won't have a clue and will prescribe stupid stuff.

Hi saz,

We are not doctors here and so we have no idea what your friend may or not have, whether it is CH or something else.

Given the shortness of time for your friend to get to ER and get a diagnosis, if it is CH, it could very well not be apparent in the ER.

What your friend needs to do, if his headaches are reoccurring is to get to a neurologist or headache specialist and get a firm diagnosis as to what is causing this. There are many things that can cause symptoms of a cluster headache, some life threatening.  CH is not life threatening - it will not kill you, but without a firm diagnosis of CH, you don't know this without a diagnosis.

Get your friend to a neuro who is well versed in headaches, get an MRI to rule out something else that could be causing his pain.  Then with the docs, find a regimen of meds and treatments that will help.

Before he starts taking anything! Who made the diagnosis of Cluster?

This is too complex an area of medicine to start treatment without a knowledgeable Dx.
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