I am new to this site and not sure if this is where I should be.  I was recently diagnosed with cluster headaches.  I am 71 years old.  I have had migraines all my life.  I saw my neurologist 1 month ago when he diagnosed me with cluster headaches.  He put me on Prednisone for 10 days which didn't work at all.  Now I have been on Depakote for about a week and I have seen great improvement.  I am having only 1 attack per day, when it was 2-3 previously.  The only problem is that this medication is giving me stomach pain.  I take a lot of medication for stomach problems but my neurologist felt it was safe to take Depakote also.  I don't know how long he will keep me on this medication, but the relief is wonderful.  I suffered for 2 months before I could get an appointment with my neurologist.  I appreciate this site since I didn't know anything about cluster headaches before.

You're definitely in the right place!

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Read this link and discuss with your doc. Oxygen should be your first line abortive. My aborts run 6-8 minutes, that's from the start of "oh crap here it comes" to completely pain free. Will feel like a miracle the first time you abort an attack with it.

Glad you found us, start reading like crazy, you will soon know as much or more then your doc about CH!

Joe

Bayzer,
Glad that you found the site, us Clusterheads like to stick together.

For an abortive approach, read the O2 thread posted above, most likely the best approach for you. Doesn't interfere with medications or cause stomach pains (at least not for me)!

For a preventative approach, read the "123 Days Pain Free...." thread. Works for me without having to take any prescription medication.

Pain free days to you!

I trust your doc considered other sources of your headaches. At your age, a new Custer picture may be a mask for other disorders which have Cluster symptoms but which are quite different problems.

--



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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A couple of sites which are worth your attention: medical literature, films, plus the expected information
about CH.

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Hey Bayzer,

I'll just pipe in here seconding the O2 for an abortive and the D3 regimen for a preventative.

This link condenses the D3 info a bit: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

Guiseppi wrote on Oct 2^nd, 2011 at 4:27pm:

Will feel like a miracle the first time you abort an attack with it.

It is a miracle... don't dismiss the O2 as too "simple" to work that well... I know I did at first. It works and is much better than the complicated toxic pharmaceuticals... although they have their place.

Here, here on the 02!!

Glad you found us Bayzer