Hi there,

I had my cluster headaches, non stop for three years straight before I got to see my pain management dr, and while he wasnt able to get rid of them completely, he did manage to get them so they werent 24/7 365....he injected lidocaine into the temple where the headache is....now instead of chronic, meaning constantly...I am only episodic which let me tell you, while the headaches suck big time, not having them continously is awesome

Based on what I've experienced, 24/7/365 isn't cluster headaches.

I know tons of people hate wikipedia so I am posting a quote from there as well as from other places
Quote:

In episodic cluster headaches, these attacks occur once or more daily, often at the same times each day, for a period of several weeks, followed by a headache-free period lasting weeks, months, or years. Approximately 10–15% of cluster headache sufferers are chronic; they can experience multiple headaches every day for years.

thats from wikipedia....here is another from emedicine....

Quote:

The 2 existing forms of cluster headache are (1) episodic clusters with at least 2 cluster phases lasting 7 days to 1 year separated by a cluster-free interval of 1 month or longer, and (2) chronic form, in which the clusters occur more than once a year without remission or the cluster-free interval is less than 1 month.

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Even if it's correct, it doesn't imply 24/7.

I was chronic twice in my life - for periods of 18 months each. I had plenty of pain-free time in between hits.

Pain free when I am having one of the episodes doesnt mean pain free completely, more like pain eased enough that I can function...but yes I do have those moments...I wasnt expecting someone to be so literal....the pain moments far outweigh the pain eased moments

How long ago did you get this lidocaine shot in the temple?

Here's what I'm afraid of, Virginia (and why I seek seemingly literal answers to my questions) - that you might be suffering from something more sinister than cluster headache syndrome.

I'm not a doctor, but it seems to me that you would want to seek a headache specialist and insist on an MRI of your noggin - so you can know that it's not something else.

Over the last four years I had three MRIs, numerous ct scans....5 neurologists....the pain management dr was my last resort....I got the lidocaine shots in the temple, 3 of them over a course of a couple months....I got those last year...it took the pain from being constant, non stop to having episodes of the pain....I literally was not completely pain free for three years, the headache never went away, it just eased off enough to function without being in the fetal position nonstop....but after the lidocaine I was pain free, no headache for a few months.....