Hello,

Yes, I know "see a doctor", and in fact I did see one at the time and had blood tests and he was unable to diagnose, just prescribed codeine tablets. Seeing as this hasn't bothered me in a month now, I'm mostly just curious. I'll try to describe the headaches as best I can:

They would come on at about 10am everyday for almost a week. They would last about 4-5 hours. The pain was unilateral and behind or a little bit above my left eye. It took about an hour to peak, starting off barely painful but more just a sensation that I was about to have a headache and slowly building up (unlike typical CHs). It was a throbbing sensation. It was by far the worst pain I ever experienced and I was not nauseous or photosensitive and spent most of the time pacing around my room. It didn't respond to analgesic medication and I am not a regular pot smoker but my housemate is so I smoked a couple of cones each headache. This did mitigate the pain somewhat but it was still more severe than anything else I've ever had. My eyelid on that side was droopy but I didn't have a blocked nose. Bending down seemed to make it hurt slightly more. My neck and shoulders weren't sore at all and my vision was fine.

Eventually at the end of the week I took half a tab of acid as I had heard that they are a good treatment for severe headaches. Been pain free ever since, but I've remained curious: What WERE those God awful headaches??

Curious how old you are?

In my late teens, when my CH first started, they didn't follow all of the "CH" guidelines. They built up more slowly, I got the nasal discharge but no eye droops. They never woke me from my sleep, and if I felt the beginning stages of an attack, and could get to sleep, I could sometimes avoid the attack completely. I say all that as something of a warning that CH in its early stages doesn't always follow an exact routine.

The fact marijuana helped leans away from CH as most treatments for CH are Vaso-Constrictors and weed is a big time vaso-dilator. Most CH'ers who have tried weed have found the pain increased dramatically.

Visit this site:

Clusterbusters.com

It explores a lot of the "natural" treatments for CH. It's a bit more complicated then just dropping a tab, requires a detox period and careful follow up, but  worth a read just to expland your treatment knowledge base should these continue.

I hope these were a one time and done. If they start up again, do whatever it takes to get a referral to a headache specialist neurologist. There are hundreds of headache types, and there are rare, but pretty serious, medical conditions that must be eliminated to make sure you're not just masking the pain and allowing something life threatening to progress. 

Hoping this is the only time you have to visit, but you're welcome to stick around! ;)

Joe

Judging from the experience you had with the one doctor you did see, you REALLY need to see a headache specialist.  One who won't give you a narcotic and send you on your way.  CH cannot be dignosed with a blood test either.  Nor does a CH last 4 to 5 hours.  You could be suffering from something entirely different and need a proper diagnosis from a doctor who is knowledable.

I'm 18. It's on my mind because for the last few days, I've been having very mild headaches in the same spot, behind the left eye. They're not even bad enough to take a panadol, but I'm quite anxious and am trying very hard to get my hands on some acid again just in case. It's always difficult to find the stuff.

I know I don't have a brain tumour becaue I recently had a CT scan of my brain so I guess I'll just wait and see if the headaches strike again before I go to a headache specialist.

Thanks guys.

The only other suggestion...based on your age...is start a detailed headache diary. It's the easiest way to see patterns forming, which are golden for the doc when they start trying for an accurate diagnosis. Things to include:

What time the attack starts, how fast the pain builds, how high the pain builds, how long it  stays at peak pain, how fast it recedes, any secondary symptoms, the eye, nose, neck etc., any food or drink or aroma triggers you suspect. the more detailed the diary, the better your shot at an accurate diagnosis.

Before you wander away from the board, go to the medications section, and check out the post "123 pain free days and I think I know why"

It's a daily vitamin, mineral, anti inflammatory regimen that's healthy for you with or without CH. It's been providing a lot of relief for CH'ers and migrainers. For pennies a day it's a worthwhile investment.

Now this is the daddy speaking, careful with the recreational stuff, you're never entirely sure who the rocket scientist is that's mixing that stuff up! ;) End of lecture. :)

Joe

Joe's right, on all counts, as is Linda. CHs are rather hard to diagnose and are really a process of elimination. So many things could be going on, you need a headache specialist to sort them out. You're young enough you don't want to start creating a whole new set of problems "treating" your pain in ways you may regret. If you're really intent on the "natural" cure do it right: clusterbusters. They know their stuff. But please, pain is an indication something is wrong. Get it checked out thoroughly. Blessings. lance