First post ever.  I'm a non-smoking married woman in my 60's with 3 sons (one who has migraine, also).  I've had classical migraine with blind spots and spiral zigzaggy shimmery colors (visual aura) since I was 30, going years between bouts.  I thought I was having a stroke when I saw the first migraine aura, it was that scary!  Now I've recently started having severe stabbing one-sided pain in my eye and temple.  Doc says it's cluster headaches.  Mostly left-sided, but right-sided for a day.  These ongoing pains started with a really wild visual aura 2 weeks ago, with severe eye pain, twitching eyelid, mild nausea and light sensitivity, very little headache, just sharp pain. Doc sent me for CT scan because the visual aura differed so much from the usual.  Waiting for results of CT....

Hi and Welcome

It looks like you're on the right track to getting an accurate diagnosis with the CT scan to rule out other potential causes of the same symptoms. Diagnosing and treating CHs are normally best done by headache specialists as even most neurologists have little experience with CH.

With CH they are one sided, however some people do have them change sides and at first when CH first starts they can be a bit more erratic before they develop into the full classical set of symptoms. This helps make it harder for doctors to diagnose.

There is also an overlap with some people who get both migraines and CH (like me), so it isn't too unusual to have more than one headache type.

Has your doctor given you anything to prevent and abort the headaches?

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                       CLUSTER HEADACHE HELP AND SUPPORT › GETTING TO KNOW YA › NEWBIES, HELP US...HELP YOU
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Your Cluster symptoms may change for weeks/months before settling down to a stable pattern. Nothing to be concerned about, even if confusing.

Is your doc experienced with complex headche disorders? Especially with Cluster, the absence of knowledge/experience with many docs, even neurologists, is a major barrier to good treatment.

At this point, what CLUSTER directe meds are you using. Common to need a shift away from some of the common migraine meds when treating Cluster.

For our own benefit, do some basic reading to help understand the differences and treatments.
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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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Three sites which are worth your attention: medical literature, films, plus the expected information
about CH.

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE
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START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE Search under "cluster headache"
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START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE
  Full of articles, blogs, book: written by one of the best headache docs in the Chicago area.
  Worth exploring. The latest book is in e-book edition, $10; comprehensive and worth buying for
  a careful read.
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Would strongly urge you to not start changing treatments while you doc is working to get you stabilized with this new diagnosis. Such experimentation only serves to confuse the doc's efforts to find the best combination of treatments for you.

Greetings, DeeDee. Sorry you needed to find us, but glad you are here. We are the same age. Some docs may try to tell you being female and 60 is so unusual for CHs. This place will let you know it is not as unusual as all that. In truth, I hope you don't have CHs but rather some other variant that is more easily controlled. But if you do, know they are still manageable with the right preventatives and abortives. Read and read some more and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. God bless. lance

Welcome to the board Dee Dee, so sorry you're hurting. As others have pointed out, the diagnostic road is critical. Getting an accurate diagnosis is the first step in an effective treatment regimen. If it does turn out to be CH, don't lose this website. It's the mother lode of treament options! Wishing you a swift diagnosis and some pain free time soon.

Joe