Several years ago I was electrocuted, revived, have had frequent cluster headaches since. I may have had cluster headaches previously miss diagnosed as sinus. No problems for at least five years until the electrocution and have had severe CHs ever since. Has anyone out there had a similar experience, and any thoughts? This has been going on for over twelve years and I was just diagnosed a few days ago. Previously diagnosed as post traumatic stress, allergies, sinus, you name it. When I saw this site it was a real eureka moment. Thank all of you for doing this. I feel like I'm nearing the end of a long journey.

A hotly debated topic on this forum! Some swear it was a traumatic head injury that instigated their CH, others have never experienced significant trauma, and yet are lifelong CH'ers!

More importantly, do you have an effective treatment regimen now? A knowledgeable neuro who has you on a decent prevent and some effective abortives? Glad you found us, hope we can help alleviate your pain.

joe

I would think that before dealing with remedies, it is important to get a diagnosis of CH from a competent medical professional - if you have not already done so.

I used to get perhaps one or two headaches a decade. Then I had a concussion and my CHs started about a week later. I'm firmly convinced that for my CHs there is a connection.  Where it gets more complicated is where there is a significant time gap between the head injury and when CHs start.

Are you working with a good headache specialist? What treatment are you getting for your CHs?

Tell us more about what is happening with your CHS.

Also read like mad through these forums and you'll learn lots, then ask all the questions you can think of.

I was in a car accident back in 2003. I suffered a concussion along with the more serious C2 fracture ("hangman's fracture") amongst some other minor injuries. I had already been diagnosed with CH prior to this.

So, in my case, I was actually hoping the accident knocked something back in place... or knocked the beast out permanently. :D

No such luck.

cluster headaches were exacerbated, in my case, following a heat related injury(severe exertional rhabdomyolysis).  supposedly, it takes three to five years to fully recover from the injury i suffered, and i have been doing pretty good right now, four years later...


i do believe the heat injury had an effect, but i believe my current remission was from better treatment options. 

i have met a few soldiers that had been diagnosed with cluster headaches after getting blown up, but they usually go away after several years. 
i have always found that to be quite odd.  their symptoms matched cluster headaches perfectly, but they eventually went away.

the ones i knew of went through a cycle.  get blown up, start getting excruciating headaches, start suffering all the symptoms of TBI, get treated for them...  then they go through a long emotional roller-coaster as they try to avoid things that trigger their symptoms.  a few years later, the headaches were usually the last to go completely,  ending in a shorter than average cycle.

i don't really know what to make of it.  i know a LOT of people who have suffered TBI (including myself) and most of them didn't suffer cluster headaches.  still, i have to think that just knowing some of them who did would indicate that more people who have suffered a TBI have suffered cluster headaches than those who didn't.