My wife has been suffering some sort of neuro issue for about 6 years, and I occasionally accompany her to see the doc or usually the PA.  I have a science education and have experience with clusters, her issue might be migraine related.  It's tough to know.

Well today was the first time I met the Neuro, and I was kind of surprised in dicussion when I mentioned that I go through clusters that he said clusters were a male only phenomena and there is no spectrum between classic clusters and classic migraines.  As we all talked further I got the impression that his attitudes might be more semantic than practical, but I was (am still all) surprised.

I know that my clusters sometimes display traits more common to migraines (I sometimes get a "low level" cluster that can last 12-16 hours, certainly outside the cluster duration range), and there appears to be some overlap in treatment strategies for both.

I'm interested in a few opinions - 1) is this guy a quack? 2) does anyone else feel like me that migraines and clusters are part of the same spectrum of afflictions?

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Well today was the first time I met the Neuro, and I was kind of surprised in dicussion when I mentioned that I go through clusters that he said clusters were a male only phenomena and there is no spectrum between classic clusters and classic migraines.

That alone would be cause enough to seek out another Doctor. One can debate the other point......but to exclude females from a cluster diagnosis is ignorant at the very least.

Hi,
I don't know if there is a connection between clusters and migraine, as thankfully I don't suffer from migraine. I do suffer from clusters though, and I'm female.

There are thousands of us and many, many, many on this site alone. If your wife's neuro believes only men get clusters then he will never look for it or diagnose her (if thats what she has) and therefore he will never find her the right treatment.  [smiley=deadhorse2.gif]
She should find a new neuro.

My own neuro suggested I'm unlikely to have clusters because I'm a woman. I cannot believe that these highly intelligent, educated people know so little about thier chosen subject.

Of course, your wife's condition may not be clusters, but if it is you'll never know if it's left to him.
Maz.

Studies have revealed how strikingly little education neurologists receive around headaches. This man is wrong on two points: the ratio of M:F has been getting closer over the last couple of decades; a mixture of migriaine & cluster symptoms is recognized as occuring in the same person during the same attack. Makes treatment more complex, to be sure.

If you have the option, urge you to seek a headache specialist.
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LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

2.  Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

3. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE; On-line screen to find a physician.

4. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

5. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
        Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.
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WHY A HEADACHE SPECIALIST IS RECOMMENDED


Headache. 2012 Jan;52(1):99-113.
Cluster headache in the United States of America: demographics, clinical characteristics, triggers, suicidality, and personal burden.
Rozen TD, Fishman RS.

THERE REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT DIAGNOSTIC DELAY FOR CLUSTER HEADACHE PATIENTS ON AVERAGE 5+ YEARS WITH ONLY 21% RECEIVING A CORRECT DIAGNOSIS AT TIME OF INITIAL PRESENTATION.

It sounds to me as if he is working under "old" information and assumptions and hasn't bothered with any recent research. I believe clusters were (and sometimes still are) classified as "cluster migraines." They are now recognized as their own category of frailties to which humans are heir. blessings. lance

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clusters were a male only phenomena

Smart man! ;)

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I cannot believe that these highly intelligent, educated people

Your neuro appears to be neither.

I will be kind and gentle with my remarks.  The man is a moron!  See definition:  mo·ron noun \ˈmȯr-ˌän\
: a very stupid or foolish person

I apply the second meaning of the word, i.e. foolish.  To speak so  authoritatively about a subject he obviously knows so little about is patently foolish and denotes a total lack of maintaining his education in the field he practices.  If he purports himself to be a headache specialist, as he does by treating your wife's migraines, but has not kept himself up to date on headache diagnoses or treatments his foolishness borders on malpractice.

Jerry