Hey everyone!
My heart goes out to my fellow sufferers and aches every time I read your painful stories. Maybe you guys can give me your opinion on the situation.

I was misdiagnosed with sinus infections since February. It was very localized, constant pain I'm my eyebrow. My mistake was going to Urgent care instead of an ENT. My ENT said if it happened again to get a CT scan. It was clear and she referred me to a neurologist.

This cluster I'm on has been the worst. The others were just my eyebrow and were gone with a week or two of steroids. Now I feel like someone has put icy hot under my forehead with an occasional throbbing or stabbing in my eyebrow. The reason I'm not sure I belong here is because this pain has been interrupted for 3 weeks. It's not multiple headaches in a day it's the same constant pain.

I was at first prescribed a tapering prescription of prednisone and 100mg two times a day of gabapentin. I was pain free for 3 days when the steroids were at their best. I was then (on Wednesday) upped to 300mg three times a say. The higher dose helps but for some reason the periods of pain freedom are at night.

So the question is does anyone here have or has heard of bout of pain lasting 3 weeks?

It will help us to direct you to good sources of assistance if you will tell us where you live (city & state, if U.S. or country). At the Home page: Help button-->Edit & Profile --> Location. (This will add your location, just below your name, every time you post a message.
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My first reaction is that the neurologist isn't skilled working with Cluster. This is very common for their training is surprisinglly limed re. complex headache disorders.

If you have the option, 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.
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Print the PDF file, below. It's a good tool to guide discussions with any doc you see. The neuro's response may give you some insight--but I'd, in any case, ask him directly about his experience with Cluster. If in doubt, now is the time to change.
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Cluster is quite a confusing disorder because how it can change it's appearance, especially in a newly developing case. So, read: learning will ease your anxiety.
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These 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.
(Also explore the buttons, left.)
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A good diagnosis is essential: simply can't get effective treatment until you are working with a sharp doc.

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Hi Lyxie
Just to be clear - You have had one constant headache pain for 3 weeks, but now the meds are leaving you pain free at night, but your'e still having it in the day time ? Is that right ?   Is it the gabapentin that's been increased to 300mg, three times a day.

Your symptoms are not typical of CH, but you can't rule anything out at this stage, because CH comes in all forms and guises and will change at any time so you never know what to expect. CH is rare so misdiagnosis is common and I think every single one of us on this site has been through it, including me. I was on Gabapentin for a while and I thought it worked because the pain went away, only to find later that I had just reached the end of a cycle and gabapentin was doing nothing. CH can mimic other conditions, such as in your case a sinus infection, which together with the average doctors lack of CH knowledge leads to misdiagnosis. But bear in mind it works the other way too. There are many other conditions which mimic CH. Your scan was clear so that's good, but it is vital you get a correct diagnosis in order to get the correct help.

It may help if you keep a diary of the times and duration of pain. Also include what you eat and drink, weather conditions, what activities you do and where you go ie. country side, smoky city, any where near chemicals etc., as this may help you to identify triggers.Take your info to the neurologist.

What ever your condition turns out to be, there is help available and meds which work well. You just need to find out what you have first. Even if it goes away, DO NOT  miss that neuro appointment.

Come back and let us know how you get on. We're always here to listen.
Best wishes
Maz.