Hi,

I am starting to suffer some symptoms of what I think is probably mild cluster headaches. But I thought I'd run it past you guys on the forum to see what you think.

Around 4 months ago I woke up at around 6am with pain inside my left eye. I thought it had swollen up due perhaps to an eye infection. The eye was bloodshot and was watering.
Thinking it was an eye infection, I put some Brolene antiseptic eyedrops in, and after 30 minutes or so the pain subsided and I went back to bed.

This has repeated irregularly every 4 days or so, always a couple of hours before I am due to wake up.
The pain is only inside the left eye, never outside it. It is severe enough to wake me up, but is not all that severe.
When it is painful like this, at the top of the eye I can feel a small lump through the upper eyelid I think, and if I press it the pain gets worse more than if I press the eye in any other place on the eye. But I think there is a lump there on the other eye and the pain might just be due to a pressure point there.

On a couple of occasions I have been dreaming when it happens, and the pain onset is very sudden, in less than 1 second. Then I wake up. It almost feels as if some involuntary force is forcing me to pull the eye into the socket and that that bruises it and causes the pain - but perhaps that is just an image in the dream.
There is no agitation.

Sometimes at other times of the day I get a more dull pain of lower severity in the eye, which might be the same thing but with lower intensity. Today I have had this lower-level pain for most of the day.

I haven't reported it to my GP/doctor yet - should I do this?

I am in the UK. Age 44, male.

My right eye is never affected.

Another possibility is a piece of grit that has got up there and got stuck?

Naturally I want to take steps to get rid of the problem, and/or prevent it from getting worse.

Thanks!

Sounds like something else may be going on there. As you mention a visit to your primary physician is in order. Just for your info. there is a "cluster quiz" tab to the left that might lend a little insight to CH.
I hope this gets diagnosed, let us know how it goes for you   

Hi Wildfire,
How the pain in your eye is presenting itself with the lump
isn't the normal symptom of a CH, I think it best you pop
off to your doctor and get it checked out.

Hoppy.

Fortunately, you are in the in a health care system which allows you to by-pass local docs and move directly to headache clinics for specialty care and London is home to one of the premier headache research facilities in the world.

Yo have an excellent support group. Contact them for guidance in how to get to a specialty clinic:

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Thanks for the replies.

I should say that at the moment (tonight) I have no pain at all, but the slight lump is still there (but no pain when I press it). And in fact there is a lump on the right eye as well, but never any pain there.

I'll see my doctor. But I'm not sure there is much he can do if there happens to be no pain at the time I see him.

There is much that can be done whether you are in a pain period or not. What is crucial is a solid diagnosis and that can be done in the absence of pain.

Basic treatment is to use a medication which prevents attacks (to a significant degree) with a secondary one which kills attacks rather quickly.

Arrange the see an headache specialist via the support group (unles you can asssure yourself that your local physician has training/experience with complex headache disorders.

Unfortunately, most of the messages we receive from the UK report how little training/skilll/effectiveness loctor doctors have with Cluster/Migraine, etc. Hence, we urge finding a specialist at soon as possible.