Hello , I am new here ,but not new to Dreaded CH in 1994 i was first confronted with a 2:30 am headache.after the ice pack on my head and a few aspirins i thought to myself ,she(my wife) will be surprised to find me dead in the lounge chair. My first diagnose was horners syndrome and moved on to clusters . They went on for three months then stopped  age 48. Next bout was 2001 , with 2 month duration . then again in 2005.  Now they're back as of Jan 2010 What i have found is the only relief i get until i get back to my Neurologist is moist heat on the right side of my face, i have a heating pad with a cloth that can be wet and laid on. Does anyone else use this method. I am now 64  and care for my wife who has MS . Most people point to stress as the primary cause any ideas?

Moving this to the proper area...

This Topic was moved here from Editing Your Profiles by Racer1_NC.

I've had CH for 31 years, and am now almost 50. I'm just finishing a 30 year law enforcement career. Stress does not start a cycle for me. I've had incredibley stressful assignments with no cycles.....then times with absolutely no stress in my life and the beast comes back! When I am on cycle, sustained stress will bring on an attack, off cycle it doesn't seem to have any effect.

That being said, first off, welcome to the board! There are far more effective treatments then hot wash cloths. Read the oxygen info tab on the left. Used correctly it will completely halt an attack for me in less then 10 minutes. Imitrex injectables and nasal sprays are working for a lot of people too. When you get a second, give us a rundown of what you use, what has and hasn't worked for you.

Sorry to hear about your wife's condition. That's a tremendous burden to carry. Be keeping you and her in our family's prayers.

Joe

Please listen to Guiseppi, he's steering you right.


reelwood wrote on Feb 13^th, 2010 at 9:07pm:

....Most people point to stress as the primary cause any ideas?

Please don't listen to them, they are steering you wrong.

Believe you might find some basic information of use.
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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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Explore these sites for some material to discuss with your doc.

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Here is a link to read and print and take to your doctor.  It describes preventive, transitional, abortive and surgical treatments for CH. Written by one of the better headache docs in the U.S.  (2002)
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Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute for another list of treatments and other articles:

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reelwood wrote on Feb 13^th, 2010 at 9:07pm:

Hello , I am new here ,but not new to Dreaded CH in 1994 i was first confronted with a 2:30 am headache.after the ice pack on my head and a few aspirins i thought to myself ,she(my wife) will be surprised to find me dead in the lounge chair. My first diagnose was horners syndrome and moved on to clusters . They went on for three months then stopped  age 48. Next bout was 2001 , with 2 month duration . then again in 2005.  Now they're back as of Jan 2010 What i have found is the only relief i get until i get back to my Neurologist is moist heat on the right side of my face, i have a heating pad with a cloth that can be wet and laid on. Does anyone else use this method. I am now 64  and care for my wife who has MS . Most people point to stress as the primary cause any ideas?

I and my Dad have used this method to help ease the pain of a CH attack. 

For some Heat or moist heat works for others it's ice cold that works better.  Just goes to show you how different CH'ers can be.

Welcome to the board!

While I have always been of the opinion that CH is initially brought on not by only one single factor such as genetic disposition, physical traumata, extended emotional or physical stress, smoking, lifestyle etc. but through the sum of several parts, quite a few here seem to experience that their actual episodes are brought on after seemingly stressful periods, during periods of relaxation.