[/font][font=Times New Roman][size=12][/size]
My unmarried son has CH  :-/-- the Dr. at the emergency room acts like I'm being an over protective mother and my son is being a whimp! It makes me furious >:(
::)-OHH - poor baby has a little headache- ::)-that is the attitude we deal with! We live in a rural area so there isn't a lot of choice as far as doctors are concerned- so it's very irritating to be dismissed like this!
I couldn't believe it -- this ER doctor had to GOOGLE cluster headaches! Either he didn't know what they are - or he'd never treated them before! At this point- over Memorial Week-end---we have been to the emergency room 5 times in 2 days to get shots for pain-and I'm keeping my phone in my pocket so when he calls ,I'll drop everything I'm doing and rush him in again!
The nursing staff has been more help than the doctor, they at least have some compassion. Tomorrow - I'm taking him to our local clinic to see a different doctor, and hopefully get some relief for him- this is a tough man - he's worked with broken bones and through illnesses, but nothing has effected him like these monsters! I read where they have been termed 'suicide headaches' --I understand why!
Anyone have any suggestions?

Read everything you can on this site and print out the most important parts for the doctor tomorrow.

Get the doctor to prescribe oxygen at the rate listed on the links to the left.  It's the first line of defense for most everyone and is virtually side-effect free.

Good luck.

Damn Mom! Tough break! and on Memorial Day weekend to boot. So sorry. Lots of info here. Read as much as you can in what time you have. ER docs (most docs for that matter) don't know much about CH. Very important to get an accurate diagnosis (you don't say whether you have or not). If he has been diagnosed, next ER trip ask for Imitrex injection and an oxygen tank delivering 15 liters per minute through a non-rebreather mask. I hope I'm not misinforming you. If I am, someone will correct me very quickly. Best of luck. Ron

well tell him to get here and second it has been scientifically proven that married sons get ch too... :P

If your son has been diagnosed with CH then please get him here to start learning his defenses. There are medications used to prevent, and then some to abort. Most folks here use oxygen to abort, combined with maybe redbull or something. Imitrex is also a good abortive but often sufferers are limited by their insurance companies.

Lots to learn here, welcome.

You are not being an overprotective Mom!!! This is a very serious illness, and he needs all the support you can give.  I live in a suburban city with a fairly large hospital, and my husband and I have been treated as if we were searching for pain medication, even when I asked for oxygen & Imitrex.  We have since learned to find the things that work for him by trial and error, and to have those "tools" on hand ahead of time so we can avoid trips to the ER.  Help him as much as you can & ignore the comments of others; they just don't have the awareness of what you're dealing with. . .
Good Luck to you and your son!
Lynn

Really, though, I'm glad that the ER doc had enough understanding of his own limitations of knowledge to admit that he had to look up Cluster Headache...

Better than just assuming that it was 'some sort of migraine'

Of course, one would hope after having learned about CH, he'd have a bit more understanding of how serious they are... and perhaps could have send you home with some tripans or o2 rather than emptyhanded and then act surprised when you come back still having problems....

Hippies Mom,
I was disgnosed at 19 yrs old with bad sinus headaches...hmmm.  I wish I knew what they really were and that my mom was there in my corner.  (She would have been, but sinus headaches don't rate).  Beyond the diagnosis and the meds listed above, don't know whether your son is chronic or episodic, but tell him to log the headaches.  Especially if he's episodic with long periods between cycles.  This may help now or in the future once you get proper meds/treatments to know when a headache is coming on.  Most people experience headaches around the same time every day so a shadow or a twings could spell oncoming hell.  Alot of the meds work at the onset of the attack, not in the middle of it.

Hope all the advice helps.

keep up the fight for your son.

Brett C.

Mom, your son needs to be here even when he is in cycle as I am now. It's first hand knowledge that we all share. Oxygen, Red Bull, maybe Imitrex at onset, These will help him get thru the fist cycle. I have been to my primary care three times, my neuro at Johns Hopkins once, the er once and learned more from this site than anywhere. Oh and I am 14 days into my first ch at the age of 56. Read, Read and then start researching mushrooms. That's where I am headed next thatnks to Bob the founder of this site and a man I am quickly learning to admire. Jay from Baltimore.