I've had clusters now for about 11 years (episodic) but recently they've changed some.  The last few times I got hit, I felt stabbing pains on the same side (I'm a lefty) for a few days prior to The Big One.  They just come and go erratically; short duration (just a second or two) and feel like little spikes going into my head.  After I battle the Beast...they disappear until a few days prior to the next one.  Have any of you experienced anything similar?

Ice picks, huh?  That pretty much describes them.  At least I know some of you have them, too.  Thanks.

I still have a bottle of indomethacin from 2 years ago.  My doctor prescribed them before he really got into Cluster Headaches (unfortunately because of me, but still...bless his heart).  Like you said LeLimey, no good for us episodic sufferers.  You're supposed to take them one a day during your cycle.  Well, duh; I don't have cycles per se.  One or two, gone for a few months, one or two, gone for 6 months, lather, rinse, repeat. 

Again though, thanks for answering and letting me know you have these things, too.  They just alarmed me a bit because of never having them before.  I'll let you know if my doctor has anything to say about them.

Some people get icepicks continuously as in daily for several weeks or months at a time. If you had them for more than a week at a time I would say it's worth trying to medicate but if not, it's not really worth it. They could stop a bull in it's tracks but only for a second or so!

Indo is a really good med for two other conditions in the same group as CH. (TAC's or Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgias) Paroxysmal Hemicrania and Sunct. All three headaches have the same pain and autonomic symptoms but are distinguished mainly by the duration of attacks and frequency. For people having many attacks a day I think trialling Indometacin is always worth a go. It's an nsaid so a cheap med (although prescription only) - and it's very fast acting. If it isn't working within two weeks, it won't.

CH is known for how it morphs and what works for us one cycle not working the next. That's why I would always recommend retrying stuff occasionally and also trying things like this where you have everything to gain.

I'm glad it made you feel a bit better about them.

Helen

Yes, I get them too.

Normally, I'll get one or several during the late stages of an attack.  Whammo, then gone.

I also get them during a cycle, individually and on their own.

I don't mind them, particularly, during a hit.  They usually indicate that the attack is about over.

YMMV.

Best,

George

yup been getting those since March. Stops me in my tracks. feels like someone put an electro shocker on the side of my head. If i had a penny for every time i said WTF was that id be a multi millionaire. Used to scare the hell out of me now i just laugh after as its so stupid

Mark (not right in the head)

I've been getting a ton of these lately. The descriptions above are quite similar to my experience - brutally fast, icepick-like hit, stops me cold. The short duration makes them easy to manage once you realize that they're not killing you (the pain is wicked).

I don't mind them too much when they're on their own, but the past month especially I've been getting smoked both by CHs and these icepick hits - quite the combination. Been quite a month, for sure.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these hits - when these were added to my CH I got concerned. CH is undoubtedly a tricky beast.

Have a great week, all. Cheers