I started having headaches back in 2004.  It took a solid year before anyone was able to diagnose them as CH.  I went through all of the scans, tests, and procedures that most of you went through before the doctors at The Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago finally diagnosed me with CH. 

Verapamil seemed to do the trick for 5-6 years, but just recently I got hit with a bad case and haven't been able to shake it for going on 4 weeks now.  They've gotten very bad and I've actually had severe neck pain as well.  I've been taking 100mg Topiramate daily for about 4 days now and it seems to be helping a little bit.  The medicine is making me very tired, a little depressed and a little irritable.  I've noticed a few minor things like coke tasting terrible, not being able to tolerate hot showers, losing words occassionally, and being down right loopy sometimes.

Anyway, the point of this post is to thank all of you for posting your thoughts and suggestions for battling through these headaches.  I was pretty depressed the other day when I decided to come on here and read through some of your posts.  It was very comforting to know there are others dealing with the exact same issues.  Even if those around me might not understand what I'm going through, I know you guys can sympathize.

If you were wondering, Topomax = Topiramate.  Thanks Joe!

Dope-o-max is true but good news is it does seem to come
back when you stop taking it.

Well I think, Wait I can't remember! Ha ha