Hello everyone, so glad I have found this place with loads of advice.
One thing I have realised through reading posts on here is that my CH's are very minor compared to the pain others are suffering on here and it has put things into proportion for me.
A bit about my situation now  I am married with 2 sons one working and one at Uni, turning the big five oh this year.
While a teenager I started getting a "Bad headache" Pain in right temple and eye for about a day, roughly once a year, this went on till nearly 3 years ago when my husband was taken ill and I started getting one or two every month. My Dr diagnosed Migraines and gave me migraleve which after taking the pills and having an hours or two's sleep got rid of it.
This went on till about October this year when I woke up at 3 in the morning feeling as if someone was stabbing me in the right eye and pounding on my head. My right shoulder was rock hard, so were the neck muscles and both were very painful.  I took some Migraleve and put an ice pack on it.  It started to ease off during the day but didn't go, two days later it was still there and although I could function and do things I was in pain. I seem to find it easier to carry on than give in and go to bed.  I got an emergency appointment at my Dr's and was given Imigran which thankfully got rid of it.
Last week it happened again waking me at 5 and lasting for nearly 3 days, massage using a spiky ball on my shoulder and neck give temporary relief.  This time I saw my regular Dr who asked about the symptoms took my blood pressure and went Ahhhh. It was apparently quite high.  She wanted to put me on Betta blockers but because of my asthma and Christmas she wouldn't. She gave 3x100mg Imigran and said I was having Cluster Headaches and she hoped this would be able to break the cycle.
I took the pill on getting home and it eased off but didn't go. It did ease off and now is about as painful as a "Normal headache".  It just wont got and seems to be like a wave going up and down but thankfully not really painful just annoying painful 
Have been taking blood pressure regularly and trying to work out if there is a trigger to them. I know stress is part of it as things have certainly got worse since my hubby was taken ill.
I have looked around the forum and have a few questions that I hope you can help me with.

What are shadow headaches?

When is the best time to take my Imigran, as soon as I feel a headache start. Sometimes they don't get any worse are just there, and on a grade of 0 - 10 are about a 2-3. Or do I take them when the pick axe in the eye starts?

I have read about RedBull helping, does Caffeine help. I do drink a lot of tea but its all Caffeine free.

I know in the scheme of things they aren't debilitating but I would rather they went and didn't get any worse.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Sharon

Suggest you look at your excellent support group:

Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or
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You are at an "awkward" age when developing Cluster is not rare but could signal other medical conditions which can be significant. I'd talk to your primary care doc about a referral to a headache spcialist/clinic for a comprehensive work-up. At this point I would not assume the Dx of Cluster is final/correct.

Even if Imigran kills an attack, this is not a confirmation that you have Cluster.

You may find it useful to do some basic learning about Cluster, in any case, so that you have tools/concepts to guide discussions with any doctor you see.
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Cluster headache.
From: Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or (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]

Guiseppi wrote on Dec 29^th, 2010 at 8:34am:

I agree that the injectable and nasal spray work faster, but I would disagree that the tablets are of little help. Many times in the past I have taken one of the 100mg tabs at onset, then started huffing O2. The oxygen will abort in anywhere from 5-15 minutes, and the tab is just starting to kick in. The tab will prevent a recurrence for several hours, whereas I would often be getting my ass kicked half an hour later with just the O2.

And in those rare circumstances where O2 is not available, I'll take the tablet over nothing at all in a New York minute.

Taurine is a calcium channel antagonist (just like verapamil) and caffeine is a vasoconstrictor, so the combination is exactly what we need to help with CHs.

You will find we're all just a bit "odd"!!   You are going about this in a very logical and orderly fashion. Continue to educate yourself and work with your doctor, wishing you speed on your diagnostic journey!

Joe

Hi, a couple quick points. We are all different (particularly with respect to CH), so don't let anyone tell you you don't fit the CH profile (of course there is a definite CH set of symptoms). I for example, have CH, but also have some other headache types. I was never a "headache person", but had 3 concussions in succession about 5 years ago. The shadows are odd, as you will see. I get my CH from Autumn into late winter, and because I spent my Autumn in a warmer part of the US this year for work, it started much later. I get shadows all summer, so watch your trigger points. For example, I found mine are: dehydration, shellfish, hard liquor, wine (for some reason, beer doesn't bother me, though I don't drink more than 1 or 2 at a time), excessively loud noises (only high pitched). And my shadows may be for a few hours, or one time last summer had a dehydration experience that put me into a "shadow" that lasted a week. Good luck, I can tell you that you came to the right the place, these folks are great, and maybe docs help a lot, but nothing beats the experience of fellow sufferers.

That's not a bad thing either. I tend to "drown" my CH with water. I found the extra fluids help a little. Not always. I'm not sure if it's the fluid, the extra oxygen in the water, or just my mental state, but water seems to help me. Anything that doesn't involve drugs or other harmful substances with side effects is worth a try, I suppose. That's wh I was happy to try Monster/Red Bull. I even did accupuncture, which also worked, even though only for a short time (my friend is an accupuncturist, so he "tunes me up" whenever he visits).

Happy New year to everyone 
Some one, not on here, has suggested that I might not have Cluster Headaches but Hemicrania Continua.
Any idea if that could be correct?

Thanks Mike