Hello my name is Roy. I believe i am a clusterhead....started getting them when i was about 18 and i am now 23. I have been getting them again since last wednesday after they went away and hid for 2 years. i hate when people compare em to migraines....and ive had migraines and i know these headaches are 100 times worse. I feel completely drained since i havent been getting much sleep. So far ive been getting them almost every morning and night. Pain is always behind my right eye. I wish someone would help me find some kind of relief from these 

We always tell relatively newcomers like yourself to get a firm diagnosis first by a competant headache specialist.  The reason Bob above is telling you to let us know where you live is NOT so we can be nosy.   We have folks here from over the U.S. as well as the world and it's possible someone lives near enough to you to help as well as provide a Dr.s name for you to call and make an appt. with.



Usually, we start treating CH  with a 2-pronged approach.   A good preventative and then an abortive.  Most swear by Verapamil or Lithium as a prevent.  and 02 as an abortive and Imitrex for those times when you're caught out in public or something and need to get rid of the HA FAST!!!!!!

Until you can get a prescription for pure 02  try breathing deeply from an A/C vent in the house or the car.  Buy some of the energy druinks like Red Bull or Rock Star and chug it at the 1st. sign.  The caffeine and Taurine act together as a fairly good abort.  Try ice packs too.  Anything that is a vasoconstrictor is what we need.

Give us some information so we can help you Roy.  That's what we're here for.   

Linda

Thank you guys for the advice. I will try every step given. I was given imitrex yesterday. And tried it last night and it did nothing. Didn't help at all. Today in the morning I felt like I was going to get another ch and drank a red bull and it helped up until 430pm. That's when I felt the beast coming back. I bought vivrin(200mg) caffiene during lunch to try. So I chewed it up when I felt it coming back. It helped only to relieve the pain but not to abort it. Just got outta bed maybe about 20 min ago and it is now 10:50pm and I can still feel a little pain but still bareable. I am so happy I found this site with so much info.

Bejeeber....yes I was prescribed imitrex in a pill form. Dr seemed clueless and said that it sounded like a migraine becuz of how I explained it. I know for a fact these aren't migraines. I was reading on here and over on clusterbusters.com about taking vitamin d3. I'm willing to try anything at this point

It's really cool when something so "simple" as O2 therapy is so profoundly effective, huh?  As to the imitrex injectables, read the imitrex tip on the sidebar to the left. This allows you to use the 6mg autoinectable as a set of 3, 2mg, self injectables.  It stretches out the trex since for most of us, 2mg is enough to abort the hit. I would pretty squeamish at first about poking myself with the exposed needle, but it's so small you hardly feel it and it only stings a bit when pushing the trex med through. Feels to me like a mosquito bite and then even that goes away. Best of luck and God bless. lance

You've received the first lesson: find a doc who knows!
LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Search the OUCH site (button on left) for a list of recommended M.D.s.

2. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

3.  Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

4. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or ; On-line screen to find a physician.

5. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

6. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
        Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.
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Starting learning....




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]
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When you see a doc, the PDF file, below, outlines the most common treatments. If you don't see these coming at you, time to be cautious....

one more thing....to the guys....ive noticed a decrease in "morning wood" dont know if that has to do with low levels of testosterone. 

Narcotics are NOT a recommended CH treatment. For most of us it makes it worse especially after time.

Most Doctors are pretty clueless about CH so learning all YOU can from here and elsewhere is in your own best interest.

Don