hi I'm 24 and I'm female i live in surrey in the UK,
I've just been diagnosed with cluster headaches as I've been in pain for 5 years but due to other health problems no one would listen to me then i was in hospital and had a attack couldn't do anything but scream. i was seen by a neuro team who said i was suffering from cluster headaches and apparently i had been episodic and now I'm chronic, i was prescribed verapamil and it didn't agree with my body and i almost had a heart attack so the doctors took me off it, I'm now having the worst time I've had for a long time i usually only get them at 10am but in the last three days I've had 13 attacks on a pain scale 10 i even thought about taking an overdose of sleepers and pain killers so i wouldn't feel the pain, its so bad we end up calling 999 and being treated as  a category a call so they come give me oxygen 25 mins later its like i never had a problem, right now I'm desperate I've stuck my leg with sumatriptan injections twice in two days to get some relief but I've found it only puts the attack off for about an hour then the beast comes at me and there's nothing i can do but scream i tried knocking myself out but that didn't work i was so desperate i begged my partner to hit me over the head with a hammer( luckily he didn't). the doctors and the consultant are in the middle of a debate as to who should prescribe the oxygen and so far I'm at a loss, they used to only be 10am and 10pm now it can hit at any time in the day/night nothing in my environment/food/routine has changed and I'm seriously not sure how long i can go on like this ,... apart from o2 is there anything you guys would suggest ?    I'm desperate 

thanks all my love wylde xx


PS forgot to mention i cant take any opiates/codeine/ tramadol I'm highly allergic

For now I'd go purchase some energy drinks, rock star, monster, any containing the combo of caffiene and taurine, many can abort or at least reduce an attack by chugging one down at the first sign of a hit.

Bob makes several excellent points. Narcotics do not help with the pain, it's too intense for that. Our best bet is to stop the pain from reaching that dreaded 10 level. We do this through a combination of an effective prevent, they tried you on the most popular, Verapamil, your body didn't like it. Lithium and Topomax are also popular prevents you could try. Both take a while to build up in your system. I use Lithium, takes about 10-14 days to become effective. The doc will prescribe a prednisone taper as a transitional med while my lithium kicks in. Prednisone will block attacks for most people but should only be used for short periods of time.

Get the home oxygen prescribed. I abort my attacks in 6-8 minutes huffing oxygen. The faster you get on it, the faster the abort.

About 15 posts below yours is one titled "123 pain free days and I think I know why." It describes a regimen of fish oil, magnesium, calcium and vitamin D which is helping a lot of people reduce the number ant intensity of their attacks.  It's all over the counter stuff, cheap, worth shot.

Welcome to the board. Do not be passive in seeking out your medical treatment, you MUST be your own best advocate. Read all you can here and take it back to discuss with your docs. Educated Ch'ers hurt a lot less.

Joe

Hi, I am a 27 yr old female and have had CHs since I was 21, not diagnosed until I saw a neurologist last year...my primary care physician just kept having me try different prescription migraine meds and even percocet - none of which even began to touch the pain.  The neurologist prescribed a high dose of Prednisone and a smaller dose of Verapamil, which did help the cluster subside sooner (about a week of Headaches - previously they would last for 6-12 weeks at a time).  I also used O2, only 7L/min, for about 10-20minutes which helped the headaches go away quickly..unfortunately, I have changed insurance recently and do not have the O2 to help anymore.  Also, after probably 3 Cluster periods using the Prednisone, it seems to have lost its effectiveness.

BUT, I have found TWO things that really help a lot.  The first thing I do is put a cold pack around my neck and on my head (you know that aweful burning feeling - this helps)...Then, I sit up against a wall - straight up - and make myself hyperventilate, to the point that I feel like I am going to pass out.  Once I get to that feeling, usually about 5-15minutes, the headache subsides completely, and it's like nothing ever happened.  It is weird, but I think it works in the same way that using O2 works to make the HA go away.  I have also had SOME luck with caffeine - downing a big cup of coffee right when I feel a HA coming on...that just doesn't work well when it is later in the evening, or when the HAs wake me up at night, because all I want to do is go back to sleep and make the pain go away. 

So yeah, try forcing yourself to hyperventilate and the ice packs - it's worth a shot, and the only thing that works for me now.