I am writing this in hopes of knowing, truly, what kind of headache I have. Last night was one of the worst nights I've ever had with headaches. My wife brought me to the ER where they gave me a few shots for migraines...but I still have a headache at this very moment, even after the shots.

How my headaches start:
It always starts the same. Back of the head, upper neck area...always on the left side. It starts to ache and throb then it moves to behind my left eye- it feels like something is pushing behind my left eye. It will wake me from a dead sleep and stop me cold. Excedrine is the only medication that has ever worked for it, but last night was one of the few exceptions where nothing I took would help. My headaches usually cause nausea, loss of appetite and sometimes vomiting. Sometimes I also get sensitive to light and smells (I have a strong stomach, but during one of the headaches I want to vomit if I smell something I don't like). Most doctors get stuck on the sensitivity to light and nausea to point at migraines, but nothing for migraines has ever worked.

How I think my headaches started:
When I was a kid (about 10) I fell off a slide. I hit the hack of my head on the stairs as I fell (about 6 of them I think) and was rushed to the hospital where they threw a band-aid on me and told me to keep a cold compress on my head. Since then, I've had headaches come and go for no reason. I've had neck manipulations from doctors and chiropractors...they helped for a while but they never fully went away.

19 years of pain:
When I found out that Excedrine was the only think that worked for me, I began to keep it on my at all times. I had the dissolving tabs (when they used to sell them) in my upper left pocket at all times. Now I just carry a small bag of pills in my pocket. Last night my headache started at 5pm, and I still have it lingering in my head some 19hours later (I think mainly from me trying to pop my neck so much, smacking it with a cold compress and pressing in my eyes for 5 hours). On pain scales it usually is a 6 (enough to cause discomfort, keep me awake and just lie awake) but last night was about an 8.5 (can't sit or lie still, thinking of jamming a pen in my eye to make it go away, etc.).

Caffeine seams to work, but I don't know if I'm making it worse. Sometimes I'll take Meclizine or Benedryl if Excedrine doesn't work...but last night nothing seamed to work. The only thing I haven't tried was the oxygen (as suggested in the tips). All migraine medication prescribed to me and even given to me last night didn't work, so now I'm at a loss. I called in sick to work today (now the forth time in the last couple months due to these debilitating headaches) and I just wish they would go away! I also have a son on the way, God I hope these aren't genetic.

We don't, we can't, we won't diagnose. It's not safe, it's not ethical.

There is a cluster quiz, left of this page, which you can take but it must be an M.D. who does the finally job.

In addition, there are a number of serious disorders which MIMIC Cluster and can, therefore, be troublesome to the best doc.

See: 
Link to: cluster-LIKE headache.
Section, "Medications, Treatments, Therapies --> "Important Topics" --> "Cluster-LIKE headache"

The issue is more complex when head injury is in the picture.

We strongly recommend working with a headache specialist, if at all possible, because so many docs have very little training in this complex area of medicine.

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.

I get both CH and migraines. Some of your symptoms sound like one, some the other and some a mixture of the two or they could be something else, after all we're not medical doctors here.

What you need to do is to work with a headache specialist to get a diagnosis of which headache type or types that you are suffering from.

Joes's advice about a headache diary will be very useful to help them with the diagnosis.