I had frequent cluster headache attacks before. At times, it would be gone for years, then when it returned it would attack by about 2 or more times a month.

So I took myself to a Eastern medicine doctor. First he told me head aches occur due to issues arising at the point of your back neck, between your upper nerve and lower nerve.

Your upper nerve is inside your skull and your lower nerve is right below your skull. So the doctor placed an object to put my head on and lie down. The object had several silicon rods spiking upwards. Two of these spiking silicon rods were erected relatively higher than the others, and the doctor placed my head on it so that the two spikes would pressure exactly the points right below my back skull bone.

He told me most head aches occur from this part of your neck as this part of your head is were information from the brain is transferred to the rest of the body. And that the pain (cluster headaches) may occur because such things like bodily and mental stress twist and tighten the muscle in this area, making it difficult for brain messages to go through when the messages hit this point of your neck. When the brain messages get stuck here frequently, I start getting acute pain in my head.

So I lay down and it hurt. The weight of my head on the 2 short and pointy silicon rods caused a lot of pain. The doctor told me to stay in that position for about 30 minutes, and that I should be relaxed and that it would be okay to fall asleep if I wanted to. I thought to myself how the hell would anyone fall asleep in all this pain. But the doctor also told me, healthy people, generally don't feel any pain from lying their head on this device.

The pain was no where near my cluster headache attacks so I was able to endure this lesser pain. After about 30 minutes, though, I actually did start to fall asleep. The pain was replaced with numbness, and i felt a level of comfort I haven't in ages.

I think I dose off for about 5 or 10 minutes, when the doctor cam back in and started to lift my legs up. This brought back some of the pain I felt at first, but along with a relaxing relief as well. The doctor kept me with both my legs straight up until he ran out of strength. He let me down and started performing other twists and turns on my body, much like a chiropractor.

I purchased about $250 worth of medicinal tea liquid, in a bag, that I was instructed to heat up and drink about 2~3 a day. I also went back, and got similar treatment for 2 more times. At my 3rd visit, however, I felt no initial pain when I lied down on the silicon rods, and I felt no more cluster head aches.

Subsequent visits were acupuncture, but not sure how effective that was. Those 3 sessions of pressurizing those 2 points behind and between my neck and skull really did it. The medical drink just kept me very mellow all day and didn't allow my neck to tense up.

Since then, I just apply pressure in the same area with my thumbs. I try not to stress my body too much with stuff like cigarettes and booze. Also, I tried to avoid work related stress by not thinking too much about what went on. Co-workers understood and let me be, since I was drinking this strange smelling tea every morning..

This all happened about 1 year ago. Today I simply don't have cluster headaches anymore. I do get close to it sometimes, however, when I had had alcohol 2 days straight. If then, I pressure that area with my thumbs, drink lots of water periodically, and lie down on my pillow full of hard wood cylinders. These wooden cylinders would pressure random areas on my upper back neck, and I would leave it like that for several minutes at a time.

This worked for me. And at this point, I strongly believe this area at the back of your neck, right below the bottom tip of your skull, is actually where cluster headaches formulate.

I came here looking for answers but wasn't able to find a good one, so I ventured out and found a cure. However, I did see that I wasn't the only one, and found it supportive to see that others were trying to get rid of this crippling headache. So I'm posting this as to share my experiences in getting rid of CLH.

The pain is excruciating, I know.. So I hope this helps. And let me know if you have questions.

G'day, dnigy. Interesting that your attacks come only twice a month. Top left of your screen is a button for  the Cluster Quiz which is highly reccommended.

This may be your lucky day.

Joe has just set the tone for future posts.  I hope everyone gets it.  Good on you Joe.

   I,  too am very happy you are pain free DNLGY, but please do not say the word "CURE" around cluster headache sufferers.  There is no cure but we all DO have ways to cope and get the cycles under control to a good degree.  Please DO take the cluster quiz, et. on the links to the left of here.   

I'm with Linda and Joe: success is our goal and not demanding orthodoxy in how we gain it.

If you had been around here years ago when this site first appeared--the pre-med days--much of what we were sharing and trying would fit into the "desperate" category and likely sound a bit odd by today's standard.

The only reservation I have for you is that we recognize a range of disorders, some rather serious, which mimic Cluster. If a good doc doesn'st rule these possibilities out it's possible that something rather serious is being missed.

See: 
Link to: cluster-LIKE headache:

IN: "Medications, Treatments, Therapies --> "Important Topics" --> "Cluster-LIKE headache"

power to you dnlgy, the main thing is that your pain free !

I have always had huge neck issues, probably from my rugby days.  but during an attack, my neck, same side as my cluster pain, goes on the attack ! sometimes while in cycle and not actually during an attack, my neck will start playing up.  My belief and my physio's belief, when I periodically go to her for some relief, is that when im going thru an attack, ( currently)  with the pain being so excruciating, I find myself pacing around or propped up against the kitchen bench with a cooler pack against my head, I seem to twist my head on an angle and downwards, as I flinch with the pain, because of the angle, it sets my neck into a sort of cramp !  I have two cooler packs, one for the head and one for my neck, its my routine. My physio taught me about relieving the pressure in the neck by burying two fingers just below the scull during an attack or when ever it plays up.  For me, its the cluster attack which brings on my neck issues. I remember once that I was going to lie down during an attack and stay lying down on my back until it finished, the end result, I didn't contort my neck, hence no neck cramps, but holy sh@te I'll not be doing that again, I have to pace or stand during an attack.  some people blame the route cause of clusters on there teeth and immediately go to the dentist, again, I believe its a pain by product caused by the cluster headache it self.  My physio also practises in the pressure point pain relief, she's great for an ex rugby players aches and pains of years of an abused body, But she cant find a pressure point to in any way relieve the actual pain from a cluster h/a.
but as I said, all that matters is that YOU are pain free, thanks for sharing your experience....
regards
colin

Okay. So it's been what? 3 years exactly since I last posted and claimed I found a cure! I came back from a trip from Indonesia and my sinuses were flairing up with lots of flem and coughing. My teeth hurt also so I went to the dentist to remove a tooth.

But before and after the tooth removal my sinus area beneath right eye and upper right teeth started throbbing with pain. It's been 3 years since I had a full blown cluster headache attack that I forgot what it was all about!

So I went to get my sinuses checked and they said I had chronic sinusitis but thought I should have my nerves checked as well for the headache.

So my new neurologist tells me, and for the first time in nearly 20 years, that I may have cluster headaches! Never have i heard a doctor tell me this outright.

I still use the wooden pillow. I have to be more creative with it now as the prongs sometimes only hurt me, and not get rid of the headache. I use the blade of the wooden pillow to pressure the lower right side of my head to lessen the headache or place other pressures on the back of my head. But, recently, the wooden pillow method hasn't been as effective as before.

So apparently my "cure" was short lived. The last 3 years weren't completely painless, however. Just that a few days on the wooden pillow and my headaches would be gone. And it sure beat the fact of being completely helpless when the headaches came. That is, before I found the wooden pillow method.

I just got back from the hospital with a bunch of steroids for the clusterheadaches. Hopefully I get by this wave of attacks soon enough. And hopefully I find new methods of relieving myself of this pain.