Hi Randi
Firstly it's vital that you get a proper diagnosis, because there are many "headache" types which respond differently to various medications.What works for one will not touch another. It's good that you've had scans to rule out anything sinister, now you really need to see a neurologist to find out what is causing your pain.

There is no cure for these things but if you know for sure which type of headache you have there are many preventatives and abortives available. Have you ever been offered imitrex (sometimes called imigran or sumatriptan) oxygen therapy,verapamil or lithium? Let us know what meds you have tried.

And tell us where you live because someone here will come along and help you find a headache specialist in your area.

In the mean time, buy yourself some Redbull energy drinks. At the very first sign of pain (don't wait till it takes hold) chug one down really fast. It's the combination of caffiene and taurine in a sudden hit which does the trick, so anything with those ingredients will do. It doesn't work for every one but many folks here find it helps enormously. Also check out these boards for posts by Batch about vitamin D3. It has taken these boards by storm and helped no end of people. Hopefully someone will follow me and post a link. Also check out "oxygen info". Yellow tab on the left of your screen.

Let us know how you get along.
Maz.

Most docs, even neurologists, have such meanger training in headache disorders, that finding a good diagnosis and skilled treatment is the largest, single barrier to relief.

Don't get into the trap of self-diagnosis and self-treatment. Has too many problems on that path.
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LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. 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.

2.  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.

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

4. 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.

5. 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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WHY A HEADACHE SPECIALIST IS RECOMMENDED


Headache. 2012 Jan;52(1):99-113.
Cluster headache in the United States of America: demographics, clinical characteristics, triggers, suicidality, and personal burden.
Rozen TD, Fishman RS.

THERE REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT DIAGNOSTIC DELAY FOR CLUSTER HEADACHE PATIENTS ON AVERAGE 5+ YEARS WITH ONLY 21% RECEIVING A CORRECT DIAGNOSIS AT TIME OF INITIAL PRESENTATION.
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Imitrex INJECTION, not pill, is first choice to abort attacks. One use, not working, may be an accident, so don't assume you should not try it again.

See the PDF file, below. These are the common meds used and printing this article out makes a good tool to discuss options with any doc you see.

My 2 cents.  Your strategy to manage your pain needs a lot of work and it's not always an easy task. There are 2 distinct approaches you could take to deal with cluster headaches with some overlapping treatments.  I will refer to them as pharma and non pharma.  I currently am going the pharma route which has been pretty good to me for the last several years.  For more on the non pharma option you could check out clusterbusters.com.  For the pharma route your number one priority is finding and staying with a qualified neuro.  You can't go the pharma route without a good doc, you won't make it.  If you don't find one right away keep looking.  Then you can talk to them about things like verapamil, injectable Imitrex and a script for O2.  You may not be able to use O2 at work but it sure might make those night hits way more bearable.  The anti inflammatory or D3 treatment seems to have helped many, hasn't seemed to work for me "yet", fingers crossed.

As for energy drinks I have the same issue with the taste.  I do the big Rock Star fruit punch or the Monster Baller Punch, both don't taste anything like an energy drink to me just really sweet fruit punch. 

My biggest piece of advice is this, get really proactive.  If your headaches arent that bad then who cares but, if your headaches are anything like mine, excruciatingly unbearable and life altering, then you have to attack it hard even if you have to drive 50 miles to see a good neuro.  You can have buckets of pain free time if you find a good strategy.