Posted by Jackie on August 05, 1998 at 10:53:24:
I'm new to this group, and have noticed some people
posting who are suddenly experiencing bad headaches.
They are asking the group if these could be clusters.
So, I wanted to post a word of caution. Please see a
specialist and get diagnostic tests, such as a CAT scan
or MRI, before you do anything else. These tests will
help ensure that there is nothing organically wrong,
such as a tumor.
I'm writing this because of a tragic personal experience.
About 3 years ago, my brother, Mark, phoned me, describing some
severe headache symptoms. He was wondering if he could
be having cluster headaches. Indeed, some of the symptoms
did seem cluster-like. His primary care physician did
not administer any diagnostic tests. He just gave Mark
pain killers. A few months later, Mark collapsed into
a coma and was dead the next day. He'd had an undetected
brain tumor. My brother lost his life, and my family is
totally traumatized and devastated.
I know this is a terrible story, and I'm not posting it
to scare anyone, but rather to urge everyone to get
the appropriate tests. I know that we've had a lot of
experience with misdiagnoses. My headaches were mis-
diagnosed as migraines for many years. But at least I
had tests done immediately at Scripps and knew that
nothing was organically wrong.
Best of luck to everyone--
Jackie