Does anyone else get cluster headaches?

[MikeSmoke]

So here it is, 4:17am, I have to get up with the baby at around 6:30 - and after a damn cluster headache, I can't get back to sleep.
AAAAARGH.

[MikeSmoke]

guess not...i know they're rare, but figured someone here would be another sufferer...

[chemicaleyes]

I've never heard someone use the term cluster headache before.

[GigoloShawn]

>take analgesic

[Babaganoosh]

Go see your doctor. You'll get prednisone to take when you start having them frequently.

[cgu]

You should really look at what you are eating before you get them. My guess its related to allergy. Could be dairy / wheat / yeast, among others.

[fitzmulti]

Originally Posted by MikeSmoke

guess not...i know they're rare, but figured someone here would be another sufferer...

I get them ALL the time.
They suck bug time.

I'd feel your pain - but I have my own to deal with.

Fitz

[MikeSmoke]

Originally Posted by chemicaleyes

I've never heard someone use the term cluster headache before.

It's a very rare form of headaches, mainly hits men in middle age, most people who have them have periodic clusters that can last weeks or months - untreated you can get 4-6 a day, treated it's most likely you get one a day, in the middle of the night at the same time every night. They're also called "suicide" headaches, because even though they usually only last about half an hour, the pain is so bad more than 50% of people who have them have said they've thought about killing themselves because of the pain - many people who have them bang their heads against walls during the attack.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cluster_headache

[MikeSmoke]

Originally Posted by GigoloShawn

>take analgesic

Wish they worked on clusters but they don't

[MikeSmoke]

Originally Posted by cgu

You should really look at what you are eating before you get them. My guess its related to allergy. Could be dairy / wheat / yeast, among others.

Nope, it's commonly believed that it's related to a disorder in the hypothalmus - most likely to occur in heavy smokers (me) and heavy drinkers (definitely not me). But most experts believe that once you start getting them, quitting smoking or quitting drinking doesn't get rid of them for good

[MikeSmoke]

Originally Posted by Babaganoosh

Go see your doctor. You'll get prednisone to take when you start having them frequently.

Actually, I've been in treatment for years for them - pred is considered an old-line treatment; what they usually do now is give you verapamil to start taking at the onset of a cluster, and most commonly prescribed is straight oxygen during the headache (I don't want to bother with all that shit, I go to a window and breathe fresh air and it usually does the same thing).
My new neurologist specializes in headaches (his father was one of the people who did some of the definitive studies on clusters) gave me cafergot, a mixture of ergotamine and caffeine, to take an hour before bed (because the clusters usually come on an hour after going to sleep for me and a lot of people) and it's worked wonders.
The reason I posted the other night is that I forgot to take the cafergot early enough, and the cluster hit before the cafergot started to work

[MikeSmoke]

Originally Posted by fitzmulti

I get them ALL the time.
They suck bug time.

I'd feel your pain - but I have my own to deal with.

Fitz

Sorry to hear that, I've never had worse pain in my life (even when I had a MRSA infection in my ball sac and they had to lance it) - I sympathize.

Have you seen a neurologist who specializes in headaches? The treatment I've gotten from my doctors has made the clusters bearable (even though I still dread them).

[cgu]

try a netti pot

[klaze]

Grrreat another thing to worry about... life sucks..

[biggilo]

I get cluster headaches mate, sometimes water treatment works for me, but not all the time, generally I end up close to overdosing on Tramadols to get the pain away..

[GrouchyAdmin]

Originally Posted by MikeSmoke

Wish they worked on clusters but they don't

Drink no tea?

... Ol' Dorkus was playing an Infocom Game.

[seeandsee]

I have cluster sleep, i wake up 5~6 times a night and i fall a sleep right after i wake up no problem, i am fucking nut, i hate, i want normal sleep

[oceania]

i get extreme migraines
lasting 3-6 days
where all i want to do is die
feels like an ice pick is behind my eye and stabbing my head repeatedly
so i feel for you
tried all the meds they have for this stuff
and nothing works

[globofun]

I'm a cluster head, getting a cycle every 16 months on average.....

Get yourself a neurologist with cluster headaches knowledge, and get him to give you Verapamil....... that saved my life after 5 weeks of insane clusters!

Oxygene could help too......

[Robatolla]

Originally Posted by cgu

You should really look at what you are eating before you get them. My guess its related to allergy. Could be dairy / wheat / yeast, among others.

very possible when i was a kid dairy and processed stuff like hot dogs and bologna would give me a violent migraine the next day after eating.

[Robatolla]

i use excedrine migraine for mild migraines and reg. headaches and imatrex for bad headaches both work well for me.

[Helix]

Stop smoking

[ExtremeBank_Adam]

I get clusters as well... had them for many years (I'm 34 now), and I would be completely incapacitated for weeks back when I worked a regular job. That's actually one of the reasons that Alysha and I started her site back in 1999.

I still get them now, and up until recently I started taking an Imitrex injection each time I would feel them coming. The bad part about that is that they cost $100 a shot (my self employment insurance doesn't cover it), so I've had weeks where I've spent enough to buy a small car, lol.

But, this past May I was reading about Botox and it's effect on Migraines/Clusters. I decided to give it a try and had Botox injected into my forehead near my headache trigger point. It worked. My headaches have either gone completely away or dulled to the point where a Percocet will usually do the trick.

Botox doesn't last forever, though, and I actually just went back and had another treatment last week because I felt another series coming on (mine start weak and get stronger during the cluster). Again, since then I've been fine.

I've been told that Botox won't work for everyone... but you should give it a shot.

EDIT: BTW, I don't smoke and I barely drink. My neurologist doesn't know what triggers mine.