Cluster or migraine headaches?
 

I've never had either, but right now the entire anterior of my left frontal lobe is screaming in pain. I'm very used to sinus infections and sinus headaches, but this is NOTHING like that.

Does anyone get cluster or migraine headaches? What's the difference? What do you do to treat it? This is the first 'attack' I can remember and the pain is insane.

Any help/advice appreciated. I don't feel like crawling wikipedia or webmd and adding the extra anxiety/hypochondria of reading about more symptoms.

(in case anyone was going to mention it, no i don't have any shrooms which are supposed to be a very good treatment.)

caffiene

You are going to die soon :(

Try 30 shoulder shrugs backwards and then massage the sides of the back of your neck, hard.

A friend of mine used to suffer from them and used cocaine to get rid of them. If you don't have any readily available try some peppermint oil and rub it on your temples.

There are pressure points in your hand and wrist that will eliminate the pain. Try Google, I know they suck. I used to get them and my daughter still does on occasion.

i get them all the time you need to go to your doctor and get migraine medication it makes you drowsy but takes the pain away

Acupressure points for migraine headaches

Several acupressure points are believed to help relieve migraines. Below are some pressure points some researchers and practitioners have named as acupoints to relieve migraines:

* Acupoint 01 lies in the crease between the thumb and forefinger when those fingers are pressed together
* Acupoint 07 an indented point on the wrist that lies in line with the thumb
* Acupoint 12 is found in the largest crease inside the wrist in line with the thumb
* Acupoint 26 pressure is applied by pinching the nostril
* Another point that is believed to relieve headaches is called L14 – this pressure point should not be used by pregnant women because it has been known to induce labor

If you work alot, you might need better glasses. If you haven't had an eye checkup recently, go get one. The right glasses can make all the difference.

+1 on the eye test
or
-it's spring, have you got any cut flowers indoors?
-what's the oxygen level in your blood? any gym equipment with a finger clip can tell you. might not be breathing properly while you're asleep.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

I have had cluster headaches for 20 years... and you know it if you get it... they are also known as "suicide headaches", and are well known as being the most painful thing a human can go through.

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

I have tried the following with different levels of success:

• Botox injections - seems to help, but have had to go back for a second application to help. Each application is about $250.

• Imitrex - I use the 6 mg injections, which seem to help, and always carry a stat dose "pen" with me in case I need an injection while on the road. Results are usually: injection, vomit, lay down, fall asleep, wake up without headache. But, the shots are about $100 a piece, so that may not be a good method for everyone.

• Oxygen - Like an old man, I now keep an oxygen tank handy at home if a headache comes. It's cheap, and it seems to help.

• Various pills - Imitrex, Treximet, Percocet, Fiorcet, etc. tried them all... usually take a pill right when I first have the "aura" of a headache, then if it turns out to be a bad one, I'll go with the injection. Not all of my headaches are "full strength", but the ones that are take me completely out of commission.

I'm actually in a cluster now, and just got home from a drive up to Birmingham. Didn't take the oxygen with me, and didn't get Botox yet, and as luck would have it I had a bad one two mornings ago. I took 2 Percocets and put a cold soda can to my head, and it kept getting worse, so I ended up doing the Imitrex injection, but I still had it for over 2 hours.

I think the combination of all of my methods keep mine in check now. They don't seem to be as bad as they used to be, except for two mornings ago... and I already made an appointment with the doc for Botox tomorrow afternoon.

Good luck with your headaches, and I really hope they aren't Clusters...

for true cluster headaches try psylocybin (sp?) aka magic mushrooms odd as this sounds they work in many cases and you only need to do it once every couple of months

i get horrible headaches... only one thing that does the trick for me... tastes like shit, but 2 pouches and headache will vanish in under 10 minutes

http://pics.drugstore.com/prodimg/10166/300.jpg

I'm a chronic ''clusterhead''......

But I've been pain free for over 6 months now...

I'm off to work but will be back here later.

Go to http://clusterheadaches.com/ that site saved my life!

Most doctors won't know about these...... find yourself a neurologist.....

Used to get clusters about 6 or 7 years ago. As Adam mentioned in his post above, the pain of clusters is almost cartoon like in their ability to go from 0 pain to tear-your-face-off-pain in a few seconds. I got them mainly (99% of the time) on the left side of my head, felt like someone was literally trying to stick an ice pick through my head behind my left eyeball. My doctor prescribed Kapake (mine came in a little packet you mixed with water and drank instead of in tablet form) and it worked really for me.

gees i was coming in here thinking this was a pretty rare thing, apparently not..

My mother has a terrible case of cluster headaches and has been working with doctors for years trying to figure out the triggers and the best treatments. I've read a handful myself so i'll leave some point forms of what she says works and some helpful stuff i've read over the years.

-first identifying what it is. My mom describes the pain as: burning lava in her skull, a burning so intense she can't do anything during the duration of them. If its anything less than that I would assume you have a stress headache or migraines, which at least there are suitable treatments for.

-MSG if you look up the effects of msg allergic reactions it mimics cluster headaches symptoms almost exactly. I had a theory that this was the single cause of all my mothers headaches, but as far as i know, she still got them when eliminating them--i should add that she didn't try anything drastic as i suggested like go all fresh foods and avoid perservatives, but i think that is at least worth a shot.

-oxygen seems to help her during these 'attacks' she almost always gets them in the evening after dinner or in the middle of the night. Tanks are a lot more mobile than they used to be at least.

-she travels to the east coast every year and rarely gets them while out there. maybe all that ocean air and seafood helps?

-she is on some heavy medications for them that i'm not familiar with but they are hit and miss and barely worth mentioning.

-they seem to come in cycles. Unpredictable really, but when they start up she knows she will get more in the coming days.

I hope some of this is helpful, and lets hope its nothing more than a stress headache you got there where a good masseuse is all that is needed ;)

GF gets them so often she actually receives FMLA leave from work.

She has some medicine for them as well. Powerful, and expensive, stuff.

:2 cents: