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        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 Cluster Headache Specific Posts >> Do i have cluster headaches?
        
(Message started by: tetsusaiga83 on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 6:17am)

Title: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by tetsusaiga83 on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 6:17am

My Dr said i probably have cluster headaches but i was looking at some of the experiences from people and im not too sure now

I've been getting atleast 1 headache a week as since 5 years old or younger, some times for 1 or 2 weeks straight. i have alot of symptoms of migrains but also some of cluster headaches

My headaches usually last atleast 5 hours, they come on light and get close to climax in about 10-20minutes
its almost allways feels like its my right eye, never below it like sinuses, my nose gets stuffy and will somtimes run. i get cock eyed and usually i press my eye untill the pain from pressing gets to overpower the headache or somtimes ill take thin objects like back ends of spoons, ect and press my top eyelid in over my eye in up to a inch into my head. often my eyes or face will flush and feel hot before it starts or soon after

maybe about once every 3 months i get one bad enough to make me vomit or lose balance.

the reasons i think they might not be cluster headaches is because sleep is one of the only things that gives me relief, when i wake up its usually gone but will come back within a hour of waking up.
usually when i get them you can see the viens throbbing on my temple. somtimes it will last up to a week straight and just go away in a few minutes, when i have one that long for a couple days after if i shake my head or im driving and hit bumps i can feel my brain is sore across the whole front and top, exactly like a bruise, like it actually went through some physical trauma.

3-10 times a month i actually wake up with headaches, especially if i sleep too long, but these are very different from any usual headache i have, they usually feel more like a new years hang over centered at the base of my brain stem, they arent that bad long as i stay almost still, if i walk or stand up they feel like viens are exploding with every heart beat

I'm posting this because ive tried just about every drug out there and believe it or not excedrine migraine actually knocked them out completley within a few minutes, ive been using it for the past year and it makes my stomach hurt bad but its a blessing. im posting this because its beginning to not work anymore.

here are a few things i do for relief.

Ice pack wrapped in a wet napkin pressed on my eye untill i cant see out of it anymore. it works pretty good

stare into a cold ac and let my eyes water for about 20 minutes, this works occasionally

eat as much as i can, after 20 years this has made me 20lbs over weight, before i found exedrine i was 60lbs over weight.

taking high doses of oxycontin or any opiate i can get, this doesnt allways work but it allways puts me in a better mood

somtimes ill beat my head against the wall, this helps for like 5 seconds at most, and i have a hole in my wall now.

a drug i tried called midrin knocked them out 100% within 45minutes but my dr took me off it and switched me to imatrex simply because its "newer" which doesnt work, i asked him why the midrin was bad and he said "because its a old drug from the 60s", if its been out 45 years and hasnt had a problem whats wrong???!!!
I guess it didnt make enough money for him

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by tetsusaiga83 on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 6:26am

oyea, one thing i forgot to mention that works, the minute i feel any flushing or pain or anything running to the bathroom and turning on the cold water and washing my face as many times a possible before the tap water gets a little warmer often helps my headache not getting any worse or can somtimes actually abort it, i often keep a bottle of nasal spay by my sink because i use it at the same time. I also really reccomend keeping a tub or anything full of water big enough for you to put your face in inside your refridgerator, the colder the better, i can have water so cold it makes my whole body freeze for about 15 minutes but it works very well, water that cold can can be painfull but its well worth it

i dont know quite how to put this but i guess i should because for a bad headache you need all the help/info you can get.. somtimes having your significant other pleasure you in a slow relaxing way, or even just a massage can be extremly helpfull, it works about every other time for me, i guess its the bodys natual endorphins, just dont get too carried away because it can make it alot worse.

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by BobG on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 7:02am

on 12/03/05 at 06:17:14, tetsusaiga83 wrote:

First, have you taken the cluster quiz yet? The button is on the left side of your screen.

some times for 1 or 2 weeks straight.
Are you saying you have a continous headaches for 1 or 2 weeks? If yes, it is not a cluster headache.

My headaches usually last at least 5 hours.
Cluster headaches can last 30 minutes to a couple hours. Usually, 45 minutes to 1 hour. A five hour headaches is not a cluster headache.

maybe about once every 3 months i get one bad enough to make me vomit or lose balance.
That sounds like a migraine.

the reasons i think they might not be cluster headaches is because sleep is one of the only things that gives me relief,
If you can sleep during your headache attacks it is not a cluster headache.

when i get them you can see the viens throbbing on my temple. somtimes it will last up to a week straight
I have never heard of that from a cluster sufferer.

3-10 times a month i actually wake up with headaches, especially if i sleep too long, but these are very different from any usual headache i have,
Cluster headaches usually come on at REM sleep, about 1 to 2 hours after falling asleep.

I'm posting this because ive tried just about every drug out there and believe it or not excedrine migraine actually knocked them out completley
Pain meds do not work on cluster headaches. Sounds like migraines.

ive been using it for the past year and it makes my stomach hurt bad but its a blessing.
If you have been using the pain killers for that long it may have done damage to your stomach.

here are a few things i do for relief.
eat as much as i can, after 20 years this has made me 20lbs over weight, before i found exedrine i was 60lbs over weight.
Are you saying you eat during the attack? If yes, it is not a cluster attack.

taking high doses of oxycontin or any opiate i can get,
That’s crazy. Narcotics will not help with clusters. Knock it off or I’ll come over there and beat you sensless.

"because its a old drug from the 60s",
Your doctor is a idiot and a jerk. Fire him!

I guess it didnt make enough money for him
BINGO!

somtimes having your significant other pleasure you in a slow relaxing way, or even just a massage can be extremly helpfull,
That sounds great to me. But, Nobody, and I mean NOBODY better lay a finger on me during an attack. They do and they will become a victim.

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by chewy on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 7:53am

Quote:

Do i have cluster headaches?

Doesn't sound like it.

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by pattik on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 9:14am

Hello, and welcome to the board. You have a real mix of symptoms, but many of them are traits of clusters. Many people can suffer from migraines and clusters, but I think you need to get a more definitive diagnosis from a neurologist specializing in headaches. CH can vary from patient to patient with some symptoms, like the vomiting for instance. I know that the very worst hits will make me vomit from the pain. Many CH'ers successfully abort headaches using oxygen. Read the info here on O2 and other treatments as well. There is a lot of information to digest from this site, so look around and read as much as you can. Then go back to a doctor and keep working to find a good treatment. You needn't suffer as much as you have described. And continue to post questions here. The members of this board can be very helpful with all their experience. PF wishes to you.
Patti

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by unsolved1 on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 2:04pm

It doesn't sound like clusters to me either.

UNsolved

Hope you find something that helps!

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by tetsusaiga83 on Dec 3^rd, 2005, 11:48pm

yea, i dont think i have cluster headaches either, thats what my DR told me though. I think i may have had CH before but not that often, maybe 5 times a year but the ones that are chronic i think may be some wierd type of migrains. the reason my DR probably thought that was because my headaches are allways at my right eye.

when i say up to 5 days at a time, its not 5 days non stop, they usually are gone right when i wake up but come back in about 10 minutes.

i can usually go to sleep with them but its not easy, i take diphinhydramamine, asprin, caffine and acetominophen. the times its so bad i'm throwing up everywhere i cant sleep at all.

my headaches will almost allways get to the point im throwing up if im being active like working, or if i am in extreme heat like 95f or higher

the other headache i have when i wake up somtimes seems to be comming from the middle of my brain, or brain stem but thats maybe only twice a month. unlike the cluster which is from the eye. Ive read somewhere that this headache comes from contricted viens at the brain stem.

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by BobG on Dec 4^th, 2005, 3:59am

on 12/03/05 at 23:48:56, tetsusaiga83 wrote:

my DR probably thought that was because my headaches are allways at my right eye.

i can usually go to sleep with them but its not easy,
my headaches will almost allways get to the point im throwing up if im being active like working,

I'm not a doctor and this is only my opinion. It sounds like your doctor has no idea what a cluster headache is. It also sounds like he has no clue what a migraine is.
Try to get an appointment with a headache knowledgeable neurologist.

You do have some strange symtoms. See if a neurologist can order, at least an MRI.

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by E-Double on Dec 4^th, 2005, 8:36am

on 12/04/05 at 03:59:03, BobG wrote:

DITTO!!!!!!!

Title: Re: Do i have cluster headaches?
Post by chewy on Dec 4^th, 2005, 11:43am

Quote:

i can usually go to sleep with them but its not easy,

Definitely NOT a cluster attack