Hi I am new to this website but I am not new to these monster headaches that occur right as I fall asleep. my headaches are cyclic they occur for about 2 months every three years always in the fall I have had these over the past 10 yrs and it took 5 yrs to diagnose I even had major surgery on my left ear because I was told that the pain was being caused by chronic infections in my ear canal. Needless to say this was not the problem. I am interested to read about what types of relief remedies all of you fellow sufferers have come across to deal with the pain like no other. It is hard to explain to other people just how intense the pain can be. My doctor has to put me on a combo of drugs to help block this cycle until it ends this includes prednasone ergotamine magnesium and verapamil this seems to work for as long as I take this combo but this last round did not stop at 2 months like the other times so I am back on all of these meds but you can only take steroids for 9 days after that it is a crapshoot I would like to hear of other remedies that any of you in this forum have come  across. 

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Off to the left of here,  you will see a yellow button that says oxygen info.  For many of us, it is our first line abortive.

Linda

Sorry you are having to deal with this horror. The following is something that worked very well for me and the price is right:

Dr. Wright’s Circulatory Technique

What follows is a technique learned from my neurologist:
I am not sure what mechanism is triggered by this but whatever it is, at least indirectly helps kill the pain. I do know that this technique has nothing to do with meditation, relaxation, or psychic ability. It is entirely physical and takes some work. It involves concentrating on trying to redirect a little circulation to the arms, hands, or legs. It can described as a conscious circulatory flexing. Increased circulation will result in a reddening and warming of the hands. Try to think of it as filling your hands with redirected blood. The important and difficult part is that it has to be done without interruption through the pain. Do not give up in frustration. It may not work on the first try. Every now and then it will work almost immediately. I lived for those moments. Try experimenting between attacks. You will find that it gets easier with practice.

I was given less than five minutes instruction in the use of method. The doctor, while placing his arm on his desk, showed me that he could slightly increase his arm and hand circulation. After several attempts, I was able to repeat this procedure and use it successfully. I have had about a 75% success rate shortening these attacks. My 20 minute attacks were often reduced to 10 minutes or less. Once proven that I had a chance to effectively deal with this horror, I always gave it a try as I had nothing to lose but pain.

Perhaps it will help if you think of it as trying to fill the arm as if it is were an empty vessel. I used to try to imagine I was pushing blood away from my head into my arm. Use your imagination. There is one man who wrote that his standing barefoot on a concrete floor shortened his attacks. This may be similar as it draws some circulation away from the head. Cold water, exercise, or anything affecting circulation, seems to be worth a try. My suggestion is to not let up immediately when the pain goes. Waiting a minute is probably a good idea. So long as you do not slack off, this has a chance of working.

This technique is very useful while waiting for medication to take effect or when none is available. It costs nothing, is non-invasive, and can be used just about anywhere. It is not a miracle but it helped me deal with this horror. It can be a bit exhausting but the success rate was good enough for me and a cluster headache sufferer will do just about anything to end the pain. It gives us a fighting chance.
I hope this technique is helpful and I wish you the best of luck

Charlie      

Kudzu as a preventative and Ox at 25lpm as an abortive.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :D  Actually if I don't miss doses of the Kudzu I rarely need the oxygen.

Jerry

Edit to add:  I'm also using Testoterone, but I'm chronic.  Doubt it would be beneficial to you.

Unfortunately most meds are trial and error.  For me prednisone works and then I also use O2 first and Imitrex as a last resort. I've tried everything know to man and there's lots that work at different levels for me. Print out some of this great info from this site and bring it to your doctor.
Good luck! :)