I would say that I'm an odd CH sufferer. I seem to run cycles every 4 years that usually last around 2 weeks and have 2-3 attacks on average in between during the rest of the year. I decided to begin a cycle last Sunday and BOY! I sure missed'em. Kidding of course. I've had 11 attacks in the past 8 days. The last time I ran a cycle was in 2006 and I take Hydrocodone. 5mg seems to knock it out in around 15-20 min. Unfortunately I had 5 attacks in a 36 hour period Fri-Sat which is a "record" for me and to make it worse I RAN OUT OF MEDS on the 4th one on Sat. I was able to make it through Sun without any problems but my little friend decided to visit me today at work, and it was an ugly one, thus I went straight to the doctor to get a refill. He prescribed me 10mg this time, 4 hours after the attack began, but I feel pretty good right now considering. I glad I found this site and don't feel so alone in my little battles that I have. I hope everyone is able to find relief.

soonercowboy wrote on May 3^rd, 2010 at 6:09pm:

I would say that I'm an odd CH sufferer. I seem to run cycles every 4 years that usually last around 2 weeks and have 2-3 attacks on average in between during the rest of the year. I decided to begin a cycle last Sunday and BOY! I sure missed'em. Kidding of course. I've had 11 attacks in the past 8 days. The last time I ran a cycle was in 2006 and I take Hydrocodone. 5mg seems to knock it out in around 15-20 min. Unfortunately I had 5 attacks in a 36 hour period Fri-Sat which is a "record" for me and to make it worse I RAN OUT OF MEDS on the 4th one on Sat. I was able to make it through Sun without any problems but my little friend decided to visit me today at work, and it was an ugly one, thus I went straight to the doctor to get a refill. He prescribed me 10mg this time, 4 hours after the attack began, but I feel pretty good right now considering. I glad I found this site and don't feel so alone in my little battles that I have. I hope everyone is able to find relief.

           More and larger doses of narcotics don't spell relief for clusters.Get educated by reading the links about real prevents and o2 as a main line abortive.

           Potter

What Potter said! A doctor knowledgeable in CH would only prescribe narcotics as a last resort. There are so many more effective meds that do not carry the risk of addiction.

Read the oxygen info link on the left. 31 year CH'er here and 02 is still my first line and most effective abortive. I can be pain free in as little as 6-10 minutes just huffing oxygen. Imitrex injectable is my fallback when the oxygen does not eliminate the attack.

There are a number of preventative meds you should look at. Verapamil, Lithium and Topomax are 3 very popular ones. This is  a med you take daily, while on cycle, to reduce both the frequency and the intensity of your attacks.

Glad you found us, hope we can start to relieve some of your pain. Headaches suck!! ;)

Joe

 
Cluster headache.
From: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE (Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases)
[Easy to read; one of the better overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article--link, line above--if you are serious about keeping a good medical library on the subject.]

Leroux E, Ducros A.

ABSTRACT: Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disease characterized by recurrent short-lasting attacks (15 to 180 minutes) of excruciating unilateral periorbital pain accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic signs (lacrimation, nasal congestion, ptosis, miosis, lid edema, redness of the eye). It affects young adults, predominantly males. Prevalence is estimated at 0.5-1.0/1,000. CH has a circannual and circadian periodicity, attacks being clustered (hence the name) in bouts that can occur during specific months of the year. ALCOHOL IS THE ONLY DIETARY TRIGGER OF CH, STRONG ODORS (MAINLY SOLVENTS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE) AND NAPPING MAY ALSO TRIGGER CH ATTACKS. During bouts, attacks may happen at precise hours, especially during the night. During the attacks, patients tend to be restless. CH may be episodic or chronic, depending on the presence of remission periods. CH IS ASSOCIATED WITH TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION AND NEUROENDOCRINE AND VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCES, HOWEVER, THE PRECISE CAUSATIVE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNKNOWN. Involvement of the hypothalamus (a structure regulating endocrine function and sleep-wake rhythms) has been confirmed, explaining, at least in part, the cyclic aspects of CH. The disease is familial in about 10% of cases. Genetic factors play a role in CH susceptibility, and a causative role has been suggested for the hypocretin receptor gene. Diagnosis is clinical. Differential diagnoses include other primary headache diseases such as migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania and SUNCT syndrome. At present, there is no curative treatment. There are efficient treatments to shorten the painful attacks (acute treatments) and to reduce the number of daily attacks (prophylactic treatments). Acute treatment is based on subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. Verapamil, lithium, methysergide, prednisone, greater occipital nerve blocks and topiramate may be used for prophylaxis. In refractory cases, deep-brain stimulation of the hypothalamus and greater occipital nerve stimulators have been tried in experimental settings.THE DISEASE COURSE OVER A LIFETIME IS UNPREDICTABLE. Some patients have only one period of attacks, while in others the disease evolves from episodic to chronic form.

PMID: 18651939 [PubMed]
============
More basic learning in the PDF file, below.

After digesting these two articles, explore the buttons to the left, starting with the OUCH site and its many internal links.

All this info wil bring you up to date on treating CH.

---

soonercowboy wrote on May 3^rd, 2010 at 6:09pm:

usually last around 2 weeks I had 5 attacks in a 36 hour period

A two-week cycle with a lower spattering of hits is one thing to get through, but it may not stay that way, CH can run away with a higher frequency of hits and longer cycles.  Previous handling can be ill-suited and unprepared. 

There is a time to begin a change in treatment.  Such drugs needed so many times daily and over a longer period becomes self-explanatory why a necessary unaffecting abortive such as oxygen is important, and perhaps a preventive regimen to search for have both been mentioned above. 

The replies above become especially valid when what you're using becomes inadequate even taking more and runs out again, as Potter firsthandedly mentioned.  Then there could be a different problem developed on top of the suffering of CH.