I had no idea what CH are till I started working for Apria Healthcare. Apria offers a wide range of clinical services and equipment. Anyway, I was delivering oxygen to patients who suffer from CH so I started asking questions. After meeting at least a dozen patients with CH over the years I was sorry for them and always wanted to help anyway I can.

In Spring 2004 I started getting light headache. Over a couple of weeks the pain progressed to the point where I started to realize  :'( I suffer from CH  :'(

Now its 2012. I dont work for Apria anymore and boy, what a pain those CH are.

Right side of my head, pain starts from my neck area and moves upwards, over my ear and IN to my eye.

I get them every other year, like clockwork (why?) and this year is the year. Started like it always does. Light pain on my right side for couple of week and then  [smiley=hammer.gif] like last night.

I live in Chicago, lucky many doctors know what CH is. Forgive me if I wont be on here every day. I'm a truck driver with limited internet.

I did use oxygen when working for Apria but my main drug is imitrex or substitution for it, cuz my insurance wont pay for the original IMITREX.

Glad you found us--if sorry that you had to!

Be sure your docs have good experience treating Cluster. Many are lacking, often quit out of date on treatments.

See the PDF file below. Any doc should be working from this list.

Learning how what Clusters are and how to treat yourself is crucial to good results. Start exploring the buttons, left, beginning with the OUCH site.

The second book is a good buy for basic information, the first one if you can afrod it.

MANAGEMENT OF HEADACHE AND HEADACHE MEDICATIONS, 2nd ed. Lawrence D. Robbins, M.D.; pub. by Springer. $50 at Amazon.Com.  It covers all types of headache and is primarily focused on medications. While the two chapters on CH total 42-pages, the actual relevant material is longer because of multiple references to material in chapters on migraine, reflecting the overlap in drugs used to treat. I'd suggest reading the chapters on migraine for three reasons: he makes references to CH & medications which are not in the index; there are "clinical pearls" about how to approach the treatment of headache; and, you gain better perspective on the nature of headache, in general, and the complexities of treatment (which need to be considered when we create expectations about what is possible). Finally, women will appreciate & benefit from his running information on hormones/menstrual cycles as they affect headache. Chapter on headache following head trauma, also. Obviously, I'm impressed with Robbins' work (even if the book needs the touch of a good editor!) (Somewhat longer review/content statement at 3/22/00, "Good book....")



HEADACHE HELP, Revised edition, 2000; Lawrence Robbins, M.D., Houghton Mifflin, $15. Written for a nonprofessional audience, it contains almost all the material in the preceding volume but it's much easier reading. Highly recommended.
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Read the posts here regularly. You will see yourself and learn much as well as learn how to cope.

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Oxygen and Imitrex-like meds are good abortives.  There are preventive methods to keep from getting them that can be inexpensive.  Also, a good energy drink can curtail hits on the road.

Fortunate you were familiar with cluster headaches instead of the sometimes long process of finding out.


Welcome 

Welcome to the board. I have a deep "Bromance" with my APRIA driver! ;D

As Bob and Kevin have both stated, knowledge is the key in dealing with CH. The more info you have, the more tools you'll have in your quiver, the less likely you'll get caught unprepared for an attack.

Joe

Thank you all for a warm welcome.

As I go in deeper and deeper in to reading, I do understand there is more to ease the pain then Imitrex. I also know that to many shots ( injections ) of it could bounce and cause extra headache.

I should be glad, but does any one know why my CH come every other year ???

I had never got them every ear.   

The beast morphs, usually in the worst possible way at the worst possible time...and so do cycles. When it comes to dealig with CHs you must be prepared for things to change...occasionally for the good, but not necessarily so. No matter the change, however, it is the same old beast...attack and defeat! Blessings. lance