I've been experiencing slurred speech, and the left side of my mouth seems to droop after an attack. This only seems to happen in the most severe cases. Lately, Towards the end, My body seems to go numb, I get real dizzy and drowsy( almost feeling loaded) then when it's over, my mouth droops when I speak. Does anyone else experience this?

If this is a new symptom, either call an ambulance or a family member and go to the hospital immediately.  Do not drive yourself.  Cluster headache patients are more likely to have a stroke.

If this happens after every hit, and only after a hit, and has been happening for a while you need to talk to a doctor.  You may have multiple neurological conditions, or worse, you may have a very serious condition that is presenting as cluster headache.

You need a CT scan and an MRI with and without contrast to be sure.

She is right as soon as you get the stroke like symptom get to the hospital to get a scan done. While you have it is the best time to go. I had a stroke and my left leg and arm and face still feel strange (symptom) but strokes are different in different places... Sounds rough  good luck

Katherine is spot on with her advice. Not a side effect I've ever experienced but the longer I hang on this board the more stuff i learn! Hoping it checks out as nothing more then a buggy side efect, but DO get it checked out.

JOe

Definitely get it checked.  You will probably find nothing wrong, just like looking for CH, but it is not something to play with. 

On the other hand, there is a rare subset of us rare people who get hemiparisis following a bad hit.  I get them on the right side, and always get a droopy eye (people at church look at my eye first thing to see how I'm feeling) and sometimes my cheek will sag and my lip droop.  My lips feel like I'm on Novacaine and work about that well also.  More uncommonly, my right foot will drag and I will lose the use of my right hand and arm.  I will still have full feeling in them, they just don't respond to stimulus or to my attempts to use them.  This will last for about an hour and then will start tingling like they've been asleep and slowly regain function.

If I ever have a stroke now I probably won't know it because I've been checked so many times that I don't worry about it any more.  I am NOT suggesting you ignore it!  After you've had 5 MRI/MRA's and 6 CT scans with nothing to show for it like I have you will know what it is.  Until that time treat it like it is life-threatening until proven otherwise, because it may very well be.

Thanks for the advice. I did go have ANOTHER CT but w/o contrast. I've experienced this for ten years or longer. I don't remember exactly when it started but it wasn't 25-30 yrs ago, which is when I experienced my 1st CH. No word yet from my Doc. so I'm hoping it was a normal scan. well, as normal as it can be. I never have really been all here if you know what I mean. lol Anyway, Hope you all have a pain free night.

Katherinecm wrote on Jun 30^th, 2012 at 11:55pm:

Cluster headache patients are more likely to have a stroke.

Huh? I've never heard this before.

Source?

I had read that before but cannot remember where. tried an internet search and found this. Not the article I previously read but makes sense....

Anxiety
•      A sharp spike in blood pressure can lead to a stroke, and one symptom of high blood pressure is anxiety. Cluster headaches can also produce anxiety over the pain and often causes suffers to pace during an attack.


Read more: Similarities of Cluster Headache vs. Stroke | eHow.com START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE


Joe

Still not the original article I remember but the one I read was along these lines:

Auras and Medical Risks
About 14% of patients with cluster headaches have migraine-like aura. Recent research suggests that headaches that are accompanied by aura may increase the risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). TIA symptoms are similar to those of stroke, but last only briefly. A TIA is often a warning sign that a person is at risk for having a more severe stroke. Headaches with auras may also increase the risk for eye retinal damage (retinopathy). Aura-related headaches may affect the small blood vessels in the brain and the eyes, thereby increasing the risks for stroke and retinopathy


Joe

That's all well and good, but I guess I'm looking for something that points to hard data to back up the claim. Not this:

Quote:

Recent research suggests that headaches that are accompanied by aura may increase the risk of stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA).

To make the statement "Cluster headache patients are more likely to have a stroke" is quite bold and potentially troubling for everyone here. I've never heard that before, and I think I'd like to look into it. I'd like to see a link to some data that at least supports the notion before I spend time in what amounts to chasing my tail.

More directed at Katherinecm.

This is similar to the previous thread by LydiaNichole. I, too, have wondered if there is research on this. As I said in a previous post, I asked for a vascular wall strength test (don't remember what it's called) for just this reason. Came back OK, but part of me wonders still if I am at risk because of the frequecy and intensity of the hits I experience. God bless. lance

Sorry, I was offline for a couple of days.  I thought this was common knowledge, so it didn't occur to me that I needed to reference it.  I've had more than one neurologist warn me about it, and back when I first got diagnosed I think it was even on the mayo clinic CH brochure.  I'd posted something about my chiropractor and many people here cautioned me against neck adjustments because they can lead to stroke, and we are already at a higher risk of stroke.  I can't seem to find studies, though, so apparently the risks may have more to do with medications and smoking than CH itself, unless you are one of the people who also have aura.  I do typically have vision and depth perception changes, so maybe that's why I've been told repeatedly I'm at higher risk?  Here's a few (old) anecdotal links:

article from Shands about CH that mentions stroke: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE; (I cannot find the mayo clinic brochure I had that said something similar, but it was shortly after I got diagnosed ten years ago).

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

There are 1,460 results for "stroke" on the CH boards, if you want to search here.  This stupid heat wave has been awful for me and I don't have the patience to scan through them right now.