Welcome Nikki,

I must ask, how did you hear of cluster headaches?
I ask that because a lot of migraine sufferers I know, know nothing about cluster headaches or what they're like.  You've obviously done your homework.

In saying all of that, you definitely came to the right place because your symptoms are unfortunately spot on.  Definitely get to a good neurologists to be diagnosed correctly and ruling out anything else.  If you need doctors names, we can list it from the OUCH site.
For now, if you're short on cash, you can buy energy drinks with 1000mg of Taurine which you should pound immediately at the onset of a cluster.  Also, go to the drug store and buy melatonin.  This is a sleep aid that has helped many.  I would try 6mg to start and work your way up till  you find a dose that works for you (I personally wouldn't exceed 18mg/night).  Take this 45 minutes before bed time.  This will give you a good nights rest which is important.  Once you get with a neuro, you should get prescribed oxygen at a high flow rate or you can use welding supply stores to get your O2.  This is the safest most natural way of aborting a cluster.  Many here can help you use it correctly, just ask.  Also, there are triptan drugs like Imitrex which works and alternative therapies like hallucinogenics.  You'll need to get on a preventative depending how long your cycles are.   

Please take the cluster quiz on the left of the screen to get started.

Stay away from beer/alcohol, nitrates, chocolate, smoking (for some), perfumes, petroleum based products, etc....

Hope all of this helps.

BTW, I love Western PA, went to college out there.

Cheers,
Chad

My I have to agree, sure sounds like CH! Obviously you're wise to follow up with a head ache specialist neuro to eliminate anything else and confirm your diagnosis but damn!

As far as duration, that alone does not exclude CH as there is a minority of sufferers who have longer attacks. I used to describe my attacks as 10-12 hours. A closer description of an untreated headache is 90 minutes of intense ouch followed by up to 12 hours of a horrible headache that feels like I got whacked by a 2X4!

Another big plus for the oxygen is you can use it WHILE you nurse. Good luck with the diagnosis. If it turns out it IS CH, and it sure sounds like it, please stick around. You won't find a more comprehensive knowledge base on CH anywhere. And yeah, we understand how they feel and will never tell you to shut up and take 2 aspirin!

Welcome.  Joe

Scrim- Definitely sounds like CH to me. I was just officially diagnosed by a very helpful neuro today. I had suffered these types of headaches before in the past and had always suspected it was CH. I too am the same type of "just deal with it" personality, but this pain is unlike any other I have ever known so I finally broke down and went to a neuro, he ordered an MRI to make sure it was not something more serious, then diagnosed me with ch.
You definitely need to see a doc for this unbearable pain that way you can at least get some type of abortive cuz advil just doesn't cut it.
But yeah, what your describing sounds spot on CH, my attacks generally last about an hour, and I can get 3-4 a night. I have had many sleepless night in the past few weeks, and hopefully the meds I got today will provide me with some relief. I also had to go through a welder to get o2, which really does help abort.

I have found this site to be so helpful. I know you will too.
Best of luck

Just to get it straight, these demon headaches we call the "beast" are no type of "just deal with it" headache. 
Only we will know how it feels so we must understand why others don't.  You can give all the analogies you want and they still won't understand 

Nikki, with nursing, definitely look into the oxygen rout.  My wife nursed both my boys and it's the best thing for babies and mom as well  .  Go as long as you can.  When it's over, then you can look into the melatonin and other possibilities with your doctor.  Just find that good neuro or pain management specialists.  Ask us if you have problems, we'll find one for you.

Nikki,

I also live in Pittsburgh suffering from CH. If you are in need of a good Neuro look up Univ of Pitt Headache center. They are located in Oakland on Lytton Ave by the Soldiers and Sailors Hall.

Tim

scrimshaw wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2010 at 7:24pm:



I hate when people do that! Or "no wonder you have so many headaches, all that caffeine you drink"

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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Cluster headache.
From: Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or (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]