I truly feel your pain.

I am 25 years old, I too am afraid to go to sleep. I'm in cycle right now I hadn't slept in 2 days. Went to neuro yesterday he gave me all kinds of meds and was fortunate enough to get 6 hours of sleep last night before the beast woke me up. I have normally been an evening sufferer, the HA's would come around 7-8 pm but that all changed last week. Now they come about 1-2 hours after falling asleep. When that one is gone, go back to sleep only to wake up again and again in the same situation.I don't know what to do! It has really affected my life, I have had to call off work for the past 2 days in a row. My work and co-workers don't understand really either, they think if you have a headache take a couple asprin and get back to work.
Hopefully this cycle is over soon, If these meds don't work I'm going to try clusterbusters method. I'm willing to try anything.
Keep fighting, don't give up. your not the only one

Sitting in bed and waiting for the beast to strike sucks, time to get pro active! 31 year episodic here, this is what works best for me! Much tinkering, adjusting and trial and error is involved with each of us to see what works best.

1: A good prevent medicine, a med you take daily, while in cycle, to reduce number and intensity of hits. I use lithium at 1200 mg a day, blocks about 70% of my attacks. Does NOT turn me into a Hollywood Zombie!  Takes 10-14 days to reach a good level, I use a 2 week prednisone taper for relief while I wait for the lithium to kick in.

Verapamil is a common first line prevent to try and has proven effective for many on the board. Topomax is another popular prevent, others to read about and discuss with your doc on the med board.

2: A good abortive, you feel the scratching, tension, droopy eye feeling of here comes the beast, now what? Oxygen should be your first line abortive. I can completely abort an attack in less then 10 minutes using 02. No side effects, cheap and damned effective.

Imitrex injectables and nasal spray are popular abortives, the pill form generally is not effective as CH tends to build faster then your tummy can upload oral meds.

Have you tried energy drinks? Rock Star, Red Bull, any containing caffeine and taurine? Many find they can abort or diminish an atack by chugging one at the first sign of a hit. I tend to get re attacks within 10 minutes of shutting off my oxygen, and have found that drinking a Red Bull as I start the oxygen prevents the come backers.

I'll shut up now.....that's a lot of information but you have so much more you need to learn. Doctors are given very little training on headaches so through no fault of  their own they generally can't help you much. It's incumbent on YOU to educate yourself and work with your doc to form a treatment plan. Sitting down in front of your doc and saying "Fix Me" is a recipe for a lot of pain.

Welcome home, we'll help you any way we can.

Joe

Controlling your pain is very possible as is getting at least some sleep while in cycle ! I'm still a bear and I still don't sleep great in peak cycle, but I can control them enough to sleep some and it makes all the difference ! Kudos and best of luck.