When i first began having CH, i was about 12 and they would just hit, randomly. They would last for about a 1/2 hour and I only dealt with them once or twice every couple of years or so. i really didn't think much of them and probably buried some of them in my still developing subconscious. It's not until my late teens that I began to recognize what was really happening and not until my 20's did they begin to become what they currently have become. They were always severe, but the severity was not quite as prolonged...more like waves of piercing pain over the course of a half an hour or so in duration.

Once they became "full-blown," I was in my mid-20's. They would always come on as a twinge over my right eye, followed by tearing, my eye would droop, my heart rate would quicken, sometimes my right arm would become numb and then would follow the little demon, with ice pick in hand, stabbing out my eye, nostril and upper-right frontal lobe. I begin pacing, downing espressos to try and abate the pain that is coming on, running my head under freezing cold faucets, screaming and writhing in pain, smacking myself in he head because each smack would send a millisecond of "relief" from the shock it created, tying strings around my head trying to stop the blood flow but to no avail because as soon as my grip is released whatsoever, the pain comes back as if the string were merely a dam that were holding back the river of torture. By this time there is generally little sight in my right eye and any sight or sound becomes unbearable because they increase the pain. Going into the fetal position while cradling my eye with one hand and holding the top of my head with the other, just trying to massage the pain away and then, just as suddenly as it began, it is gone. I cannot rationally talk or be talked to by anyone during these episodes. I am at the will of the little devil.

These events previously described, are atypical of each of my CHs.

I generally now recognize, even about a week before the cycle actually begins, that they are coming. I get a little "twinge" over my right eye and my sinus' begin to fill up. Once the ch's actually begin, I will have about 1 every 2-3 days for the first week, lasting about 30-45 minutes a piece, with zero pain in between. The second and third week, I'll have 1-2 attacks per day, also lasting 30-45 minutes apiece...one around 2:00 in the afternoon and one after I fall asleep or about 1:00 AM. The fourth week, the CH's increase in intensity and frquency. 4-5 headaches are common for me during this period and at least 2-3 in the night, 30-45 minutes after I fall asleep recovering from the previous attack. The fifth week, the headaches last longer and there is pain even between episodes, I don't know if it is from the actual attacks, or from all the headbanging that was incurred in the previous weeks. The cycle begins to taper off in the 6th week before finally ceasing altogether until the next episode begins.

These cycles have been spread out. At first, as I previously mentioned, I only encountered an isolated attack or two every few years. It was not until my mid-20's that the episodes started coming in clusters. I would go another year or so with no episodes and then wham...the cycle would begin again, lasting for a week at first, then 3 weeks, and now they last for 6 weeks. It has been a little over a year since my last episode and before that, it was a year and a half (keeping my fingers crossed.) The episode previous was about 6 months prior and another episode 6 months prior to that one. 

There is no rhyme or reason for these episodes and I pray that you will not have to endure a full cycle of these for any extended length of time. If you have any more questions...I'm here to help. Again, it's kind of hard for me to remember much from the early beginnings as they were some time ago and I just remember hiding in my room, covering my head and finally passing out for a couple of hours from exhaustion. i hope that yours never return. Best Wishes!

Have you ever looked into Trigeminal Neuralgia?