So I am sitting here with the post headache hang-over I get everytime one of these things hits: not quite right, but functional.  I was diagnosed with cluster headaches last fall and, while my symptoms do not quite fit, the diagnoses seems closer than everything else possible.  I know its not migraines and beyond a truck rolling over my head while I am sleeping, this is the only thing that makes sense.  I do have a few questions though: if some of you sufferers can match symptoms, then I know my doctor is on the right track. With some answers maybe I can learn to live with this crap.(BTW: no neurologist is in on this yet; specialists are few and far between in this part of the country, so wait times often extend into years)

1. My headaches do not seem to "cluster". I get one (or two) God-almighty, blow-my-head-off headaches each year in the spring or early summer.

2. Sometimes they wake me up, but usually they occur in the early evening, right after supper.  They come on like a locomotive: one moment I think I may have a headache coming, the next moment I am rocking mindlessly in my bedroom, dreading what the next two hours will bring. Last night the headache woke me up at 4 am and was increasing in intensity even as I walked downstairs to find the presecription my doctor suggested.

3. I cannot speak to lateralization. Last night my left side of my face seemed affected (my left eye is still weeping right now), but usually the pain is all encompassing. I often have little memory of the entire event other than feeling like my entire head is about to explode.

4.I cannot get comfortable, but that is simply because of the pain.  Rocking, walking, rolling, shuffling or lying still in the dark makes no darn difference. Often I fidget and shake just to distract myself from the pain. Lying still just focusses my mind on its impending explosion.

5. Plugged nose: sure...and congested throat with wheezing like an asthmatic and paroxysmal coughing. The respiratory congestion is a harbinger to the next phase of the cycle: the excruciation waves of pain followed by projectile vomitting and diarrhea. Its like my entire body is trying to purge itself. The wierd thing is...the purging is a good thing.

6. The purgative cycle: pain, cough, more pain in waves, followed by complete purgation, mostly vomitting, is followed by a short respite from the pain. The headache ceases for often as long as five minutes. But..

7. The cycle continues usually until I completely collapse. I usually know when the cycle is over. Its like the headache sucks everything out of my body and I really do finally collapse. When I come to, the headache is gone, leaving me with a washed out feeling for a day or two.

8. This occurs once or twice yearly. My doctor has warned me that it could continue like this or pick up the pace considerably.  I cannot imagine surviving more than one of these per year; every time I get one it is a mercy (or a curse) that my wife keeps the guns locked in her private jewelry safe.  The curse comes on so quickly that I cannot imagine ever making it to the hospital in time to help anything.

Last night I managed to recognize what was happening as soon as I woke up. I managed to get down-stairs to the medicine cabinet where I keep the small sample of almotriptan that the doctor gave me.  It seemed to work: I actually felt the pain ebbing away about fifteen minutes after I took it.  This morning there is a feint growling over my left eye but the world is relatively good right now.

So, anyone out there get these sort of symptoms?  I read some articles about all of this and cluster headaches sure felt right for the diagnoses.  I just cannot imagine getting these things repeatedly as some of you guys do; they render me practically vegetative when they hit. I live in terror of each possession.

CH is a one sided headache, it can switch sides though. Very rare cases have reported a both side hit.

You may want to research a couple other headaches, Trigeminal neuralgia, Chronic paroxymal hemicrania, and Sunct.

Others more knowledgable will be along.

Good Luck, Don