I have only been experiencing this indescribable, unbearable pain for 3 months now.  It started with a couple times a week n then quickly went to everyday. I was dumb founded and had no idea what was happening to me.  Just 3 weeks ago I finally had my breaking point and went to my doctor.  One night the pain was so intense the thought of placing a gun to my temple and pulling the trigger entered my head and it stayed they and played over and over in my mind for the course of the entire night.  I never in my life have had such a thought.  When I pryed my eyes open in the morning to kiss my two young children goodbye I realized I had to get help.  What if the next episode was worse than that one, would my thoughts turn into actions?  Like I said it has only been 3 weeks since I was diagnosed but I have already tried several meds along with my own weird ways of trying to deal with it.  I am running thin, I am exhausted, my body is weak, my clothes no longer fit and I am sad and lost.  It seems like my doctor is just like oh well we tried, sorry deal with it.  I need help or advice or something, that's why I joined here. I don't know where else to turn.

Hi Cassandra and Welcome!

You are NOT ALONE!! 

The first thing you need to do is get in to see a neurologist or a headache specialist, do not take "no" for an answer from your doctor!  If necessary take print outs of a couple of the links to the left like Medical Info and Cluster Traits.

While waiting for your neuro or spec. appointment start a headache journal, you will need to include the following:

Date:      
Time of Day of CH hit:   
On pain Scale 1-10 10 being highest what is your pain at?
Duration of Headache:
Symptoms that come with your Headache:
What, if anything you tried to get rid of HA:

You can make up your own HA Journal and if you get more than one in a day use 1 piece of paper/page per day, or you can use MS Excel for this.

Also here are a few over the counter helpers while you wait:

4-Way Nasal spray or Dristan 12 Hour Nasal Spray helps with the annoying congestion.  ** Note ** Do not use this more than 3 days in a row!!  It can cause severe sinus problems.

Taurine and Caffeine drinks (RedBull if you like it) to help prevent a hit when you feel one starting.

Melatonin or an Allergy pill at night before bed to help avoid night time hits.

The herb Kudzu has helped a few as a prevent.   

Deep breathing through the milder hits can help too.

Hot/Cold Compresses Depending on your preference can help as well.

Sending Pain Free Vibes your way and hang in there! 

I can't add much to the great advice and encouragement you have already received, Casandra, except to add my own and to remind you that many of us require much higher doses than is normally prescribed for a preventative or abortive. Docs who aren't up on CHs tend to be cautious in going off label, so you need to have the kind of backup info with you that this site can provide. You can survive this pain, we know. We also know it is one of the hardest things you will ever do. Keep kissin' those babies-with a hopeful and loving hello-never a goodbye but rather a see you later, hear? God bless. lance

I have been through a string of doctors.  since it was my eye that was bothering me i went to my eye doctor an he actually told me that it was CH he then sen me to a PA at my family doctors office. He also agreed so the PA sent me to my doctor and she sent me to the neurologist.  He ordered a CT scan which my insurance company refused to pay for so it was cancelled.  He put me on steroids (no luck), Relpax (no luck) Lyrica (still nothing) n then verapamil which doesn't seem to work either. After reading all of these responses I printed out all I could on Oxygen treatment.  I had an appt this morning with my neurologist, and coincidently my appt time was rite about the time that I would be suffering from one of these attacks.  As we sat in the room with him and talked about another round of meds it happened.  I think that was the first time i was glad to have one.  He immediately wrote me a script for oxygen.  He later in the day called my husband and told him that he felt so bad for me and the pain I was going through that he called my insurance company himself and now i go for a CT scan Tuesday morning.  I'm not sure why that is such a good thing.  Why do i need one if he knows what the problem is?  At 9:14pm tonite it started, at 9:28 it was over.  I cried. Omg it worked, it really freaking worked!!! I hope it will continue to, I'm not sure tho???? So i guess between the Oxygen and verapamil I can find some relief.  I am so glad I joined this.  Thank you to everyone for there advice and encouragement.  I'm not sure what comes next in this process but between all the information and people on this site I will find out.  I am truly amazed by the kindness of people Oh and did i mention that the oxygen worked? IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!!

Ignore my response on the other thread asking about a prevent! The verapamil will take 10-14 days to really have an effect. You may spend some time adjusting the doseage up to get relief. Work real close with your neuro on that. Many give up too soon on Verapamil, it's as poular a prevent as it is because it works for so many. It's hard to be patient early on but well worth it to find an effective prevent. Hang in there.

Joe