well i started getting ch when i was 16 years of age. no one ever really new what it was and after many visits to my family doctor, eye doctor, and neurologist.. not one of them could explain my phenomenon. i had MRI, cat scans and blood work done with a couple others i cant quite remember with still  no diagnosis. the biggest mistake made by my family doctor after trying many medications was to just use pain meds. i was only 18 at the time and didn't even know the medications i was given. just took what i was told. after about 2 years of being on a pain med called oxycodone and gradually abusing the dosages i was prescribed.. one thing led to another and i found myself from going to 40 mg of the medication daily to 2 years later buying these meds off the street and up to about 160 mg daily. just to get through my day. to make a long story short i got on a drug called suboxone to get off the oxys.. i will add that during the whole time being totally numbed to life on these pain pills i never once got my ch.. not once. I'm not sure why but this is a fact. even while being put on a maintenance drug suboxone which is just another opiate in my research. anyways i'm now 27 and just one month to the day kicked the suboxone.. it was hell and i'm still not quite out of the post acute withdrawals.. but that's for another site i guess. the reason i'm here is because as of 4 days ago my cluster headaches are back in full force.. i can only guess that it is due to my brain returning to where it once was.. but that's an uneducated guess. it hasn't gotten past a kip 8 yet.. but everyday is getting worse. another thing is i remember that i never used to get more then 2 a day and i have noticed in the last few days ive been getting around 4 a day lasting anywhere to 30 min to 45 min and the shadows lasting hours on end. the only prevention i can remember using when i was younger was o2 which never really did much besides keeping me from almost having seizures, when i hyperventilated and energy drinks on  onset. I'm just here to let u know my story.. i have been researching quite a bit as it looks like a lot more people have come out on the net than i last remember over 10 years ago when i was just a teenager looking for help. i remember back then no one understood my pain and i remember suicide at one point in my life wasn't to far outta of the question. i have a family now and that will never be the case but man am i ever scared to have this devil on my back.. especially when i just kicked one off 1 month to this day. thank you for your time and sorry for any grammar/spelling errors as this is all being typed up on my cellphone.

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This site has helped me and many others. Glad you found it!
My ch started much like yours in my teenage years. And like you trips to the med. dr., eye dr. and still didnt know what they were. But thankfully they went away for the most part until my late 20's. Have been episodic for the last 15 years.

Glad your off pain meds. You'll find the people here dont give them any merit for ch relief. Most likely you went into
remission like I did.

You need to be working with a med dr., neuro., or headache specialist to get you on the right stuff for relief . In the mean time try  the energy drinks again(monster, red bull, etc) . They have really helped me abort or reduce the headaches intensity.

The is a ton of great info. on this site. So study the posts in the message board. And good luck with all your dealing with!