Hi all, and thanks for this board.

I suppose I should describe my headaches as I have not "officially" been diagnosed. I have an appt at the Cleveland Clinic neurology dept on Tue Oct 2nd. Not nearly soon enough, but they are among the highest rated neurology depts in the world and I am lucky to live near them. I purchased expensive insurance solely to seek this help.

I am going on month #3 of daily headaches that occur 1-4 times per day. The attacks occur usually once per day, around 7-9 pm and typically last 45 mins to 2 hours however..about 2 nights ago I am forced awake 2 hours into sleep by one. The pain started out concentrated behind my left eye and left temple 3 months ago and has progressed from a golf ball size ball of fire to what would best be described as a rabid rat living in the left side of my brain, chewing, clawing, and scratching inside my head. I should tell you that I am an empathetic person that has watched several family members fall terminally ill, so I hate to use the word agony trivially...but it is agony. The worst pain I have ever felt in my life, and I have wrecked motorcycles, had my knee twisted in half, my hand set on fire, bones broken. Nothing compares to this. Some days I am 100% pain free until the attacks but on others I can "feel" the pain lurking in my head, waiting to wake up. It literally feels like something is living in there and the times I am not in pain are when it is sleeping. 2 nights ago was the worst. I laid down after a 2 hour long attack, exhausted. The feeling after the attack wears down is almost like being high..sweet blissful relief from the pain and exhaustion from dealing with it. I drift away to sleep like a baby then wake up with a ball of fire in my head. Turn on my cell phone to check the time, the light from the phone feels like a dagger in my eye. Stumble to the bathroom, get in a hot shower with the lights off. The showers are the only thing that give me any kind of relief. Sometimes I stand in there until all the hot water runs out. Most nights I can get back to sleep within an hour, but that night I sat on the edge of the bed rocking back and forth for 4 straight hours. Every time I put any pressure on the head by putting it on the pillow it send broken glass shards of pain throughout the whole left side radiating to the top of my skull down to my neck.

I am not proud of this, but have a small gun collection, and I had to have my father come over and take every single one out of the house and lock them up because I've considered putting one in my mouth during one of these headaches. Chewing up handfuls of ibuprofen literally does NOTHING for relief.

A friend of mine gave me several oxycontin (very powerful narcotic pain reliever) and get this; they only intensified the severity and longevity of the pain 10X!!! So I will never touch one of those again.

So yeah...going on month 3..the neurologist I'm seeing is supposedly one of the biggest hot shot headache specialists in the world, Dr Tepper. If he treats me like a junkie seeking dope or prescribes me another NSAID, I will prob fall completely into despair. Nothing, literally nothing, stops this pain, and the hot showers only barely make it manageable. Thanks for reading.

Damned glad you got a referral to an expert, as Potter mentioned, it's your best shot at relief. What you're describing has all the hallmarks of a classic cluster headache. There are several other maladies that need to be excluded first, before you can get a solid diagnosis of CH. So what to do until you get in to see the expert. The following suggestions will NOT replace the trip to the neuro, but may help you lessen the ferocity of these attacks:

Energy Drinks. I use sugar free red bull because it's the least foul tasting in my book. Any containing the combo of caffiene and taurine will work. Chug it down at the first sign of an attack. Many can lessen or even abort an attack this way. Some have had success with the 5 hour energy drinks and it's  alot less to chug down.

Go to your local Walgrens or CVS and get some Melatonin. Start with 9 mg about 30 minutes before you go to bed. Many can avoid the night time terrors this way. You may have to adjust the dose with some going as high as 15-18 to get relief.

Put your face in the freezer compartment and hyper ventilate through the nostril on the affected side. I've even used the AC vents on my car, this will ratchet the atttack level down several clicks.

Avoid the common triggers until you have a solid grip on what your triggers might be. Avoiding triggers doesn't eliminate attacks, but it can reduce them. Common triggers are alcohol, extreme hunger, petroleum smells, and then the wobbler, stress. For some extreme stress brings attacks, for others as soon as they relax they get hit.

The good news is, CH is treatable. There are numerous preventative meds and abortive meds that will dramatically increase the quality of your life. If the neuro confirms your diagnosis of CH, you'll find a wealth of knowledge and real life experience on these boards to help you treat it.

Then go visit clusterbusters.com       our sister board that deals with non traditional treatment of CH. A LOT of success stories over there.

Good luck with the appointment at the clinic. Hang on and keep that appoinment even of the attacks stop. If it is CH, it's most likely a lifetime ailment, so the sooner you see an expert and get a solid diagnosis, the better. We're all standing by to help.

Joe

I would read up on everything here and have an idea of what typical treatments are... especially the oxygen info link. If you get the diagnosis for CH, you will want to be sure to not leave his office without a script for O2.
Also read up on the vitamin D3 regiment... another harmless treatment that may provide some relief.