Hello fellow Clusterheads,

1st let me say thank you, thank you, thank you, for all of the helpful info I have found on this website.
2nd I fit the stereotype of a dumb blonde (took me 2 1/2 weeks to figure put how to post this) I posted a couple of jokes several weeks ago and then trying to figure out how to post this was giving me a headache (Hardee har har)
3rd I thought I posted a picture but cannot see it (how do I insert pic?
4th I thought I was computer saavy but now realize I am a computer dummy
I have a tendency to be a bit long winded so please bear with me as I introduce myself.
I am new to clusterheadaches.com. I am less than 12 days from the big 50. I have two wonderful children in the photo Kristina who is 32 and Kenny is 24. They are my angels. I have been misdiagnosed for over 20+ years and just 3 weeks ago diagnosed as a CH. The doctor gave me a script for Oxygen 5 for 20 minutes with no real instructions on how to work it. I am on day 32 of this string of headaches for 2 weeks was 6-8 attacks per day lasting 120-180 minutes each, 1 week with 1-2 attacks per day lasting 30-240 minutes, 1 week very mild attacks but constant burning like someone poured boiling hot water in my head (not that I really know what that feels like, but I have had 3rd degree burns, so I am trying to compare) and vise grip pressure in my head, then it started raining here 2 days ago (Rain in Texas go figure LOL) . And the attacks just keep coming, and just when you think you might be feeling better bam, here they come again and when you thought the pain could not get any worse, it does.  But what are you going to do. Me I just find anything I can that inspires me and makes me laugh and this too shall pass.  My most severe cases seem to be in October/November. I have a number of other illnesses that I have been battling for over 10 years all involving chronic pain, the headaches seem to really kick the other diseases into high gear. So as I tell my friends I am just a hot mess and I am hopeful that if this is like 2 years ago, I will feel better in 12-15 days. Until then PLEASE make me laugh. and

I guess I am suppose to say meds tried: I do not want to scare you off with the long roller coaster ride I have been on with my illnesses. Currently none
What works for me: Laughter, Hypnosis, relaxtion, meditation, gratitude that there are finally others who understand the pain
Symptoms: The list is very long

Whew…  I look forward to getting to know each of you and hearing your stories and what works best for you.

Bob
Thanks for responding. I have seen many of your responses and I can see you are very knowledgeable so I look forward to hearing from you again.  Please bear with me as I just give you the highlights:
I finally got a DX of cluster headaches 3 weeks ago.
I have been on a number of medications in the past part was to deal with migraines and part was to deal with pain from chronic diseases involving a great deal of physical and emotional pain. I will tell you a little history and we can go from there:
1)      I grew up in a very abusive home, where I was my mother’s favorite (not).  My siblings would get hit once or twice and go screaming for the police. If I made one sound I would get it 10 times harder. I was a sickly as a child usually ending up in the emergency room around Halloween (the more I research I do the more I believe that I have been suffering with CH since I was 10-11). When I would get sick my mother said I was faking for attention, despite the fact that my fever was 100-105, I lost a lot of weight, my BP would increase, and the doctor would say I had strep throat. Each occurrence lasted about 4-6 weeks. But I learned to not talk about the pain. I thought I was being a wimp.
The doctor told me when I was 15 if I got sick again the next year he would take out my tonsils. Well the next year I was pregnant and my life got really hectic and I just figured everyone felt like this. Roll forward to age 38 I started seeing doctors for headaches, inability to sleep and what was diagnosed as Restless Leg Syndrome, back and neck aches, Upper Respiratory Infections  all over pain.
2000 to present DX Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Migraines, 5 herniated discs in my lower back and 3 compressed discs in my neck, Kidney Disease (I was evidentially born with 1 kidney smaller than the other) Unspecified headaches, Chronic reaction to stress, Post nasal drip, unspecified seizures, Major Depression Disorder, Daytime sleepiness, generalized paresthesias, Cervical Radiculopathy,  and that it is all in my head   and I am sure there are more but I do not want to waste anymore time dwelling on what I cannot change
Despite how I felt my personal mantra since I became a mother was “If I am not making a difference in the life of someone else every day then I am wasting the life you have been given.” Never let them see me sweat, fake it till you make it.  I had to be the best mother, wife, worker, friend, volunteer, sister; I think you get the point. I had to fix everyone else’s problems to keep my mind off my own pain. No matter how bad the people who were suppose to love me the most my mother and husband treated me it was all offset by so many wonderful people.
Meds I was on until 2010: Topamax  25 mg x3, Ambien 10 mg, Astelin 137 mcg as needed for post nasal drip, Baclofen 20 mg x 4, Flexeril 10 mg x3, Lasix x1 1, Klor-Con x3, B-12 injections  x 1 a week, Norco 10/325 x 4, requip 2 mg x3, Cymbalta  60mg, Lyrica 100mg x 3 I also tried many other meds along the way Oxycontin 20 mg increased to 40mg decreased to 20 mg and I stopped taking all together in 2007 because I did not like it.
Allergic reactions to a long list of meds: sulfa, steroids, morphine, antibiotics, NSAIDS, there are more but I think you get the point and finally  amitriptyline reactions range from hives,  shingles, drop in blood pressure, drop in sodium,  swelling of the hands, legs and feet, to Psychosis, paranoia  and Hallucinations

I again had myself involved in a very abusive marriage that was verbally and emotionally abusive.  (I said until death do us part and I was determined to stick to my vows).  I mean the jerk used to tell me to get the f*** up and get my a** to work before I got fired.  I stayed with him for 25 years. Until he slammed me into a wall and busted my head open in November 2007. I was called a hypochondriac and that I was using the internet to diagnose myself. I was using the internet to find ways to deal with my pain. All of this is just the highlights of my life. 
2004-2007 I lost 14 family members, 2 of which I cared for and died in my arms. My medical problems kept growing and my ability to keep it together was diminishing. I had been to over 30 different doctors spent over $200,000, 50% of my job requires me to drive to visit clients, and I am noticing that my pain is affecting my driving. My doctor puts me on disability from my job  in June of 2007 and after 2 minor accidents I surrender my driver’s license in October 2007. My job kept me away from home 80+ hours a week, away from the abuse. Now I am exposed to it 24 hours a day. I went into a severe depression and really spent a little over 2 years not even participating in my own life.  I must say that the headaches were very manageable from 2004-2010 while on topamax however my medical charts say that I was having headaches daily in the bioccpital area pulsating and a/w photophobia.

I am separating this into 2 because of the length sorry.

Sorry I forgot this part
My current doctor I have been seeing for 3 years is a neurologist I have been seeing for over 3 years, I do not think she is a headache doctor but she is the one who gave me the DX of cluster headaches. I have a FU tomorrow. I have been seing her about my spine problems as well trying to determine if there is any relation.

When she made the diagnosis of cluster headaches and she could not give me an injection  (my head was hurting so bad I forgot the name of it) in her office because of my kidney she gave me an RX for baclofen 4 times a day and Stadol x 2. I do not want to take meds for nothing, I tried the Stadol 5 times and when it offered no relief I stopped taking it. The baclofen I researched and should not be taken with my kidney problem so I also stopped that. It did seem to help a little with the neck pain. I am on day 33 of what I believe might be a 45 day cycle. All of the above leads me to the point that I cannot do anything about this, but laugh about what a hot mess I am. And believe me when I say I only told you the highlights.