Hello Staebrown,    A good neurologist should be able to give an accurate diagnosis, I think I'm one of the lucky ( unlucky?) ones cause I was diagnosed on my first try. Someone here might be able to point you to a good doc if they know approximately where you live. In the meantime, take  the cluster quiz.
     Sometimes I'll tell someone I get cluster headaches and the response sometimes is --Oh yeah, I get those too!  So very discretely I'll ask a few questions. Like when do they come? How long do they last?  How fast do they go away? How do you treat them? And the kicker, what do feel like doing when you get one?    My experience with clusters and my wife's experience with migraines  will give 2 entirely different answers to those questions.
      
       Alcohol doesn't trigger a cycle for me, but when in cycle guarantees one 45 min later. Coffee always seems to help ease them. I've never been able to nail down, definitively any other triggers.
Except Spring or Fall, maybe if we could eliminate those my cycles would go away!
   
       This Sept will mark my 19th year also. My first post was 2 years ago this May but I'd been lurking for years before that and in that time span I've learned a ton and had my butt (Head?) saved
from (most of) the agonies of my earlier years when all I could do was ride them out.   Welcome to this site, I hope you'll find your answers.

         Sean      P.S.   find a good doc.
                           
      

It will help us to direct you to good sources of assistance if you will tell us where you live (city & state, if U.S. or country). At the Home page: Help button-->Edit & Profile --> Location. (This will add your location, just below your name, every time you post a message.
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Cluster is not a do it yourself project.
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LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

2.  Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

3. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or ; On-line screen to find a physician.

4. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

5. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
        Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.
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WHY A HEADACHE SPECIALIST IS RECOMMENDED


Headache. 2012 Jan;52(1):99-113.
Cluster headache in the United States of America: demographics, clinical characteristics, triggers, suicidality, and personal burden.
Rozen TD, Fishman RS.

THERE REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT DIAGNOSTIC DELAY FOR CLUSTER HEADACHE PATIENTS ON AVERAGE 5+ YEARS WITH ONLY 21% RECEIVING A CORRECT DIAGNOSIS AT TIME OF INITIAL PRESENTATION.