Posted by DJ (131.61.211.10) on August 27, 1999 at 13:43:10:
I am NOT a doctor, but I wanted to pass on my cluster headache quiz. After suffering from clusters for over 14 years, doing all of the research over the last year and a half, and reading all of the posts on this site, I've come up with my own quiz. I think these are some key questions to ask yourself about your headaches if you are trying to figure out if you suffer from clusters.
#1) Do your headaches normally last LESS THAN 15 minutes? - you probably DON'T have clusters
#2) Do your headaches normally last MORE THAN 4 hours? - you probably DON'T have clusters
#3) Do your headaches normally wake you up in the middle of the night? - you MAY have clusters
#4) Are your headaches ALWAYS on the same side of our head? - you MAY have clusters
#5) Do your headaches switch sides from day to day? - you PROBABLY DON'T have clusters
#6) When you have a headache, do you normally seek a quiet, dark place? - you probably DON'T have clusters
#7) When you have a headache, do you normally invite friends over to help you through the pain? - you probably DON'T have clusters
#8) When you have a headache, can you lay quiet and still as possible? - you probably DON'T have clusters
#9) When you have a headache, can you go to sleep to make it go away? - you probably DON'T have clusters
#10) When you have a headache, do you normally experience naseua? - you probably DON'T have clusters
#11) Do your headaches occur at normally the same general times each day during a cycle? - you MAY have clusters
#12) When you have a headache, are you TOTALLY NORMAL one minute and are TOTALLY dibilitated 5-10 minutes later? - you MAY have clusters
#13) When you have a headache, are you TOTALLY DIBILITATED one minute and are TOTALLY back to normal 5-10 minutes later? - you MAY have clusters
#14) When you have a headache, do you walk, pace, bash your head, scream, yell, want to kill yourself? - you MAY have clusters
As ALWAYS, consult your physician about your pain. It doesn't do anybody and good for you to mis-diagnose yourself. Not to mention, it can be DANGEROUS!
Interested in your thoughts...