Posted by heybrian (169.207.130.103) on December 16, 1999 at 16:03:25:
In Reply to: distinguishing pain posted by Susan on December 16, 1999 at 14:44:15:
Hi Susan,
I had migraines for years. Then I got clusters. So I feel like somewhat of an authority on the differences between the two. Here are the differences as I see them, and it may be different for you. A migraine can last for most of a day. I've never had a cluster for longer than an hour and a half or so. Usually less (lucky me). But, the big difference is the pain. I don't want to belittle the pain of migraines, I know that pain all too well, but compared to a cluster it is nothing. Now that I've experienced clusters (every night at 10:00 June through September), if I get a migraine, I am nothing but TOTALLY RELIEVED that it's not a cluster. I would classify migraine pain as unpleasant but manageable. If I get a migraine at work, I can suffer through it with no meds and nobody knows I'm hurting. When I have a cluster, there is no hiding the pain. I try to hide it so my wife doesn't wake up and suffer with me, but try as I might, I wind up screaming in pain. Hope that helped. Good luck and PFD!
heybrian