Posted by Thomas Cooper on December 25, 1998 at 01:48:21:
I've been a cluster sufferer since I was 12 years old (I still vividly remember the first one). I'm 39 now and am having my somewhat yearly seige of headaches.
For a long time I didn't understand the pain or what was causing it. I never told my parents about it until I was an adult, and have never been officially diagnosed but I have learned over the past few years that I have clusters thanks to sites like this.
I wish my wife understood just how much it hurts, but she doesn't, though she realizes that I do indeed suffer.
I have, though, found a self treatment. I had tried every over the counter headache remedy with no relief (except for slight relief with Orudis/Actron) and since I have never gone to a doctor for this (I am a police dispatcher and any drug that would "slow" me down is out of the question) I had to find relief from another source. I had read previously about using caffeine with cluster headaches. Well, I tried it and it works for me. When I feel a headache coming on (I get about 5 to 7 minutes warning) I brew up a double strength pot of coffee and drink a cup or two real quick. Guess what, it actually will ABORT the headache! It has worked without fail so far.
I'm sure that others have mentioned this on here, but if only one person reads it for the first time and tries it and it works for them, then it's worth it to rehash it (did I use "it" to much in that sentence?) I hope it helps someone.