Posted by Todd (64.34.202.197) on December 24, 2000 at 09:11:08:
In Reply to: Cluster or not? Please help me. posted by Pam B on December 24, 2000 at 03:54:54:
Welcome and my empathy for your pain.
Several things in your post indicate that your HA's don't fit the clinical diagnosis of CH. As you mentioned, the duration is outside that of CH, which are named for their tendency to occur in "clusters", typically 1-4 attacks per day for several weeks to a couple of months. Chronic CH occur (generally) daily, with only the briefest of remission periods (one day to a few days). In either case, the actual active pain period is typically less than 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
You also mentioned pressing the pain spot which caused the pain to appear elsewhere in your head. This is also not a feature of CH, which attacks a very specific (though slightly different person to person) location. CH will normally begin in the temple and may grow down the cheek and into the jaw, where it feels much like an impacted tooth.
Check the Headache Links button on the left and also go to Bob Johnson's post from last month which is a great list of HA resources. Just click the link below. Good luck and we hope you find relief.
KTSSU,
T