[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Cluster headaches (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 9/7/2016 9:48:01 PM EDT
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Who else has had to deal with this? I had my first full-on cluster last year about this time. 2-4 attacks a day, lasting about 2 1/2 weeks. Each attack was about 20 minutes of what felt like an ice pick stabbing behind my eye. Would happen at any time, wake me out of a dead sleep, nothing to do except suffer and wait for it to pass. Only pain killer I had around was Aleve which didn't do shit. Maybe aspirin would be better.
From what I read the clusters tend to happen about the same time each year, so I have that to look forward to. Yippee! |
| Not cluster headaches, but I have had a headache 24/7/365 since March of 2013...It is just a matter how bad it is at any given time..... It is from a wreck and so far nothing the docs have tried has even touched it..to give you an idea my old 10 for pain was my first kidney stone ever..now that stone is a 5 compared to my worse headache... |
| I just got done with my week last week. Also wakes me out of a dead sleep. Feels like a bookshelf screwed directly above not eyebrow on the right side only. I find a chiropractor helps reduce the severity when they start. They suck, bad. Can't medicated for them. They are just weird. Mine also are only an annual event. |
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I had one session of it for about two weeks years ago. Never came back. Get yourself some oxygen, sitting back and breathing O2 for about 10 mins made it go away and made my head feel great. Before that I would jump in the shower and run hot then cold over my head for about 30 mins. Thank god that shit never came back. I feel for you man. Also woke me out of a dead sleep so intense I would be almost panicking not knowing what's going on. |
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You dudes have my sympathies. In a rare stroke of luck, I'm one of the small percentage of people who have never had a headache (excluding hangovers and sinus headaches). Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile Do you want one?  I am sure we can get you into the group, we sure don't want you to feel left out now..
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https://clusterbusters.org/treatment-options-busting/the-psilocybin-mushroom/
Of course these mushrooms are illegal, however there's a synthetic drug called 4-aco-dmt which is not illegal and appears to do the same thing. |
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I just got done with my week last week. Also wakes me out of a dead sleep. Feels like a bookshelf screwed directly above not eyebrow on the right side only. I find a chiropractor helps reduce the severity when they start. They suck, bad. Can't medicated for them. They are just weird. Mine also are only an annual event. Mine are right side also. Do yours hit in the fall? I used to get random pains behind the eyeball but for some reason thought they were sinus-related. Then last year they got organized and I started googling to find out what was going on. |
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Have you gone to a doctor about this? It's not usually a "once and done" visit. You will need to go back a few times so they can see a pattern. Try keeping a headache log. Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. |
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I had them for over 40 years. They often skip a year or two. Mine would last 6-10 weeks. Dr. gave me high dose Percocet and some other opioids. Even taken at much higher than recommended doses the pills fail to control the pain. They are supposed to stop in your 50's or 60's. Mine stopped at 59.
The nickname is "suicide headaches". When you are in the cluster cycle alcohol, caffeine and smoke would tend to bring on a headache. A combination of a handful of Percocet and hot showers until the heater emptied made them barely tolerable. About 12 years ago I read about a non approved treatment for cluster headaches. Pure oxygen administered between 10-14 ml on the dial. Insurance would not pay because it's a non approved treatment. I bought it on my own. It works on some people, not on others. I worked great for me. It starts to take effect within minutes and completely eliminated the pain. No more pain pills needed. Good luck. |
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Quoted: I had real bad ones. Way worse than you are describing. I tried everything. In a last ditch effort someone told me to try a Chiropractor, to which I was hesitant but figured I had nothing to lose. Long story short, I haven't had a headache in ~5 years. Curious as to how many people that had clusters also had back issues. |
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Do you get clusters at roughly the same time each year? Aspirin or anything else to recommend? Quoted:
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I get them and yes, it sucks. There's a reason they're known as the "suicide headache."  Do you get clusters at roughly the same time each year? Aspirin or anything else to recommend? I get them 3-4 times a week about every 4-6 weeks, year round. If I catch it early, sometimes a combination of imitrex and excedrin will dull it enough that I can function but nothing makes it go away. |
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I had them for over 40 years. They often skip a year or two. Mine would last 6-10 weeks. Dr. gave me high dose Percocet and some other opioids. Even taken at much higher than recommended doses the pills fail to control the pain. They are supposed to stop in your 50's or 60's. Mine stopped at 59. The nickname is "suicide headaches". When you are in the cluster cycle alcohol, caffeine and smoke would tend to bring on a headache. A combination of a handful of Percocet and hot showers until the heater emptied made them barely tolerable. About 12 years ago I read about a non approved treatment for cluster headaches. Pure oxygen administered between 10-14 ml on the dial. Insurance would not pay because it's a non approved treatment. I bought it on my own. It works on some people, not on others. I worked great for me. It starts to take effect within minutes and completely eliminated the pain. No more pain pills needed. Good luck. I feel honored to draw out your first post! 
40 years sounds like hell on earth! I'm 45 in a month and just had my first cluster about a year ago. Maybe I'll get lucky and they won't return. |
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Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. Quoted:
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Have you gone to a doctor about this? It's not usually a "once and done" visit. You will need to go back a few times so they can see a pattern. Try keeping a headache log. Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. They can give you triptan medications (imitrex is a popular one that you may have heard of) some of which are available as a generic. You may have to pony up a little bit in the short term but after witnessing first hand what they have done for my wife you'll know instantly that they are worth it. |
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Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. Quoted:
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Have you gone to a doctor about this? It's not usually a "once and done" visit. You will need to go back a few times so they can see a pattern. Try keeping a headache log. Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. There are preventative medications for cluster headaches. There are also abortive medicines for cluster headaches. Every person is different, and there is no way to know which medicines might work for you. I can understand if you don't want to see a doctor and don't have insurance. Did you know some practitioners accept cash patients at very reasonable rates? Nurse practitioners especially. Some of the preventative medications are dirt cheap, too. It's something to consider if your quality of life is being impacted. Good luck. |
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What are the chiropractors doing, specifically? I have back problems constantly from an injury in 2000. Never been to a chiropractor, I try to manage it myself. I can't really be specific. He was doing his thing I guess. IIRC I had to go 3 times a week at first for about a month, then once a week after that. After a week or so I would go a couple days without a headache, then a week without one, then two weeks, etc, until they just disappeared. |
I don't meant to scare you. With that said, my mom thought she was having cluster headaches. Went on for about a year. She read all kinds of stuff and determined it was cluster headaches. Turned out it was a brain tumor that grew into the size of a softball.  She's doing pretty good believe it or not.
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I treat a lot of patients for it. Trivia: Actress Lisa Kudrow's father is Lee N. Kudrow, a headache specialist in California who founded the California Medical Clinic for Headache in 1971, and is now run by his son David. 
He wrote a great book on Cluster Headaches: 
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I feel honored to draw out your first post!
40 years sounds like hell on earth! I'm 45 in a month and just had my first cluster about a year ago. Maybe I'll get lucky and they won't return. Quoted:
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I had them for over 40 years. They often skip a year or two. Mine would last 6-10 weeks. Dr. gave me high dose Percocet and some other opioids. Even taken at much higher than recommended doses the pills fail to control the pain. They are supposed to stop in your 50's or 60's. Mine stopped at 59. The nickname is "suicide headaches". When you are in the cluster cycle alcohol, caffeine and smoke would tend to bring on a headache. A combination of a handful of Percocet and hot showers until the heater emptied made them barely tolerable. About 12 years ago I read about a non approved treatment for cluster headaches. Pure oxygen administered between 10-14 ml on the dial. Insurance would not pay because it's a non approved treatment. I bought it on my own. It works on some people, not on others. I worked great for me. It starts to take effect within minutes and completely eliminated the pain. No more pain pills needed. Good luck. I feel honored to draw out your first post!
40 years sounds like hell on earth! I'm 45 in a month and just had my first cluster about a year ago. Maybe I'll get lucky and they won't return. I get them as well and sympathize greatly. I have used pure oxygen in the past. Not sure if it worked but at least I was doing something other than thinking about death. Nothing else has come close to working. Quit drinking while you are getting them if you can, in my experience alcohol makes them longer, more often and more painful. Good luck. Remember that they will pass and may go away for an extended period of time. When they do you will always be more grateful of the days you are cluster-free. |
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Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. Quoted:
Quoted:
Have you gone to a doctor about this? It's not usually a "once and done" visit. You will need to go back a few times so they can see a pattern. Try keeping a headache log. Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. You should still get evaluated as more serious conditions can mimic cluster headaches. I always image new cluster headache patients. As far as treatment, there are several for prevention, acute treatment and to break the cycle. |
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Full disclosure, I sell this. Look into Sphenocath, 75% of the time we shut the cluster headache off. Literally. www.sphenocath.com I work in PA and FL. But Mark the CEO can be reached by the number on the website. If it works, it could change your life, if not, it only took 5 minutes. Please IM me with questions. |
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Not cluster headaches, but I have had a headache 24/7/365 since March of 2013...It is just a matter how bad it is at any given time..... It is from a wreck and so far nothing the docs have tried has even touched it..to give you an idea my old 10 for pain was my first kidney stone ever..now that stone is a 5 compared to my worse headache... Jesus... |
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Quoted: Full disclosure, I sell this. Look into Sphenocath, 75% of the time we shut the cluster headache off. Literally. www.sphenocath.com I work in PA and FL. But Mark the CEO can be reached by the number on the website. If it works, it could change your life, if not, it only took 5 minutes. Please IM me with questions. This. |
| Described as possibly the worst pain a human being can endure. My dad got them the same time every year for three or four years. When they hit it would make him vomit from the pain. Now he gets an annual allergy shot and doesn't get them anymore. Good luck bud. |
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Quoted: This. Quoted: Quoted: Full disclosure, I sell this. Look into Sphenocath, 75% of the time we shut the cluster headache off. Literally. www.sphenocath.com I work in PA and FL. But Mark the CEO can be reached by the number on the website. If it works, it could change your life, if not, it only took 5 minutes. Please IM me with questions. This. |
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I've had migraines for 30 years now. Sometimes lasting days. Sometimes it feels like my eyeball is going to be pushed out of the socket. Sadly one of the worst triggers now is heat as I can't spend much time outdoors. Ice pack, dark room, Excedrin migraine. If exedrin works it's not a clusterfuck. Any normal painkiller is useless for clusters. |
| I forgot about steroids to break the cycle. If you just need a break from the pain the Dr. can give you steroids. The cycle will stop for as long as you take them. Mine always returned when I stopped. They used to use steroids as a diagnostic tool to help confirm cluster headaches. |
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Quoted: Thank you. I've sold a lot of things in medicine and this makes maybe $1K/month for me, but it's the most rewarding experience to have folks come into the office miserable and walk out "normal." I don't get much instant gratification given working in medicine, cardiac/diabetic patients are basically prolonging dead man walking. Psych/addiction pats are rebound disasters waiting to happen. But with the Sphenocath I can actually see someone's life get better and they can get back their life and love life again. Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Full disclosure, I sell this. Look into Sphenocath, 75% of the time we shut the cluster headache off. Literally. www.sphenocath.com I work in PA and FL. But Mark the CEO can be reached by the number on the website. If it works, it could change your life, if not, it only took 5 minutes. Please IM me with questions. This. I've only heard good things, which is unique considering how hard stuff like this is to tread, and how the tradeoffs with current drug treatments can be. I have a friend that gets them and have mentioned this treatment a couple times but haven't followed up. I also wasn't sure if it was available nearby (tri-state). I'm going to follow up with her and give her the information you provided. |
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They can give you triptan medications (imitrex is a popular one that you may have heard of) some of which are available as a generic. You may have to pony up a little bit in the short term but after witnessing first hand what they have done for my wife you'll know instantly that they are worth it. Quoted:
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Have you gone to a doctor about this? It's not usually a "once and done" visit. You will need to go back a few times so they can see a pattern. Try keeping a headache log. Nope, no doctor. No insurance, either, just trying to avoid that scene as much as possible until this Osamacare bullshit is over. From what I remember from reading up last year, the cause isn't known, so I don't know if a doctor can do much more than bill me. They can give you triptan medications (imitrex is a popular one that you may have heard of) some of which are available as a generic. You may have to pony up a little bit in the short term but after witnessing first hand what they have done for my wife you'll know instantly that they are worth it. He could give it a try, half of them don't work for me and the other half work but give me bad rebounds so I don't take them unless I have to function for something special. |
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Not cluster headaches, but I have had a headache 24/7/365 since March of 2013...It is just a matter how bad it is at any given time..... It is from a wreck and so far nothing the docs have tried has even touched it..to give you an idea my old 10 for pain was my first kidney stone ever..now that stone is a 5 compared to my worse headache... Had my headache since 23DEC2010. I know the fun. Im sound sensitive too and eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. |
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I treat a lot of patients for it. Trivia: Actress Lisa Kudrow's father is Lee N. Kudrow, a headache specialist in California who founded the California Medical Clinic for Headache in 1971, and is now run by his son David. http://prabook.com/web/show-photo.jpg?id=1496045 He wrote a great book on Cluster Headaches: https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41CxMZGZrSL._SL500_SX312_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg No shit? What do you think of the new vitamin d therapy? If I'm not able to break my cycle it has worked absolutely wonderful for me. I'll detail it in another post. |
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Jesus... Quoted:
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Not cluster headaches, but I have had a headache 24/7/365 since March of 2013...It is just a matter how bad it is at any given time..... It is from a wreck and so far nothing the docs have tried has even touched it..to give you an idea my old 10 for pain was my first kidney stone ever..now that stone is a 5 compared to my worse headache... Jesus... It's not fun some days and nights..  .. I can get pretty grumpy too..kind of look like this..  . But I try hard to be happy go lucky...  Of course this has something to do with it......
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I had them back in the 1990's but thankfully they went away as mysteriously and they came. I'd get them in the middle of the night and wake up in amazing tear bringing blinding pain. I was issued a narcotic pain medicine that would take 10-15 minutes to take the edge off. I got so that I could double the recommended dose and survive the pain. The military did a complete workup on me with dental, skull x-rays, and blood work-up without finding anything. |
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Had my headache since 23DEC2010. I know the fun. Im sound sensitive too and eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Quoted:
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Not cluster headaches, but I have had a headache 24/7/365 since March of 2013...It is just a matter how bad it is at any given time..... It is from a wreck and so far nothing the docs have tried has even touched it..to give you an idea my old 10 for pain was my first kidney stone ever..now that stone is a 5 compared to my worse headache... Had my headache since 23DEC2010. I know the fun. Im sound sensitive too and eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Yep, I have about 20 things on my list that are brain issue related, but yeah my ears ring really loud and I am extremely light sensitive most days... . I have an ice cooler pump deal they gave me when they did shoulder surgery after the wreck, normally I strap it on my head on the worse days and shut off the lights... The absolute worse headache went 3 full days at my new 10 pain level..Was home alone and All I could do was crawl into the bathroom and lay there waiting to die..lost 5 PD.s though, so that was good..
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Ocular migraines..... I get them but more the vision portion than the pain. Almost 20 minutes every time start to finish. A little scary if you are driving because you can't see anything very well that you look directly at. Like looking through a kaleidoscope. I had my first one of those about 6 months ago. First time and I haven't had one since. Shit scared the fuck out of me. |