Cluster Headaches

cornishman

cornishman

Junior Jedi
Staff member
Does anybody else on here suffer from "Cluster Headaches"? If you don't know what I'm talking about do a google for Cluster headaches or visit HERE.
I suffer from what are called "Episodal Cluster Headaches" meaning every year, for a period of about three months they spontaneously occur, normally the middle of January to about the end of March or beginning of April. I've been suffering these for about twelve years now.
When in full swing the first one will happen at ten minutes past midnight (yep, they're like a very precise alarm clock) and then for the rest of the night at regular intervals. Normally to a total of four or five per night. The current treatment is Oxygen, as soon as I am awoken I have to reach for the bedside oxygen mask and inhale neat O2 for about 8 to 10 minutes. It messes with the head, psychologically I am scared of going to bed because I know what's going to happen, but the oxygen works, and the pain minimised after only a few minutes.
The first two years, before they were diagnosed I had to suffer the full effect, trying all sorts of pain killers, none of which had any effect. The headaches onset is only about 2 to 3 minutes and only last for about half an hour of excrutiating screaming agony, so the pain killers didn't have time to take effect. I cannot emphasize forcefully enough the degree of pain that they cause. People in our group (Government backed help and support group) who have suffered kidney stones have repeated many times that they would prefer multiple kidney stones to the headaches, that's how painful they are.

I only write this now because I had my first one of this year this morning, and I am totally pi**ed!!!!!
 
I've never heard of cluster headaches but I am fully aware of the misery that headaches bring. I suffered with migraines for fifty years which, for some strange reason, disappeared when I had a quad by-pass. When I had one of those it was a case of bed till the next day. Sorry I can't give you any advice but I send you my sympathy. To coin a phrase, I've had my belly full of headaches :confused:...
 
Tony I'm so sorry you're going through this, I don't have them personally but I know how debilitating they can be. I fully believe in sharing health issues so people can understand what others are going through and if they experience the same they know they're not alone in their suffering. You're very much loved on this forum and we're with you in spirit so you're not alone. I hope next few weeks go by quickly for you. :28:
 
I had migraines years ago .I had to disappear into bed for up to 3 days so I can only imagine what you are going through.:confused:
 
Hello Tony you have my deepest sympathy for what you are enduring, I cant imagine how debilitating they must be . I suppose the plus side at present must be that it is not unexpected, I can't imagine what a total shock it must have been the first time it occurred and what you thought it was . I am pleased that you have some timeous solution to aid you when they occur I suppose when you think about it the analogy of Oxygen and pain relied is footballers who suffer a serious injury and they are given oxygen to help manage the pain. I hope that the attacks reduce in frequency over the coming days and if they occur the pain subsides expediently . Take care my friend.
 
I can kind of understand what you're going through, so I can empathize. I've never had cluster headaches, but I used to have frequent migraines that kept me in bed the entire first day and feeling like a rag doll whose stuffing had been removed for a couple of days after that. After years of experimentation by my GP, a neurologist, and finally on my own, I found that acetaminophen (paracetamol) combined with caffeine would knock them out as soon as the medication had time to be absorbed, and they would stay knocked out for at least a week. The frequency reduced drastically after I retired from a job under an incompetent supervisor.
 
cornishman said:
Does anybody else on here suffer from "Cluster Headaches"? If you don't know what I'm talking about do a google for Cluster headaches or visit HERE.
I suffer from what are called "Episodal Cluster Headaches" meaning every year, for a period of about three months they spontaneously occur, normally the middle of January to about the end of March or beginning of April. I've been suffering these for about twelve years now.
When in full swing the first one will happen at ten minutes past midnight (yep, they're like a very precise alarm clock) and then for the rest of the night at regular intervals. Normally to a total of four or five per night. The current treatment is Oxygen, as soon as I am awoken I have to reach for the bedside oxygen mask and inhale neat O2 for about 8 to 10 minutes. It messes with the head, psychologically I am scared of going to bed because I know what's going to happen, but the oxygen works, and the pain minimised after only a few minutes.
The first two years, before they were diagnosed I had to suffer the full effect, trying all sorts of pain killers, none of which had any effect. The headaches onset is only about 2 to 3 minutes and only last for about half an hour of excrutiating screaming agony, so the pain killers didn't have time to take effect. I cannot emphasize forcefully enough the degree of pain that they cause. People in our group (Government backed help and support group) who have suffered kidney stones have repeated many times that they would prefer multiple kidney stones to the headaches, that's how painful they are.

I only write this now because I had my first one of this year this morning, and I am totally pi**ed!!!!!
Click to expand...


Also known as Pastie withdrawal symptoms, I guess this headache started just after my call to you this morning
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top