Does this sound like a CLUSTER HEADACHE?
A while ago I thought I had cluster headaches and recently, I've started to get the same type of headaches again. Now, I'm really wondering. Does it sound like a Cluster Headache to someone else?
I had these headaches in February and the beginning of March. Then, they were consistent (almost every day), sometimes for hours, sometimes shorter but they'd come back.
For a while, they went away but within the past week or two... they've started up again. They occur around the same time of the day, everyday. On occasion, I won't have it or feel it nearly as bad. Sometimes, they come and go through-out the day. Most of the time, they start sometime around 3pm and come and go until about 7pm; but sometimes, when they are worst... they continue through the night. Luckily, I haven't been waking up to them like I had been.
The pain is excruciating; normally less when I'm seated or laying down but the moment I go to get up... it's almost crippling. The pain used to be mostly on one side of my head, but lately has been mostly in the back of my head and horrible around my neck/shoulders.
I feel extremely tired and often have pale skin when they are worst; and most of the time, my eyes are irritated.
Any information?
Public Comments
1. A typical cluster headache cycle, for an episodic sufferer, most commonly appears during seasonal changes. The attacks generally last 6 - 8 weeks, having anywhere from 2 - 10 intense attacks a day, each one lasting (usually) between 30 minutes and two hours.For many, the first signal of an impending attack is the presence of Horner's Syndrome which is a drooping of the eyelid and dilation of pupil on the affected side of the face. The pain quickly escalates from no pain to unbearable pain in 5 to 10 minutes and then subsides in the same manner it started, unbearable pain to no pain in 5 to 10 minutes. Attacks generally happen at the same time each day like clockwork. Attacks usually escalate from 0 to 6 or 7 (on the Kip scale) for the first day or two of the cycle, then 0 to 8 or 9 for the next few weeks, hitting 10 level pain directly at the peak of the cycle. The number and intensity of attacks increase steadily until the apex of the cycle is reached, bringing the most number of attacks per day with the highest level of pain. The attacks then gradually start to diminish until the cycle is completely gone and the sufferer is in remission until the next cycle. Remission periods are completely unique to each sufferer, but generally range anywhere from six months to five years.
For chronic sufferers, however, the cyclical pattern is absent and the attacks persist throughout the year. The intensity of each attack varies randomly. Remission for chronic sufferers for longer than a 14 day period is very rare, more usually, only a few days at a time.
During a cluster attack, blood pressure elevates, heart rate increases, the body overheats, a ganglion lump on the back of the neck is quite common which becomes inflamed during an attack and diminishes when the attack subsides. Intolerance to light and sound is much more common with migraine sufferers than cluster sufferers, although some do report the same sensitivity and prefer to be in a quiet dark place to be alone, however, remaining motionless or falling asleep during a cluster attack is NOT POSSIBLE.
There is quite often nasal congestion and tearing from the eye on the side of the head that is being attacked. Attacks are usually unilateral (one-sided). Attacks normally occur on the same side of the face each cycle. Attacks very rarely "switch sides" in the middle of a cycle, but have been known to "switch sides" between cycles (right side one cycle, then left side the next cycle).
The pain is centered more on the face than on the rest of the head, specifically the eye, cheek, sinuses (which is why they are so often misdiagnosed as sinus infections). The sufferer can not function normally during an attack and quite often prefers to be left alone in order to deal with their pain. The attack commonly and regularly wakes victims from a sound sleep. The pain has been compared to amputation without anesthetic. Many mothers who are cluster sufferers describe it as a pain much worse than natural childbirth.
Quite often for a migraine sufferer, the slightest motion during an attack can be nauseating and they cannot tolerate any light or sound. It is rare that a true cluster sufferer can remain motionless during an attack because of the intensity of the pain. Contrary to migraines, kicking, thrashing, pacing, rocking and banging the head are common during an attack. Vomiting is not a common episode for most, unless it is a side affect of medication.
