Cluster Headache Questions?
A little over 3 years ago I suffered from cluster headaches for a couple months. I remember screaming and crying.. I am a grown man but I couldn't help but do it. I was given many drugs that didnt work like migraine type medicines and would take massive amounts of tylenol and Advil to stop the pain... which didn't work. Eventually I took klonipin which did seem to really help my problems. I am now on lexapro and haven't taken klonipin for a couple years. I hear that cluster headaches come and go for people... some don't get it for years then suddenly get it again... what are my chances because after seeing a Newsweek video on cluster headaches my fear of them has come back. It literately kept me from living life at the time. I was very close to suicide.
Public Comments
1. If you have not had them in 3 years, then I wouldn't worry too much, but I would want to have something powerful on hand to knock them out - just in case. I started having cluster headaches 15 years ago, and they were always there. The longest I've gone without one is a little less than one year. Three years w/o would be a real pleasure. I hope you stay headache free.2. Cluster headache, also known as histamine headache, is a form of neurovascular headache.
What is Cluster headaches?
Cluster headaches are migraines which occur as a series of episodes - clusters - happening over a week or two. Pain is one-sided, and usually felt in the eye, around the eyelid and behind the nose. It has a burning character and when it ceases mucus drips from the nose.
Cluster headaches mostly occur in men, their pain level is even more intense than that of a non-cluster migraine, and cluster headaches don't appear to respond as well to the new triptan drugs like Imitrex, Maxalt and Relpax as non-cluster migraines do.
What causes cluster headaches?
Some of the causes of cluster headaches may include:
* Some medications (such as nitroglycerin)
* Heavy smoking
* An interruption in your normal sleep pattern
* Problems with the hypothalamus, which controls your body's "biological clock"
Clusters tend to wax and wane; just as the sufferer starts to feel less pain, the pain suddenly increases to its previously intense level.
Treatment for Cluster headaches
* Civamide and capsaicin: When applied to the nasal mucosa of patients with cluster headaches, a clinically significant decrease occurred in the number and severity of cluster headaches. Nasal burning was the most common adverse effect.
* Most studied of the triptans in cluster headache. Subcutaneous injections can be effective, in large part, due to the rapidity of onset. Studies have indicated that intranasal administration is more effective than placebo but not as effective as injections. No evidence suggests that they are effective orally.
* Inhalation of 100% oxygen often relieves cluster headache for some people, particularly for frequent cluster headaches that occur at night.
* Methysergide maleate may be helpful to relieve pain and prevent attacks. It may also have severe side effects.
* Corticosteroid medications such as prednisone may provide short-term relief of cluster headaches in some people. They are not advised for long-term use because of side effects.
The neurologist may keep the sufferer deeply asleep for up to three days. But it works; once the cluster headache cycle is broken, the patient finds relief...until the next cycle. Researchers find that young men and menopausal women are more prone to this type of migraine. A common factor has not been identified.
3. Hi. I get clusters for about 10 weeks at the same time every year. From what my doctor has said, this is typical: they come predictably not just at particular times of day, but also at particular times of year. If you haven't had one in three years, then I'd say that you seem to have broken out of the cycle. Congratulations!
I can easily understand your fears though. I always get mine in the spring, and as late spring approaches I get more and more nervous because I know they're coming, and they completely ruin my life. Completely.
However, I'm now on medication that helps lots - even keeps them from coming most days when I'm in cycle - and I urge you to hang in there and keep in mind that there might be something out there that helps. Basically, I'd say that you should feel lucky that you might have escaped them, but then additionally I'd advise you to keep the following list at hand for if they come back, so that this time around you can control them.
1. If you haven't been given oxygen for clusters, then if you should INSIST upon trying it to abort a headache. This works in something like 85% of sufferers, including, most of the time, me. It is a MIRACLE. If it does work, and you are back having clusters, you can get a home prescription. It will preserve your sanity.
2. Some people find that shots of Imotrex or Maaxalt abort or help the headache pain. It doesn't work for me, but you should be sure you've tried that too.
3. There are a number of drugs that can keep you from getting clusters even when you're in cycle, at least most of the time. It sounds like your doctor has put you on something that helps, but if they come back anyway, you should also have the following in mind: indocin/indomethacin and verapamil (these two are cheap and safe, primarily marketed for blood pressure); topamax (reasonably cheap and fairly safe, marketed for seizures); and lithium (not cheap, and with lots of side effects, but hey if it takes the d*mned things away... marketed for schizophrenia).
Good luck. I really do think you might have broken out of the terrible awful cycle. You lucky b*stard. Congrats. If not, though, at least now you know that they will end, and hopefully I've provided a bit of a sense of calm in that you know that there are things out there that can help dramatically. I used to be one of those people who was "too tough" for most drugs, even aspirin, back before I got clusters. Now I'm a total convert: these things have changed my life entirely and make me able to function, well, and happily.
Good luck all round! Be well.
