Cluster Headaches.

[Traci66]

OH has been getting bad headaches for the past few weeks, they always start between seven and eight at night. They start behind his left eye and spread to all the left side of his face, he is in a lot of pain with these and painkillers do not seem to work. I persuaded him to see the doctor a couple of weeks ago and the doc told him to get his eyes and teeth checked, he did this on Thursday and there are no problems with either. He managed to see his own doctor on Friday morning who said she thought they were cluster headaches but wanted a second opinion. Within two hours is him seeing the doctor, the local neurology dept had phoned and he has an appointment there for tomorrow, so has spent all weekend worrying.

My question is has anyone here suffered from cluster headaches, how did they feel and what did you do to alleviate them. Thanks, maybe you can stop a bloke from thinking he's at deaths door.

[Eve]

No personally but I know someone who does have them and they can be very debilitating. I think sumapitram (sp?) was an option, by injection possibly, but he couldn't have that so had an oxygen cannister as it was the only thing that gave him any relief during attacks.

It' is something that needs diagnosing and treating properly, I hope he gets it sorted and some help soon, horrible thing to have.

[Eve]

If you scroll down too it looks like there are a number of other posts on them.

[boxtops]

I've heard that they are much more common in men, and that it's a sort of migraine, in which case I sympathise very much. I am pleased he's got a quick appointment, hopefully he will know quickly what they think it is, and what can be done about it.

[Stargazer]

A CT scan would show up any abnormaility I believe and if you can I would pay for it to be done as quickly as possible privately rather than be put onto a list. The consultant may suggest a CT scan but you need to ask how long the waiting list is. There is no need to alarm him but it is possible that he has either an aneurism or an arteriouvenous malformation. These can often be treated successfully if they are diagnosed early enough. I hope all goes well tomorrow.Please post what happens at your appointment.

[Mamyalynne]

I doubt there is any way to stop a perfectly normal worry, it is typical human nature really - if they make us wait we grumble, if they act promptly we think it is serious. At least being seen so soon will hopefully sort out how to treat these headaches, do let us know.

[Sqad]

Blimey stargazer.......aneurysm and arteriovenous malformations are rank...............rank outsiders.

[Traci66]

The hospital have said he could be there for up to eight hours tomorrow, I will report back, thanks for your answers.

[ubasses]

Yes, my husband has suffrered with them all his life. Sumatripan as Eve said are very good and he has to keep them in the medicine cabinet at all times. Not so bad these days since they have mananged to get his blood pressure under control with medication. When he saw a neurologist they did not find any other cause.

[tonyav]

I have had an aneurysm in 1994 and I would not describe my experience like you are describing your OH's symptoms Traci.

[Sqad]

Tracie....the other possibility is Trigeminal Neuralgia but from your post, one cannot give a conclusive diagnosis.

[Stargazer]

Don't want to be an alarmist Sqad or any of you but I know of several aneurism falalities and also arteriousvenous malformation very near misses. All personally known to me and not related to one another. I have become overly cautious with leaving it up to the medics to do the expensive scans. I haven't got any money to speak of but I paid for an MRI for myself a few years ago to get quick diagnosis rather than wait several years on an ever lengthening list.

[Mattk]

I get headaches that start behind one eye too. I put mine down to eye strain and have to be careful what I do. I work on a PC so limit time spent looking directly at it e.g. 30 secs or so then look away.

I also find gently rubbing the top of my eyeballs (through the lids obviously!) with my fingertips helps.

[vodkancoke]

My dad suffers from them. They come on very quickly and he is in a lot if pain but they disappear very quickly too. Worryingly they often happen when he is driving. He has sumatriptan but they disappear too quickly for him to take it.

[Traci66]

Scan arranged for Friday, he also has to keep a chart of the headaches, how long they lasted, severity etc. thanks again for all your answers.

[Mamyalynne]

Thanks for coming back , hope they find the cause and he gets some relief from the pain.

[Traci66]

Another quick update, today he has been given Sumatriptan 6mg in injection form .......... can't wait to stab him!!

[tonyav]

Hey be gentle with him traci.

[gness]

Hi Traci...I had to inject OH 3x weekly. He was so, so nice to me. :-)

Hope all gets sorted soon. x

[Traci66]

Scan was last night and nothing untoward has shown up, which is good, he's just going to have to learn to live with them, thanks to all who replied.