Hi, some of you may know me from the AAOC, a member over there sent me a link to this thread as a fellow suffer of this terrible affliction
I get severe bouts lasting for about 6 weeks, every 15 months or so and have done for at least 10 years, I'm currently right in the middle of a bout and am experiencing a sever attack at a rate of 2-3 every 24 hours
The last bout I had was Easter 2010, and was so severe I ended up in hospital for a few days after passing out with the pain several times, the upshot of this is that I was finally referred to a nuero specialist at the local hospital, after years of trying to explain Cluster Headaches to the doctors and just being confronted with a blank look I finally found somebody that listened to me
I've had full banks of tests, CT scans, MRI etc etc and all appears to be normal
The best treatment I have found is Sumatriptan (over the counter name in the UK is Imigran), this comes in three forms and all works extremely well for me but they do take differing times to kick in depending on how they are administered
Imigran Tablets - take around 45-60mins to kick in, great for daytime when you can feel the attack building
Imigran Nasal Sprays - takes about 20-30mins to kick in, but taste absolutely vile (I tend to shy away from this for that very reason)
Imigran Self Injections - literally a wonder drug, kick in in 5-10 mins and stop the attack dead in its tracks
I strongly suggest you request the self injectors from your doctor, but be warned that many doctors wont prescribe them as they are quite expensive
Don't take no for an answer, keep pushing and if needed go to the practice manager, even ask for a referral to a specialist and then get them to prescribe the injectors
