CAClusterHead

@Freud Couldnt agree more.

This is the only reason I'm staying with my neuro at the moment. He is a vending machine. To be fair, a practicing neurologist's understanding of an ailment is only as good as the number of patients they encounter. With 0.1% rate of incidence of CH, it is no wonder they dont know the whole spectrum of treatments available. Okay, I'll stick with this basic form when at home. Any recommendations for nice strong gingery things to carry at work (preferably dry)? I dont care if its super hot -- I can handle it

Thank you @CHfather and @Freud for the extra encouragement on the O2. Surprising that my neuro hasnt even spoken about O2 tanks and we've already had a conversation about Topomax and Lithium (both of which I refused). I'm going to ask him explicitly about O2. @spiny Just got some good old ginger candies for myself. I like them anyways. All in all, I'm more of the mind to make lifestyle changes, reduce inflammation (start D3 regimen) and if bear the pain of some low-intensity attacks if they're not too frequent. If they're too frequent for my comfort, I'll get O2.

Yess Ginger tea did help me a bit yesterday. But I drank it out of habit and not specifically for ginger. Next time I'm going to ramp ginger up to 11. Regular (immediate) 240 mg (120 morning + 120 bedtime). Just checked my BP -- normal so far. One general question is: How do I know if Verap is working? After Prednisone taper, my headaches have reduced in intensity, but not completely gone away (as clearly evidenced by a long dull episode). But not sure if it is low-intensity because I'm at the end of my cycle or because of Verap. Would be ice to know. If verap is not working, I want to stop using it.

First off, thank you @CHfather for tirelessly helping countless people like myself. Few reasons why I'm delaying O2. 1) Hardware requirements: I feel it might be burdensome to carry an O2 tank. 2) Potential fight with insurance (although, I'm aware that the general welding variety works equally well for people 3) I have a curious 2 year old and feel a bit cautious about high pressure equipment. I know some of these are concerns simply because I havent used it before. I'd not mind if someone were to set the record straight.

Yep, educating myself about D3 and busting. Just curious why you felt D3 may not bode well for me.

Thank you @MoxieGirl I've never experienced Migraines and to be honest I dont know if they can or cannot be one sided. What I do know is that the pain was qualitatively similar to clusters. I have experienced shadows (tightness, stuffy nose, etc), but this was definitely more intense than those. This is something I'm definitely going to do the next time something hits at that low-intensity level. I'm a bit reluctant to introduce O2 but I'm going to try the energy drinks. I figure that is less damaging than popping triptans. Quite honestly, nothing other than triptans. And my neuro said I'm already using more than I should.

Hi folks, This is my first post on here so firstly thank you all for being there. I feel cluster headaches have taught me to identify and focus on things that are truly important in life: family, small moments, being mindful and grateful. This is an incredible community of people and I feel privileged to read your thoughts and perspectives. At times, I'm selfish and make big deal out my own pain, forgetting that everyone (with CH or without) is fighting their own tough battle. Reading through the posts, I discovered people with conditions more severe than mine. To them I say: you demonstrate the meaning of courage in the face of adversity. Salutes to you. A bit about myself. 40 years, father, husband, math/physics enthusiast. Episodic (once every 2-3 years) sufferer for the last 17 years. Migraine runs on father's side family, but nobody had clusters (as far as I know). My clusters were triggered soon after I arrived in the US for my graduate studies (most likely by abrupt change in clock). Sought neurologist help during previous and current cycle, and currently tapering prednisone + verapamil and rizatriptan (oral, aborts attack in 40 min). Dont know how long these will continue to be effective, but thankful they're doing the job now. Historically, my cycles last for a 2-3 months and toward the end, I experience long, lot-to-mid intensity (3-5 on the scale) episodes. The pain is manageable (no need to take rizatriptan), but I cant really do any deep work/thinking/reading due to the constant pain. The unusual aspect is that if I dont abort, the pain lasts at that level for dozens of hours. For example, today it lasted 15 hours before I finally fell asleep and when I woke up, it was gone. This is counter to the common description that "episodes last 15 minutes to 3 hours". Has anyone else experienced such super long low-intensity episodes? Also something curious I discovered. Acidic foods (even oranges and pure tomato soup) worsen my headaches.