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Do I have a cluster headache?


kbee11
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Hi, I been suffering for years from a strange headache which I cannot seem to find the trigger I would like to know if anyone has suffered the same and if so what have they discovered about it.
 
The headache begins to start right behind the left eye, (sometimes I wake up with it). It sometimes occurs after sweet food and other times not at all. The body will then start to heat up and sweat, and the pain wont stop till i take a strong anti pain med like ibuprofen.
 
Additionally when I have the headache my stomach will become so bloated its like there is a balloon inside. I will also have a dripping nose sometimes only on the left side.
 
After about an hour after taking meds, together with a shower and cold ac it will all go away and my stomach will go back to normal.
 
Sometimes it can occur literary 2 minute after finishing a meal.
 
Does anyone have any idea what this is? I have gone to so many tests and everything is "normal"
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Hello kbee !

Interesting story :) It always surprises me how different these headaches can manifest in each of us, with all kind of different symptoms.

Now, when you say 'tests' I assume they also did a brain scan (MRI) and it came back normal, so they ruled out more serious conditions. If you did not have such a scan yet, you must ask for it.

Now for what cluster headaches concern, here are some criteria that are usually seen with cluster headaches and if you fulfill some of those, you maybe suffering from them but in addition you must consult a headache specialist to get a proper diagnosis:

  • How long do your headaches last if untreated ? Cluster headaches typically have a duration somewhere from 15 min up to 3 hours but for most people they take around 30 min up to 1 hour per attack. Also typical for a CH attack is that it stops suddenly.
  • How would you categorize the severity of the pain ? Cluster headaches tend to be very severe with regard to pain level. Some attacks can be extreme, some moderate but overall I can say that for every attack, it hurts quite a lot
  • Do you feel restless during an attack ? As you have the sudden feeling that you do no more know what do do with yourself - a bit like you suddenly got injected with adrenaline. This is also common during CH attacks
  • Do these headaches grouping together in "clusters", which mean that during a certain period, you have many of those attacks and then during other periods, you have far less of them or none ?

If you recognize yourself in those criteria, you will need to go to a neurologist to get a confirmation and to get the proper medication (oxygen, triptan injectable, spray or tablet and/or verapamil). You can then also take a look at some of the very effective remedies presented here in this forum. The Vitamin D regimen is one of them...

Hope that helps and Best Regards !

siegfried

 

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Kbee11,

Some of your symptoms sound like Cluster Headache (CH), but not completely.  I agree with Siegfried, please share more specifics about your symptoms.  While a diagnosis from those of us with CH isn't a Dr diagnosis, at least we might be able to provide you with some information to take to your doctor to get a correct diagnosis.

Cheers,

J

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thanks all for the info. Its strange as some of the symptoms i recognize , like it only last 2-3 hours and the restlessness i also experience. However the stomach issue is a big one too and I dont see a correlation.

 

thank and any other info would be so helpful. All docs, scans etc are really all clean.

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