If you suffer from cluster headaches or live with someone who does you need help.
One minute on www.clusterheadaches.com and I knew I had actually found people who were living with cluster headaches, a kind of headache that is unimaginable for most people.
They are called “cluster headaches” because they come in clusters—they are unofficially known as “suicide headaches.” This unfortunate label is not to give anyone any ideas, but to extend the most enormous amount of empathy possible. It is important to understand cluster headache sufferers. These are not regular headaches; they make migraines seem easily managed. Cluster headaches make people question their very lives—the label is an acknowledgement that these headaches are that bad—and there is just so much pain a person can handle.
This is a condition that hammers home the need for patients to be proactive about their own treatment. You literally cannot bear to turn the treatment over to the care provider and take what comes your way. The best way to find a treatment plan that works for you is do your own research. A great way to start is by reaching out to other cluster headache sufferers. Find out from them what remedies are known to work. Other cluster headache sufferers will be up to date on the latest research and remedies.
Remedies
A number of preventive drug therapies can be prescribed. There are no prescriptions specifically indicated for cluster headaches, but anti-epileptic and mood stabilizing medicines, for example, are used to treat cluster headaches.
And some people find relief from the natural supplement, melatonin.
Preventive Actions
In addition to taking preventive medications, cluster headache sufferers should be aware of what could trigger an attack. Certain foods, which are known to trigger headaches, should be avoided. Inhaling smoke is another known trigger, even for headache sufferers who smoke themselves!
But preventive treatments and avoiding triggers just go so far. Cluster headache sufferers need at least one and hopefully several reliable methods to short-circut the pain cycle. Unfortunately, the remedies are so strong (aka toxic), they cannot be used for the extended periods of time that cluster headaches sometimes last. This is why it is imporant to have more than one remedy.
The safest remedy—a nontoxic method with no side-effects—for stopping a cluster headache is high-flow oxygen. In a controlled study (JAMA High-flow Oxygen Study), nearly 80% of attacks stopped within 15 minutes. Patients in most states need a prescription to have oxygen. Your doctor may not know about oxygen as a remedy for cluster headaches, so it might be helpful to bring some information on the subject with you to your next appointment.