<p>H has gotten these almost as long as I have known him. ( for 36 yrs) He has been getting them much less frequently the last fifteen years, but usually has a cycle of almost daily ( nightly)headaches that only dissipate when he goes to the dr. ( cycle is for a month or two, every couple years, used to be more often)
They also seem to be related to his sinuses, as they seem to be triggered by working with something that has fumes or particulate, with/without wearing a respirator mask.</p>
<p>He’s currently sanding and painting our house, and has been waking up with headaches at around midnight. He tries using massager, steam shower , ice, etc, and goes back to sleep about two or three hours later, which is about the time his alarm for work starts going off. ( :mad:can you tell I didn’t get much sleep last night?) He doesn’t document when they occur or triggers, and he has a relatively new family practice Dr that isn’t familiar with them, and she doesn’t like to prescribe what usually works for him. ( don’t remember what it is, some sort of nasal spray I think) </p>
<p>His current cycle has been going almost all summer despite me badgering him to call the Dr. I know it won’t stop by itself, or at least it never has before. </p>
<p>If being completely incapacitated by pain isn’t enough to get someone to seek help, what is? ( beating my head against the wall)</p>
<p>They say some people don’t get ulcers – they give them :(</p>
<p>Sorry you’re up all night with H. Is it usually worse in the summer? Could it be the a/c? Is your house new and kind of airtight (vs like mine — old and air leaks in and out)? Whenever I sleep in a new house with central air, I wake up with a horrible headache.</p>
<p>It’s not allergy related, is it?</p>
<p>I’ve got to believe the painting and sanding doesn’t help.</p>
<p>I think you’re within your rights as a spouse who needs her sleep to contact his new Dr yourself.</p>
<p>I would also wonder about allergies and consider having a GOOD allergist do a complete workup to see if that might help improve things. Would definitely talk with new DR, since it is affecting you too that poor H isn’t sleeping. The new DR could make other referrals as needed.</p>
<p>He IS wearing a mask for the sanding? Or he’s one of those guys like my DH who has to have it handed to him? There was an old thread about migraines that, I think, had interesting info about sinuses. If the current problem crops up after a few hours of laying down, something about that position, what’s settling, not moving, is contributing. Sometimes helped by more pillows. DH was also helped by the spray. IIRC, he wasn’t allowed to use it more than a few weeks at a time. An ear nose throat specialist can help- many sinus issues go undetected by internists. Good luck. No matter how brave one tries to be, it can be debiltating.</p>
<p>My husband has had cluster headaches since he was a teenager. He used to have at least two clusters (each lasting a couple of months) every year. As he’s aged, they have diminished. His grandfather also had them, and told him that they would get better with age; he was right.</p>
<p>For years, he tried all of the allergy/sinus things. None of that works. Although your sinuses seem stopped up during an attack, it’s because of swelling in the blood vessels, not because of mucous.</p>
<p>The best solution for him was to take a low dosage beta blocker on a regular basis. This keeps the blood vessels from contracting to begin with, so they never have a chance to dilate (which is when you get the pain). This is not an immediate pain solution, it is for prevention. Imitrex worked well for the pain, but you can’t take that as often as the headaches occur.</p>
<p>This thread struck a cord with me. My D (15) has been miserable with headaches since late April. She is in pain. I really wanted it resolved before school begins again. Every day; most of the day. Have been to GP multiple times, pediatric endocrinologist, cardiologist, blood work, and today got dental xrays for potential wisdom teeth (there are none).</p>
<p>Very frustrating! She has other medical conditions that require the use of Estrogen. We have played with every possible combination of that–more, less, twice a day, the patch, and stopping it altogether. NOTHING is working.</p>
<p>Next is the eye dr. and then a neurologist and MRI. So…I have no answers, just questions and empathy.</p>
<p>emeraldkitty, I can relate to your husband! I’ve had headaches like that since I was very young. I, too, have had many, many tests done and they can’t find a cause. </p>
<p>I am also VERY sensitive to smell. When I feel a “smell headache” coming on (it’s particularly sharp, different from tension headaches), I’ll ask DH what he’s been up to - usually it involves polyurethane, in the basement on the opposite end of the house.</p>
<p>I take amitriptyline daily. I tend to think it doesn’t help, but when I stop it, the headaches get worse, so maybe it does.</p>
<p>syrstress, good luck to your D. I had an MRI at one point. It didn’t show anything, but it was cool to see what my brain looks like.</p>
<p>I was supposed to have an appt at the lab this morning myself so I have been gone for a while- when I came home he was actually going out the door to his appt! I guess all I have to do is step completely out of the picture. I told him to get a referral to the local headache clinic. ( our insurance doesn’t require referrals, but so many clinics do)
I don’t know if it was that she wasn’t familiar with the cluster headaches, but what he had been prescribed before, she had to be talked into prescribing.</p>
<p>Our house is over a century old, so no out gassing, and in Seattle so no AC. He has to wear a respirator mask at work when grinding, as well as on the house and even though it isn’t oil based, there still may be some smell.
He also is a smoker. Not as much as he used to be,but still. He hasn’t had anything alcoholic for about fifteen years though- that is another predisposition.</p>
<p>I used to get hormonaly induced migraines, but started taking niacin regularly, and really don’t get them any more. He won’t take that, because he can’t stand any flushing, even if it might help.</p>
<p>I think there is an allergic reaction exacerbated by the smoking. He also has been taking his vacation at home to work on the house, and he smokes much more I think when he is home( he can’t at work) I berate him constantly about that- which works about as well as you can imagine. I do hang on to his pack of cigarettes though so he has to find me to get one.
But I don’t know why Drs don’t give him a big 'ol lecture about it, that was what got his dad to quit smoking yrs ago- even so, his father in his 80’s now has emphysema.</p>
<p>Addiction is really a horrible thing. I met him in the mid 70’s when almost everyone I knew smoked- apart from my family. I smoked as well, but I quit when they were $.65. He has quit several times, over the years, but he really has an addictive personality. I am very proud of his not drinking, but if having our baby ( who is now thirty yrs old) on a respirator didn’t get him to quit smoking ( & both the girls & I all have exercise asthma), I don’t know what will.</p>
<p>I have had cluster headaches since I was in my mid-twenties. Luckily, I have the episodic version (headaches go away for months or years between attacks) as opposed to chronic (almost daily) type. Unfortunatey, the chronic clusters are nicknamed “suicide headaches”. </p>
<p>For those who have never heard of cluster headaches, they are a type of headache that is more common in males. The headaches tend to be based in the orbit of the eye socket and tend to feel like a stabbing knife in the eye. The affected eye tends to turn red during an attack. The attacks often happen at the same time - most often in the middle of the night. It has been described by some affected females as “giving birth through your eye socket”. </p>
<p>It is a good thing that your H is seeing a specialist - there are several types of treatment. There are medicines to treat an attack such as Sumatriptan (Imitrex) and medicines to try and prevent or minimize the number of attacks (Inderal, Calan, Depakote). Oxygen can also be used to treat these headaches. Your doctor may also use Prednisone to abort an attack. This has very effective for me. Unfortunately, sometimes a drug that use to work eventually no longer provides relief.</p>
<p>As I have aged, my attacks are much less frequent - its been over two years since my last episode. My doctor has indicated that many patients eventually “out grow” their headaches.</p>
<p>For people who are treating frequent headaches, it is good to research re-bound headaches. especially as it relates to their specific medication/s. It is my understanding that prophylactic medications are not apt to cause this problem, but many pain relievers are, often creating a vicious circle. Good luck.</p>
<p>Sryrstress–my D was about the same age when she suddenly developed terrible headaches…my usually tough kid was curled up in a ball on her bed unable to do anything and clearly in terrible pain (mostly on one side of her head/eye area).
Luckily our pediatrician immediately thought of migraines and after a few neuro rule out tests(to make sure she didn’t have a tumor or something like that!) rx’d some meds…the first few didn’t really help and then she had us try Imitrex (had to fight with insurance to cover it and still do each time we fill it) but it is a miracle…one (sometimes two if she doesn’t catch it soon enough) pill and the headache is gone…she has weird patterns with the headaches…she will go months without one and then have them almost daily for a week or so…no pattern we can discern…but since the pills work…we are both happy!</p>
<p>I am a newcomer to posting on CC, but this topic is so timely for me I figured this is time for my first post!</p>
<p>Two weeks ago I was awakened by a blinding headache on the left side of my head. My left eye was teary and bloodshot, and thought I was having a stroke. I was clutching my head and pacing around the room. My husband called 911 (at my urging) and I spent the rest of the day at the E.R. After a normal CAT scan, etc. I was relieved to know I wasn’t having a stroke! The doctor told me my symptoms presented like a cluster headache, and they put me on intravenous Reglan which they told me sometimes helps with migraines and other headaches. He also gave me an Rx for Fioricet, which I haven’t needed to fill. The tremendous headache lasted for about 7 hours, but then I felt headachey for another 5 days or so. I have no history of headaches, migraine or other types, but I have noticed that now I get a mild headache every other day always at the same time. Yesterday I woke up with a mild version of the original one but on the right side. Advil seems to do the trick for me so far.</p>
<p>The doctor told me that the sudden onset of these headaches could be due to any number of things: hormones (thanks again menopause!), allergies, the terrible heat this summer, or just because. I am hoping this doesn’t become a regular thing, and I really feel for all of you who suffer so much with it.</p>
<p>I would suggest going to a headache specialist. </p>
<p>My sister has started on botox for hers (covered by her insurance and with the added benefit that the dr. injects the extra in her forehead wrinkles.) </p>
<p>She is on several other meds for them (daily preventative and something else she takes when a headache occurs.) Not allowed is anything with caffeine or drugs like ibuprofen, which causes rebound headaches.</p>
<p>edit - my bad, see he is going to specialist.</p>
<p>Now and then I go through streaks where I get pretty brutal headaches that feel localized in my eye and sinuses. Best way I’d describe it is someone’s either hammering a knife through my eye/temple or my eye is trying to escape from the socket. I’ve found for the ones I wake up with the best thing has been to immediately take two Excedrin and have a decent breakfast. It usually goes away in about 30 minutes. On mornings where I have the headaches and skip the Excedrin the pain will often last until around dinner time.</p>
<p>Another useful trick I’ve found for some more minor headaches and somewhat temporary relief of major ones is to press firmly on your neck on the vein where you check your pulse (just underneath the jaw, on the side your head is hurting). A number of times the only relief I’ve found is holing up in a room with all the lights off and windows and doors closed stuffing my face into the crevice of a couch to keep the light out while I press on my neck like that. I think it restricts blood flood a bit and helps relieve some pressure.</p>
<p>Srystress–a possible suggestion–My D, who is the only one in the family whodoesn’t run to migraines, all of a sudden had a bad, long-lasting headache a few years ago. Nothing helped, not migraine medicines or any other treatment. Coincidentally, her GP had put her on hi-dose Calcium (it seemed for a while everyone had “low” calcium, though I think they’r backing off on that now). D suspected that might be the cause as it had been concurrent. the doc looked into it and found it can cause chronic headache, took her off it, and she was fine. </p>
<p>May not be the case, but I’d figure I’d put it out there as an easy to overlook possibility.</p>
<p>I strongly suggest you read, “Heal Your Headache”. I forget the author but he is head of major medical institution headache clinic and had impeccable credentials. The first part of the book he sounds like a self-aggrandizing jerk, but the info is great. Basically he discusses how, if you can keep below a threshold with headache triggers, you can reduce or end your headache symptoms. He includes a diet, which is bland but low in tyramines and other common triggers, since diet adds to the threshold load. He addresses meds and rebound and cluster headaches, if I remember correctly. When I followed his guidelines, I reduced my migraines substantially. Now, luckily, menopause has ended most of my headaches!!! Really suggest you check it out of the library and read it!!!</p>
<p>RacinReaver, some questions for you. Does the headache you have ever make you feel nausetated? Can you say that it is a “one-sided” headache, meaning it seems to affect one eye? Do you notice any tearing from that eye, or any nasal drip from the same side as the eye in pain? Does the headache commence with little warning and build up in terms of the pain level?
If you answered no to the first question (nausea), and yes to any of the others your headache symptoms are very suggestive of cluster. That can be a life challenge with cluster headaches may come and go at any time and may worsen over time. The worst case for me was when I was in my thirties and had still not been treated by a doctor with any knowledge of clusters. The attack lasted for six hours and sent me to an emergency room. That was more than hirty years ago. Since then I have learned much about them and the various meds that are used to alleviate and/or prevent them. The good news is that they have received more attention from the medical community since then and more medications have been developed. If you feel that you may be experiencing cluster headache attacks, you should see a nuerologist, particularly if you can find one that speciallizes in headache. Keep in mind that it is not a life threatening condition but I urge you to be proactive in seeking the right information and medical help. It can be something that messes with your lifestyle. Good luck.</p>
I told him to get a referral to the local headache clinic. ( our insurance doesn’t require referrals, but so many clinics do)
He hasn’t had anything alcoholic for about fifteen years though- that is another predisposition.</p>