Cluster Headaches or Something Else?

Try chiropractic. Years ago, I was having 2-3 debilitating migraines per week. My M.D. was just giving me pills but had no ideas as to prevention. I had never heard of chiropractic. Then, by chance, I met a Chiropractor.

Within 3 months, the frequency had reduced to once a month; within 1 year, my migraines were gone!

Not to say that MSG or food dye won't set me off, but even then it's not debilitating.

http://health.yahoo.com/headache-videos/healing-headaches...

Regardless of what may be the cause, if you are not being given an answer you are seeing the wrong doctors. If your insurance requires a referral to specialists then get one ot a neurologist, that is who specializes in this sort of thing. If not then look up nerology in the phone book and call around until you find one who is accepting new patients and book yourself an appointment. Either way get seen by someone who can help you out...It can be something as treatable as migraines or a prelude to something much more...good lock and I hope it is the former and not the latter!!! ;-)

Sorry this is so late! I have something called Chiari 1 Malformation that causes shooting pains in my head. Look it up on line and compare with your symptoms before you go to a chiropractor!

I haven't experienced anything like this, but I work at MD Anderson, and we're hosting free head and neck cancer screening exams on May 1 from 10am to 4pm. I'm not calling this a cancer scare, but it'll give you an opportunity to look at what's going on in there.

if you haven't had a professional bodyworker address your soft tissue you are overdue. Pregnancy organizes and reorganizes a body for it's needs. After delivery your body sometimes needs a little prompting to reorganize tissue towards it's new demands. It may be you have some latent trigger points that have become active, or perhaps some TMJ issues are cropping up. Either way my husband is a professional Licensed Massage Therapist with 20 yrs of experience with a wide variety of clients. He's worked with hundreds of folks over the yrs with crazy headaches, and helps about 90% of them remediate. you can email us at ____@____.com. wishing you a great outcome!

Sounds like ice-pick headaches to me. I get them sometimes along with migraines. Staying on top of my migraines seems to reduce the frequency, so for me I think the two are related.

I've found http://www.healthcentral.com/migraine/ a good source of info and support.

Shooting pains anywhere are often caused by a pinched nerve. Perhaps one in your neck that sends the message up to your brain?

I had something similar but I stopped all Soada Water or Pop, as its called up North, and they went away. They got worse when I used Diet Soda. It took me years to get over my love of Pepsi but I've finally kicked the habit. I drink only Water and sometimes Tea or Coffee. An occational Root Beer. I haven't had a pain like that in years now. All the previous suggestions are also good but I never did those. I read an article a very long time ago explaining that all the chemicals in Diet Soda and also just Soda in general are really bad for you. They can cause various symptoms. I loved Soda so it was so very hard to give up. I started in steps like weening myself off. Perhaps this can help you in someway figure out why your having these pains. Best of Luck.

Looks like you've got some great tips already. The only other suggestion I'd make, is to find a good chiropractor. They have helped me. Good luck!

Highly recommend being evaluated by a chiropractor. If you're in El Paso, Dr. Tom Georges on Lee Trevino is excellent. I used to get headaches that no regular doctor could identify the cause. I wound up in Dr. Georges office for another reason, but after the eval, he asked me if I got headaches... Told me how he knew, what was wrong, and best of all, how to fix it... Which he did. I'm not sure if your problem could be fixed by a chiropractor, but it's worth looking in to.

Hi Jamie
I hope you are finding some good advice. I had these "cluster headaches" for a year. I tried acupuncture, went to a neurologist, a normal doctor, and went to an anthroposophical doctor. I'd get these headaches like someone was stabbing me in the back of my left eye, twice a day, like clockwork at 3:00 am and 3:00 pm. My triggers were high stress (and lack of sleep) and tension.

Actually, they are gone now. I went to a D.O. (doctor of osteopathy). They are like chiropractors, but with medical degrees. And, I went to the son of the man who founded the ostepathic medicine - Harold Magoun in Denver Colorado. It was $95 for a 15 minute visit and within 3 visits the headaches were gone. You should find a chiropractor that you trust. (Most D.O. visits will be covered by insurance, which is nice.) My problem was caused by a neck injury - I got bonked on the head playing flag football.

The last time I saw them coming back, I went and had a full body massage (perhaps that was more of a treat), but 99% of the time they are coming because I carry all my stress in my shoulders.

I saw Dr. Wysoki for a few times in San Antonio - he's over by USAA, but I don't think he is doing manipulations anymore. Honestly, there is no one in the world I trust more messing with my head than Dr. Magoun - the only problem is that he works in CO. Which, might give you a good excuse to take a vacation.

Let us know how it turns out. I hope you feel better soon.
L.

First;
Even if they are connected they maybe not.
Migraines are ofen linked to hormone levels, so if you are high in progesterone the migraines tend to go away (I know first hand) And the other stabbing pains I usually have them when my stress or tiredeness has been high. If I get vitamin B, libe stress B at gnc or something OTC like that they dissapear for a long time... Hope this helps.

I used to get what I referred to as “firecracker” headaches, to me it felt like some one pored Rice Krispies in my head then pored milk on it, usually lasting a few seconds, but painful. I saw my doc he asked me TONS of questions did a CT scan an MRI then put me on anxiety medication. IT WORKED. I haven’t had this pain for 8 years now. I still don’t really know how or why this happened but I know it got fixed. The funny thing was I did not feel anxious or depressed.

How old are you?

I have chronic migraines and the same thing happened to me. When I was pregnant, I did not have any migraines. It was really wonderful. I was told hormonal changes were obviously some how prevented the migraines.

My Neurologist says that there are so many triggers and sometimes, it is just hard to know what it is.
I get those stabbing pains every once in a while and I never know what the deal is.

I try to excersize, eat foods that do not
trigger the headaches, avoid perfume odors and I am supposed to try not to stress... Ha!.

I have been on beta blockers for many years.
It is a life saver other wise I would not be able to function on a daily basis. Have you seen a Neurologist? It is very time consuming and lots of testing and to tell you the truth, they all end up saying the same thing. "Well there is so much we do not know about the brain."
But maybe it would help you to figure up what the deal is.

Hang in there. As we mature, things like this start popping up.