[Teagan42]

CGRP blockers are the true magic. 6 years ago I had the worst cycle yet, wanted to end it. Found a neurologist who actually knew his shit and understands the pain, he got me injectable sumatriptan and emgality. 6 years of no attacks, stress has recently brought on a cycle so scheduled a nerve block to break it. If you suffer from clusters you need to talk to your doctor about getting on these injections, they saved my life.

[zoky]

Appreciate the recommendation, and CGRP blockers will be my next line of attack should my current regimen prove insufficient. For now, my headaches seem to be pretty well controlled by verapamil as a preventative and oxygen/sumatriptan as an abortive, so I’m cautiously optimistic that I don’t need to introduce a new treatment, especially given that clusters supposedly decrease both in frequency and intensity as you age, or so I’ve heard.

It’s funny, but when I haven’t gotten a headache for a while I almost miss them, as if it were proof (to myself, if nobody else) that I wasn’t really just faking this and yes, it really is more painful than any non-sufferer can possibly imagine. But then I get even a slight shadow, as I did just the other day, and I immediately recall how miserable and awful they are and don’t know what the hell I was ever thinking.

Glad you have found something that works well for you to control the beast. Here’s to another year cluster-free; after that, who knows…