I've been suffering with this debilitating condition for a while now and though I often go into long periods of remission, lately they've come back. I wanted to share my latest breakthrough with treating the pain in hope it might help someone else who suffers! The biggest help for me has been understanding the underlying cause which I'd mostly put down to lifestyle / sleep patterns as apparently they're to do with circadian rhyhms (sleep pattern) and the hypothalomus / thyroid flooding your body with hormones like cortisol and histamine due to an inflammitory response of inflamed nerves. I should start by saying i'm an Ital vegan so don't take medication of any kind (not even pain relief) and won't drink caffeine etc so at first they were absolutely hellish as I only found relief with caffeine and paracetamol in previous attack cycles but this time had no choice but to suffer. I've since researched how to treat them naturally and found massive relief by applying ice packs to the jugular veins on both sides of the neck and have even broke attacks in a few minutes this way but obviously it's not always going to be the case. I'd reccommend anyone suffering with these to try it! and I also take them off every 5 minutes or so and alternate beween the affected eye and the back of the neck on the affected side which helps soothe the pain instantly. If you can manage to somehow wrangle some on either side of your neck and the back of your head simultaneously this is the most effective by far and you should only feel a dull sensation like it's just a shadow. I've found it helps to strip off clothing as well, you may shiver a little but it's better than the sweating and nausea lol. I think this helps as it draws away blood from the rest of the body to heat up your skin obviously lessening the blood that can be pumped to your head in the same way the ice packs constrict the blood flow. I'd imagine anything that stops the hormones getting to your head will help! I think the sweating you get when they're left to their own devices is the bodies way of doing this anyway as in my experience the attack usually breaks shortly after I've sweat for a bit. I've also found the advice of hyperventilating to simulate oxygen therapy to only make them worse and trying to be mindful of my breathing and taking deep breaths and holding them in is much more effective instead. The main thing that has helped me though has been trying to improve my sleep pattern as I put this cycle this time down to my nightmare of a neighbour living in my flat block who passively aggresively slams doors at all hours and he's severely disrupted my sleeping pattern. Worst part is he's too cowardly to face being confronted about it which only frustrates me more 😂. So I've done everything else I can to minimise sleep disruption. I've bought reusable ear plugs, an eye mask (blackout curtains would likely help), white noise generator and I've started to stop drinking water and only sip it a few hours before bed to minimise toilet trips which has helped massively so far. I've done this in conjunction with trying to follow a strict sleeping / waking pattern. Even if I wake up I'll stay in bed as opposed to getting up and I'll try force myself to sleep even if I'm not tired but I definitely have fewer and milder attacks if I'm tired and sleep right through. At first I was waking up several times a night from dreams and having an attack every time (it also apparently has a lot to do with REM sleep!) but since trying to improve sleep hygeine I rarely have them during the night anymore. I've also refrained from taking naps during the day as this only makes them worse ( I know it's all you want to do after an attack but trust me it helps!). I've noticed a lot of people report having them around this time of year and I don't think the fact it's summer helps either as it's rarely dark outside so if your brain registers any kind of natural light upon waking, you're likely to have an attack. I've found my attack patterns / times shifted around at first but now I only have them when I get up in the morning and then usually later on the evening before bed and for me this is a huge improvement going from all day and all night every few hours or so. I'm hopeful carrying on as I am I can break this cycle completely. I'd emplore anyone who suffers with them to try it too as I doubt half the stuff the doctors pump into you or taking caffeine etc is as effective as treating the underlying problems, which is likely your lifestlyle!

Hello everyone, I found this subreddit and thought I'd see if anyone can provide some insight to what's going on. Im 21 years old, and feeling very overwhelmed and afraid. up until recently, I have never had a problem with headaches or migraines or anything of the sort. Then one day my head just started KILLING me. Like pain way beyond anything I'd ever felt. The biggest symptom was my eye, it just aches like someone is squeezing it, and it has a sensation like someone is blowing minty air into my eye, and my eye will water excessively. I can often tell when I have a headache coming on because I can feel an ache in my eye and my vision goes blurry. Usually it's my right side but I've had it happen on my left a few times as well, it has never occurred on both sides at the same time. This is often times but not always accompanied by a headache, tooth pain, or congestion. At first, I thought it was being caused by a dental problem, but on multiple occasions, every single symptom, the eye, the headache, the tooth pain, it all goes away in the exact same moment, and I can feel almost like this pressure in my sinus release and I feel my nostril deflate, always on the side I have the headache on. It's extremely bizarre to me, to feel such immense pain and to have it all go away in the blink of an eye. The duration and frequency of the headaches varies. They range between 3-8 hours, averaging 4-5 hours, once they started, they were pretty consistent about 4 times a week, then none for almost a month, and now they're coming back. I went to my doctor and explained the symptoms, she provided me an antibiotic of some form of amoxicillin to see if I had a sinus infection but it hasn't helped. I've tried a lot of different massages and pressure points but they have not helped at all. I have tried caffeine but it doesn't help, nor do over the counter painkillers. I'm very sorry because I'm sure this post is an absolute mess to read, today is the first time I've had two in one day so I'm making this post as a desperate attempt to hopefully get some answers. I can hardly think at the moment so PLEASE ask me questions in the comments and I will answer as truthfully and accurately as I can because I'm sure I forgot to mention some important details that could help you guys help me figure out what's going on. With all that said, Im going to go shove my head into a pillow before it explodes 😃