(WYTV)- Do you get cluster headaches?
They are rare and they are different from a typical migraine or a typical headache. Imagine an excruciating head pain that snaps you awake, for example and reaches peak intensity in just seconds.
“And then (there is) 15 to 20 minutes of this pain, which is so severe that patients often cannot stand or cannot sit still. they have to get up, pace around, maybe push on the head or bang things against the head. and then, again, it shuts off like a light switch,” said Mayo Clinic Neurologist Carrie Robertson.
This is a cluster headache. The cycle can come and go. Patients might be headache free for months or even a year before another cycle starts. A cluster headache does tend to be seasonal, and fall often sees cycles starting.
There’s no cure for cluster headaches, but treatments are available to help decrease the severity of pain, shorten the headache period and prevent the attacks.
Maybe one percent of the population has cluster headaches, but for those people, it’s an intense experience because the headaches come on fast and hit hard.
