Margi is NOT a health care professional and this information should not be used to diagnose your headaches . It is simply her view of what cluster headaches are from her research and years of supporting a cluster headache sufferer. A typical cluster headache cycle, for an episodic sufferer, most commonly appears during seasonal changes. For many, the first signal of an impending attack is the presence of Horner's Syndrome which is a drooping of the eyelid and dilation of pupil on the affected side of the face. The pain quickly escalates from no pain to unbearable pain in 5 to 10 minutes and then subsides in the same manner it started, unbearable pain to no pain in 5 to 10 minutes.
Attacks generally happen at the same time each day like clockwork.
The number and intensity of attacks increase steadily until the apex of the cycle is reached, bringing the most number of attacks per day with the highest level of pain. The attacks then gradually start to diminish until the cycle is completely gone and the sufferer is in remission until the next cycle. Remission periods are completely unique to each sufferer, but generally range anywhere from six months to five years. For chronic sufferers, however, the cyclical pattern is absent and the attacks persist throughout the year. The intensity of each attack varies randomly.