Q Does cluster headache go away completely with treatment, or do I have to manage it for life?
A The episodic type sometimes resolves naturally after several years, but the chronic type requires ongoing management. Korean medicine treatment helps lengthen the recurrence cycle.
Detailed Answer
Episodic Type vs. Chronic Type
About 85% of cluster headaches are the episodic type, in which cluster periods (lasting weeks to months) alternate with remission periods (lasting months to years). In some cases the remission periods lengthen over the years and the condition resolves naturally, but in the chronic type (about 15%) attacks persist without remission.
The Long-Term Goal of Korean Medicine Treatment
At Dongjedang, rather than short-term suppression of attacks, we set the long-term goal of lengthening remission periods and reducing the intensity of cluster periods. When a brain-clearing herbal decoction and pharmacopuncture improve the Liver-Fire and blood-stasis constitution, the next cluster period often passes more briefly and mildly than before.
Related FAQs
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Q
Is it realistically possible to receive pharmacopuncture two to three times a week while holding a job?
#Possibility / Realistic Goals
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Q
I also have migraines. Can they be treated together with cluster headache?
#Comorbidities
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Q
I've heard that many cluster headache patients develop sleep disorders or depression. Does Dongjedang treat those as well?
#Comorbidities
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Q
Is there anything I absolutely must avoid in daily life during a cluster period?
#Lifestyle Management
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Q
When an attack starts, is there a way to reduce the pain as an emergency measure?
#Lifestyle Management