One of the most painful conditions on earth, and still without a cure

Cluster headache affects just 0.1% of people, yet its attacks are so intense they’re nicknamed “suicide headaches.” They disrupt work, relationships, sleep, and mental health, despite decades of study, we still don’t know why they strike.

Anatomical illustration showing the trigeminal nerve and internal carotid artery

Cluster Companion is built solely for cluster headache sufferers, addressing the four areas that matter most: getting the right diagnosis sooner, tracking cycles and attacks with meaningful data, managing scarce and complex medications, and supporting mental health through connection and resources. It’s comprehensive support in one place, created by someone who understands the reality behind the pain.

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Cluster headaches are devastating and widely misunderstood

Sufferers face extreme, recurrent pain and long delays before proper diagnosis. We’re building Cluster Companion to raise awareness, shorten the path to help, and support daily life during cycles.

Cluster headache belongs to a rare group of neurological conditions called TACs (trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias). Attacks are one-sided, escalate to maximum intensity within minutes, and last 15 to 180 minutes. The pain is very severe or excruciating. Typical autonomic signs include tearing, a red eye, nasal congestion, and an eyelid droop on the painful side.

Bouts come in clusters that can run for weeks or months, which is where the name comes from. Episodic means remissions of three months or longer. Chronic means attacks persist for a year or more, or remissions are shorter than three months. Attacks can strike without any obvious trigger, often following a body-clock pattern that hits at set times or wakes people from sleep. During a bout, small exposures can trigger attacks: a sip or even the smell of wine, strong perfumes, petrol or paint fumes, sudden heat, or other volatile solvents. Outside a bout, those triggers often disappear.

This all-or-nothing pattern helps explain why the condition is missed for years, and it remains one of the condition’s most baffling traits.

  • O₂ or triptan (inj.) Fast abort only
  • Verapamil Preventive with ECG checks
  • Steroid or GON Short-term bridge

How Cluster Companion helps

Built for cluster headache, not migraines. Four pillars work together to cut chaos, keep you ahead of cycles, and protect your mental load. Privacy-first by design. Works offline. An optional, anonymised data stream helps advance research without exposing identities.

Focused features for people with cluster headache

Built for cluster headache-full stop. Fast to use, clear to read, and private by default. Made by a fellow sufferer to cut time to the right care and reduce the daily load.

Why I’m building this

I’ve lived with cluster headache for more than 16 years, episodic at first and chronic for the past six. My last cycle ran 16 months. I’m grateful for the support I’ve had in the UK, and I also know access and costs vary widely elsewhere. Beyond the pain there’s a hidden mental load: managing medications, chasing access, juggling logistics, and trying to stay ready for whatever comes next. I want to make that easier. Cluster Companion is meant to be exactly that, a companion.

I was a professional athlete, later ran a training studio, and over the past five years I retrained as a software developer who builds products end to end. For the last two years I have been researching and planning Cluster Companion, and I am building it carefully now with modern, reliable tools. This is not a quick template or AI builder job, it is a professional build shaped by real experience of the condition and by the people who live with it.

The goal is simple: a CH-only product that supports people in every area they need help. Shorten the path to the right diagnosis, log attacks and cycles with metrics that actually matter, keep medication and supplies on track, and support the mind as much as the body. It is private by default, and if enough people choose to share anonymised data, we can help research move faster. I aim to open it to early users next year.

Graham Sharman
Founder, Cluster Companion

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