Ashley Hattle

Many people are afraid of flying. Most worry the plane will crash, and they won’t make it home. My fear is more specific. The rapid elevation change triggers a cluster...

Your first meeting with your neurologist or headache specialist is a high-pressure situation. You have a lot of medical history and information to fit into what's likely a tiny window...

Dr. Joanna Kempner shares her knowledge freely and without condescension, throwing in witty quips as she talks. It’s clear she’s a college professor. But the cool one you want to...

About 10 years ago, I visited new doctors and specialists frequently. I was re-establishing my care in multiple areas with uncontrolled cluster headaches. That meant urgent care, the ER, and...

Everyone is naïve at the beginning of their headache journey. Before I found a headache specialist and wrote a book on cluster headaches, I foolishly believed in a cure. My...

Episodic cluster headaches are an enigma. Most of the time, I'm a "normal" 34-year-old woman. Once or twice a year, I experience heinous attacks of head pain that may last...

Breastfeeding is a unique experience. Some women find it easy, while others struggle to get their infant to latch or don't produce enough milk. I've been in both groups. I...

High-flow oxygen is the standard of care and most effective treatment for cluster headaches. While you may picture a sweet old lady trailing a small oxygen tank behind her at...

I find myself back in the trenches. My long-term headache specialist retired two years ago. Since then, I've been piecemealing my care for cluster headaches and migraine through my OBGYN...

The world of episodic cluster headaches is a weird one. For several weeks or months of the year, we face insurmountable pain. We are desperate to stop the attacks, even...

I’m in that strange but euphoric phase of life where breastfeeding hormones keep my cluster headaches and status migraines at bay. It’s been three and a half months since my...

I was pregnant for nearly all of 2023, between a full-term pregnancy and a miscarriage. Being prone to status migraines linked to hormone changes and episodic cluster headaches, I spent...

My life looked a lot different 10 years ago. I was 24 and living in fear of my episodic cluster headaches. These attacks upended my life for 2-3 months and...

People usually mean well when they say have you tried: drinking more water, eating a banana (weird but okay), or my least favorite, I’ve had one of those. Sadly, those...

I can count on the slow, dull drumming of a migraine attack like the beating of a heart beneath my floorboards. The foggy haze of status migraine steals more of...

Going to the emergency room is the last resort for established cluster headache patients. However, it's often the first step for someone experiencing their first few attacks. The sudden nature...

We’ve all done it. You forget about that self-care appointment or double book yourself and forget to cancel. These instances are frustrating for businesses, so they’ve adopted a 24-hour cancellation...

Any visit to your doctor's office, let alone the first appointment, can be a nerve-wracking experience. You can make lists, practice your questions out loud, and take other measures, but...

Migraine disease encompasses a wide range of sub-types such as hemiplegic migraine, vestibular migraine, and so on. Other headache disorders fall outside this umbrella and often take a headache specialist...

There is a common phrase among cluster headache patients that we would drink gasoline if there were a chance it could end the pain during attacks. When you’re at the...