Mumbai woman finds relief from rare cluster headaches after 13 years

33-year-old Nikita Rathod. PIC/RITIKA GONDHALEKAR

For almost 13 years, Nikita Rathod, 33 endured severe right-sided cluster headaches, widely regarded as one of the most painful forms of headache disorders. These were accompanied by redness in the eye and debilitating pain that lasted months. "These episodes would recur every few years, severely affecting my life and well-being. Despite consulting multiple doctors, my condition remained uncontrolled," Rathod told mid-day.

Troubling years

Rathod was writing her internal exam paper for her third year of the BMM course when she first experienced pain. "I felt excruciating pain, like someone was pulling my right eye very harshly. I couldn't finish my paper and was rushed to Hinduja Hospital," said Rathod. Despite undergoing multiple tests, CT scans and MRIs, the problem could not be diagnosed. "In the past 13 years, I have undergone several tests. But the reports always came back normal," said Rathod. "My life would go upside down for almost two months every time I had an episode, but my college teachers, and later my colleagues and bosses at work, have been very supportive."

Pregnancy was tough

"We had observed that the episodes would repeat every two years. So we planned our pregnancy in a way that the baby would be born in the gap years," said Rathod. "While eight and a half months passed by without any hassle, I suddenly got the same headache on December 9, 2025. Doctors had given December 30-January 1 as my delivery date. But the pain just kept on aggravating with each passing day. A C-section had to be done on December 14, as my pain reached a level that it may have put my baby in distress," said Rathod.

Back to hospital

On December 17, doctors performed a trial procedure. "They gave anaesthesia to my occipital nerves to stop pain signals and that worked wonders for me. But just for a few hours. As I felt relieved, I was discharged. Only to be readmitted with the same problem. I left Raheja Hospital in the evening on December 17 and was again on the hospital bed at 3 am, the following morning," said Rathod.

Nerve-related transmission

"Her symptoms and the nature of repetitive episodes, indicated that there is no problem with the brain, and it looked more like nerve damage. When we conducted some tests, we identified the root cause as a nerve-related pain transmission disorder," said Dr DK Baheti, senior consultant - pain management specialist, Raheja Hospital

High-risk surgery

The medical team decided to perform a highly specialised pain-block procedure using pulse radiofrequency ablation, precisely targeting and disrupting the sensory nerves responsible for transmitting pain signals from the brain.