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As much as I want to reply to this I'm going to wait for @Shaun brearley because he explains it quite well.

thanks for the replys! Hopefully last night was an anomaly and it will work as it normally does tonight. Shaun- why do you say that triptans are a nightmare? I've heard that before, but they do work- at least for me- are the side effects really bad? I haven't noticed anything but have always been careful to not use more than once a day.

I haven't read anything about triptan use reducing the effectiveness of O2. Are you using the same provider? My first thought tends to want to lean toward a bunk tank or possible wear and tear of your existing set up? I'm sure you know the basics of O2 usage (suggested LPM's/mask type & breathing techniques etc.) but maybe it's time to change up your intake method? I've had many discouraging and maddening experiences with O2. Some that included me being convinced it just didn't work anymore and some where I was sure it caused the attack to ramp up. In the end I discovered a few things, some of which you mentioned (the sooner the better), the breathing technique that worked last time is not guaranteed to work this time and a quick gulp of something caffeinated prior goes a long way.

Triptans are a nightmare my friend, O2 works so well for many of use, what's your routine with O2?

Hey everyone, I am in the 3rd week of a cycle- haven't had one for almost 2 1/2 years. First week I was traveling so just had to power through- the first weeks headaches tend to be fairly mild for me, then start to ramp up in intensity. Second week I was aborting with imitrex injections . They really worked well but I only did them once a day. Just got O2 yesterday and had two attacks last night and one this morning- the normal routine for me once the cluster really kicks in- and the oxygen doesn't seem to be working. In the past, if I got on the O2 soon enough it would knock them out within 10-20 minutes but last night, nothing. Ive been dealing with clusters for 30 years now and using O2 successfully for about 20 so I know how to do it, it just didn't seem to have any effect. Curious if anyone thinks this might have something to do with using Imitrex injections first and that for some reason is making the O2 less effective? thanks!

I keep them in the car, the office and any other place I might be going to. I even take them on vacation with me. I figure they do enough work for me they deserve a little vacation too.

Thank you!

Just completed survey

Again, thank you all! Some updates — O2 concentrators, while not ideal, are DEFINITELY aborting my headaches. Used 7 times with 100% success rate after ~10-15mins of use. Half of these were headaches I woke up to mid-sleep, not onsets. Haven’t used for a “monster attack” yet, just standard CHs. Intensity may matter considering sumatriptan nasal spray failed for my worst “monster.” (I have 3mg injectables in place of nasal spray, now, but have not used them). To repeat a common CH phrase: “best thing since sliced bread.” Really. I’m sure this is common, but now that I have a taste of O2 and sumatriptan, my tolerance of untreated attacks has gone way, way down. Haven’t had to use the 100%-O2 canisters yet but will be taking your advice and asking for larger canisters nonetheless.

I appreciate i am very late to this conversation but I just want to drop in that red bull is now a key part of my armoury the moment the dreaded knock kicks in. I will post a detailed synoptic of my experience in coming days but for anyone suffering right now, seriously consider taurine. To me it's a life saver but I do have to say we are all different and some of us have intolerances and other complications so do be conscious of your personal needs. But if you don't have an issue with caffeine and taurine give it a go. Pour on lots of ice and gulp it freezing cold so it hits the back of your throat which is the nearest you can get to your pituitary gland without poking a hole in yourself. The cold soothes the brain and the taurine does some magic and at least dulls the agony. X

I was a management consultant for many years. As I said to a former colleague the other day, ChatGPT is a better consultant than I ever was -- in less than a minute, and for free. I don't have grandchildren, but Chat is becoming like my grandkid, where I keep saying to others, "You'll never believe what Chat did today! Isn't this fantastic!?!" Still a bit of a jokester, though. I had it colorize an old black-and-white photo of my father the other day. Everything looked right, except that it was someone else's face! I pointed this out, and Chat said "Oh, gosh, you are right. Let's try that again." It did. A different face, still not my father's.

I'm loving my AI tools for web dev. My image assets, logo's and scripts are better than ever. You have to move with the tools because everybody else is...

Double barrel meow meows!!! All is rt with the world now

Sod off @jon019your mad as a hatter

....well, it's a given Shaun is quite batty, but as for myself...i am perfectly normal since the transplant...

@Craigoonly speaking the true my friend, we have to be mad to put up with this

Welcome, sorry you had to find us but glad you found CB. I had a chuckle at Shaun’s comment but I would agree we are a lovely but mad bunch. I am sure you’ll get the support you need here. I’d be another of the replies to encourage you to investigate the vitamin D3 anti-inflammatory regimen; has worked beautifully for me with eCH.

Hi all. I saw a post recently from a fellow CH warrior that designed and built a CH tracker app. Heres the link: https://clusterheadachetracker.com I believe it may be in beta test mode but love the ingenuity and skill in our amazing community.

Just spotted: A quick response Avatar update, with DOUBLE BARREL KITTIES - both shoulders! All is suddenly sooo doubly right in the avatar world, proof that AI can indeed be used for good.

Very late to the festivities here, but THE SHOULDER KITTY HAS CURRENTLY GONE MISSING FROM THE ACTUAL AVATAR, and needs to be restored there ASAP, right @BoscoPiko??!!

Of course! I think we can all agree that any and all help is appreciated! If there's anything I can do or say to help even one person with clusters, I'll certainly do what I can!

...ha!...plenty funny padre! you so far ahead of me i can't see your dust...i just throw some once in a while...

jon019 has about a fifth as many posts as I do here -- and the combined value of his posts is at least five times mine! i would advocate for proper tanks, including a large one -- your oxygen supplier is treating you like most of its other customers (COPD, etc.), who get small tanks for outside and a concentrator for inside, but they are, i am sure, legally required to give you what you need for ch. for some people a concentrator does "work," in that an attack is stopped. perhaps because it's first times using, and because you are smaller, you will get okay results from the concentrator, particularly if you combine it with some caffeine. but for reasons jon' gave, it's highly likely that you would always get better results from the tank. if you don't outrace the O2 supply at 15lpm, the "ClusterO2 Kit" mask might not make much of a difference for you, as long as you block any leakages from the nonrebreather.

I get what you mean. When you’re dealing with health issues or just trying to build a better routine, it’s crazy how small changes can completely shift the way you feel.