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Hey Pete! You now have the Cadillac of O2 masks! ! I use the mouthpiece.....full beard and mask don't play well together. ..lol...and yes, deep inhale. .hold while bag is refilling....mask or mouthpiece to the side. ..forcefully exhale with a mini crunch to get as much Co2 out as possible. ..repeat. If you get behind and the bags all the way full, rapidly inhale and exhale til the bag is empty....hold while bag refills. DD

I know I'm late to this party, but could it be an elongated shadow? Like, with as bad as pollen season is around all over, it might be that... Also I know for myself, that if I have a stuffed up nose, my head is going to RAGE.... So you might get some 4way nasal spray and try that on him. Sometimes it helps some people as it's a vasoconstrictor too.. I saw that tip a long long time ago, in a far away land, known as the CH.org forum. LOL. Some people attempted to abort with it if I remember correctly.... Just don't overuse it or you'll get a nasty set of rebound sinus congestion!

Hi Pete, What's currently working best for me..... Using a mouth tube (instead of mask) set at 15 lpm. Alternate deep breaths as the bag competely fills with gulps of ice water. I also try to exhale completely and hold the O2 in for a bit. weatherman

You have gotten great advice to which I can only add a little. I always hit the coffee on my way. Keep an iced cup in the fridge to minimize time. You want your flow rate high enough to support your breathing technique. The bag should fill for you so when you exhale you have enough to inhale deeply. I used to count breaths till abort and then count breaths to equal for post time. Then, i realized that I was breathing slower for post, so went to half. In other words, if it took 84 breaths to abort then I went 42 breaths post. Could not watch a clock. I am pretty sure this is covered in the link from CHF, but you dial back your flow rate to allow relaxed breathing post. I also second looking down at your feet! Good luck and congrats on getting some O2!! spiny

Hi Pete! Getting on the O2 as soon as possible makes aborting a hit faster...the higher the kip when you start huffing the longer it takes to abort in my experience. I hate energy shots and drinks so I use either coffee or hot tea....before I hit the rack, I have either a cup of joe or water in the microwave and a tea bag out of the wrapper....As soon as I wake. I start the microwave and hit the O2...When the bell goes off I grab the mug and drink it down as quickly as I can and get back on the O2. Last thing before Goin back to bed is getting a mug ready for the next go round. This is a link to a video a clusterbuster friend made recently. Breathing technique starts at the 2 min mark. DD https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=914873745253056&id=100001913188266&refid=12&__tn__=H

Pete -- Quick answers. Read more at https://clusterbusters.org/oxygen-information/ Minimum flow rate of 15lpm recommended. Higher seems even better. Best mask is the "ClusterO2 Kit": http://www.clusterheadaches.com/ccp8/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=clustero2kit Depends on what you mean by "a while," but probably yes, though it'll probably take longer. Downing an energy shot or energy drink at the first sign of an attack, just before you get on the O2, helps lots of people. You could do that as you head for your O2. The general recommendation is to stay on roughly as long as it took you to abort the attack, but many people say 5-10 minutes. Two tips that are not in the document I referred you to: (1) Look down toward your feet as you use the O2; (2) After each inhale, hold the O2 in your lungs for a couple of seconds before you forcefully exhale.

Just a couple of notes on MG's fabulous post. You don't want to use those injectable abortives (Imitrex, typically) if you are also busting, and you don't want to use any of the preventive doctor meds, either -- except possibly verapamil but probably not that, either -- if you are busting. They make busting ineffective (we generally believe). And staying on the O2 after an attack has been aborted, for at least 5-10 minutes, helps some people ward off subsequent attacks.