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Welcome Kay, We think so very much of our supporters!! They truly are hero's. It is a very tough job. The Trex (sumatriptan) shots are the fastest working med that is prescribed.However, it does carry it's drawbacks. Usually patients are only prescribed 9 12 per month, which does not cover all the hits a CHer will have in a month. There is a way that they can be split into 2 or 3 doses and that is a big help. Now, bear in mind that trex is hard on the heart and can cause issues if over used. When they prescribe it, it appears that they are thinking migraine = 5-10 hits a month. As you know CH can be 5-10 hits a day!! Oxygen is the number one abortive out there. It must be used with a non-rebreather mask with a flow rate of at least 15lpm. Many need 25lpm at times. The most important thing to know is that he must exhale fully and hard, then inhale deeply, hold for a few seconds and then repeat. AND stay on the O2 breathing at a normal rate for about 5 minutes after the pain is gone. This way he will get an hour or more of PF (pain free) time between hits. Just breathing in and out will not do the trick. He needs to get all the CO2 out of his system. Ergo, the deep forceful exhale. The bag on his mask should re-fill while he is holding and exhaling so there is no delay getting another breath. Some people prefer the breathing tube over a mask due to face pain. And never strap the mask on in case he falls asleep and all his O2 gets wasted. There is mask available from our sister site for about 30.00 that is the best. The main reason that O2 fails for some patients is they do not receive proper instruction on how to use it. Initially he may be hyperventilating due to the pain, so just continue that until relief begins! Many, if not most of us have had to teach our Neuro's how O2 should be used!! Is he on a preventative like Verapamil? That is the most commonly prescribed and successful preventative out there. Cher's normally require very high doses. Say about 900mg a day. It is started at lower doses and increased over time. Blood Pressure needs to be monitored, as Verap will lower it. Often a 'bridging' med like Prednisone is given for about a week to help calm the CH while the Verap is building up. Pred is not to be taken long term. It can destroy his hips and even shoulders. So, minimal use to get something else working. It works so fast at the beginning It seems to be an angel. But that angel can really hurt him in the long run. If you look at the top of the main page, you will see about 6 listings for the forum. General, Share Your Busting Stories, Theory and Implementation, etc. The one that you want is the Clusterbuster Files. Start reading there. It has a great file on O2 use. Read it. Get him to read a printout too if possible. It also covers a lot of other stuff. Also in that file you will find a topic called the D3 Regimen. Just regular vitamins you can buy anywhere. It is for inflammation and has proven to be a big help for many of us. Lowers the intensity of the hits and slows the ramp -up time to give him a bigger window to hit the other stuff. Some have gotten PF just from that routine!! I strongly suggest that he try it for at least a month! Busting is a procedure he may want to try at a later date. The materials used are not tested for with a standard 'drug' test. And they clear out of your system in hours. They are generally looking for opioids and pot, not LSA seeds or Magic Mushrooms. Both will clear out of his system in a matter of no more than three days. There are ways to mitigate a hit or prevent it with common Energy drinks or Energy Shots. Even coffee is a huge help. Slam it down at the first sign of a hit. Most people like it really cold and use the shots because they are small and easy to transport. I use strong coffee kept in the fridge in the summer months. He should grab one on his way to the O2. He can take Melatonin (9-25mg) at night. That helps many. I take caffeine pills every day at 5pm for night time hits. Got sick of coffee and Energy Shots make me sick. Most of us find that the caffeine does not keep us up at night either. Weird, but true. Some people put an ice cube on the soft palate of the CH side and hold it there for relief. This is just a start. More info will provided by members as they read your thread. Thanks for being a great supporter!!! ATB spiny

HI Kay, your husband can beat this or he can find much needed relief. Tell him that there are people just like me who "feel his pain" and who are praying for him. Hopefully your husband has access to good doctors where you are. The moderators who have chimed in are wonderful, smart, caring people who have great experience and knowledge to share. Winter never fails to turn to spring. There will be relief and happiness. Hang in there.

Nice to wake up on a Saturday morning and see that the amazing spiny has already done what needed doing. This is the file about splitting Imitrex injections: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/2446-extending-imitrex/ This the mask she referred to: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/ccp8/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=clustero2kit This is an alternative approach to using oxygen, not requiring a higher-flow regulator or the special mask, that has worked well for many: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/4919-batchs-hyperventilation-red-neck-bag/ With more effective oxygen, the D3 regimen, and the other strategies spiny mentioned (energy shot, melatonin), things should get a lot better. FWIW, the agents used for busting don't show up on any standard drug-testing panels. In the file about LSA, you'll see that the seeds are legal to purchase and legal to possess. He could also try kudzu root, which is 100% legal and has been shown to be quite effective.