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Showing content with the highest reputation on 01/27/2019 in Posts

  1. Nikki, Injectable sumatriptan is a lot better than pills, which take way too long to work. A lot of people say that sumatriptan can cause rebound headaches. My neurologist told me to be careful how much of it I took, and offered me steroids for periods when I was using too much sumatriptan. Steroids like prednisone can be effective and give you a small break from the pain, but they have a lot of side effects that can add up over time. Your best bet, however, is oxygen. First identified in the 1960's as an effective abortive, oxygen is still under prescribed and under utilized for treating clusters. Over the years, the evidence suggests that higher flow rates are better. There is a ton of oxygen information on this site, but the quick version for you preparing to talk to your doctors is : at least 15-25 LPM, high-flow, 100% oxygen from a tank (not a concentrator) through a non-rebreathing mask. The conventional wisdom I have picked up from this board is that oxygen is so effective that you owe it to yourself to try it again. It doesn't work as well at lower flow rates, and can cause rebound headaches if not enough oxygen is consumed. It is essential to have high enough flow rates (15-25 LPM or more if that doesn't work) to abort an attack, and also to stay on oxygen (sometimes at a lower flow rate) for 5-10 minutes after the pain subsides. Just as important is the type of mask. You NEED a non-rebreather mask (the one with a reservoir bag on it. A nasal canula will not cut it. Don't let them talk you into a canula. Because the flow rates required to abort cluster headaches are so high, an oxygen concentrator will not be effective. They make oxygen out of the air in whatever room they are in, but do not deliver pure oxygen at a high enough flow rate. You are going to need oxygen in a tank. I hope this information helps you. I had to fight with my doctors and my oxygen supplier to get things set up properly, so hopefully you can head all of that trouble off before it happens. I still sometimes need flow rates higher than my medical regulators allow. During especially bad periods, I replace the medical flow regulator with a pressure regulator for welding. This allows me to dial in any flow rate I want. During these periods, I need about 36LPM, and only my pressure regulator can deliver that flow rate. Good luck to you.
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