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You guys amaze me - but don't surprise me at all. When this first hit me I'd truly never felt so alone and helpless against it's fury. I had what I'm sure are the same thoughts as everyone else here, no one has ever felt this level of pain. No one. No one will understand. They will look at me like the asshole doctor at the ER did, clearly thinking I was faking or exaggerating in some way to get pain meds, etc. (I could have absolutely decked him when he said "well you'll just have to deal with it I guess"). While I wouldn't wish this on anyone knowing there are others who do understand and WANT to help is amazing. Thanks for the links to the O2 study, already printed. I'll print everything CHFather posted so I don't forget any of it (seriously, amazing post). As for a quick update on me - I haven't had an attack in 3.5 days, the longest before was 2.5 - they've been getting further and further spaced since they started with the duration of "level 10" screaming pain shortening each time (last was right at an hour, first attack 10 days ago was 5+ hours of screaming). I did start the D3 regimen right after my last attack so I'm not sure if the D3 regimen is 'working' or if they are just naturally spacing apart. Is that common? Does it mean anything - or just is what it is? Tomorrow morning is the PA at the neurologist so I'm just hopeful I don't have an attack tonight and they give me O2 without a fight. Again thanks so much for all your time and wisdom, had to say what it means. ~Ross

Exigeous, Correct, as Spiny mentions. O2 toxicity is only a risk at higher pressure than sea level PPO (partial pressure of oxygen) - SCUBA Diving. The only real risk at sea level or lower pressures is alveoli collapse in your lungs, (Those are the sacks that transfer Oxygen to your bloodstream and extract CO2 from your blood) but that's only a risk if staying on O2 for very long periods of time. This is due to Nitrogen washout. Nitrogen washout in the lungs can be prevented by simply taking a breath of regular air every 20 to 30 minutes when breathing 100% O2. That adds enough Nitrogen back to your lungs for proper function for a very long time. Definitely O2 is the #1 abortive. There's no side effects and it's much safer than ANYTHING the doc can give you. Cheers, J