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I remember getting a cluster flying to South America. I asked for ice and the flight attendant brought me a nice big bag of it and that did the trick. How about taking some energy shots with you?

Hey BoscoPiko, Cluster headaches are very sensitive to serum oxygen concentrations. If the partial pressure of arterial oxygen (PaO2) drops below a given threshold as it will when flying at a cabin pressure equal to 7,000 feet altitude (2100 meters) in most commercial airliners, PaO2 will drop by 30%. This opens the door to the CH beast jumping real ugly. The same thing happens when we sleep as our respiration rate is as low as it can get while we're alive. The low respiration rate also causes an increase in the partial pressure of arterial CO2 (PaCO2). The combination of low arterial oxygen and high arterial CO2 makes for a perfect storm occurring as most of you know, one to two hours after falling asleep. If you're an episodic CHer in cycle or chronic and need to fly, take a couple Imitrex (Sumatriptan Succinate) 50 mg tabs an hour prior to takeoff and carry an Imitrex inhaler or Imitrex SC injection pen during flight. If you're a CHer maintaining a CH pain free status taking a vitamin D3 maintenance dose of 10,000 IU/day and cofactors, take a 100,000 IU loading dose of vitamin D3 24 to 36 hours prior to the flight. The following chart illustrates the changes in vitamin D3 and 25(OH)D3 serum concentrations following a single oral dose of 100,000 IU vitamin D3. Take care and keep your immune system boosted with vitamin D3. V/R, Batch

My and the missus flown from UK to Mexico, Jamacia ,Mauritius ,Maldives which we're all over 9 hour flights , all flight we're when out of cycle as I won't fly when in cycle . I got hit once when we flow to Mexico , my missus is very cautious when we fly and always make sure I travel with triptan injections so when I got hit I injected aborted the attack , I was worried the flight had brought on a cycle but it hadn't we landed and we we're able to enjoy are holiday

I've been hit on a flight and was lucky enough that visiting the lavatory was allowed right then (I went in and administered an imitrex injection). Besides the SPUTs CHfather mentioned, I've also brought, or purchased in one of the stores after going thru security, an energy shot to have right in a pocket at all times, ready to deploy in an instant (without having to go dig it out of any carry on). Then in the other pocket, a nasal sumatriptan. This may not be the case w/you, I know, but some CH'ers have been under the mistaken impression that you're supposed to do a strong snort, or any kinda snort when deploying one of the triptan nasals. This can make it end up dripping back down the throat some, and blech. That's not so likely to occur though when doing it all proper-like, where you just shoot the SOB up the shnoz, no snortsy.

...consider a Zomig NS trial....have never experienced any of the nasty side effects that are so common with Suma. and while not typically a prevent...an oral triptan prior to a WAY uphill/downhill jaunt might be worth a try...

.....oh it's so random sometimes...rapid barometric pressure changes were sure triggers for me...so plane travel was initially petrifying. but, must have flown a dozen times in cycle w/o ever getting hit...carried a Zomig NS and later several 2oz 5-hr energy type energy drinks (TSA ok) just in case. likely the stress of travel protective as stress was a "prevent" for me.. .....utilized Lincare's travel program with great success to OK, NV, CA and WA...either e-tanks delivered to hotel or self pick-up at the O2 store....DON'T FORGET the regulator and your best mask....did that once (and ONLY once) and my brother had to MacGyver both (pre the redneck O2 reservoir bag knowledge).. ....traveling to altitude most of those times (7-10,000 ft Ebbetts Pass/Bear Valley area)...the O2 vital as would get hit while there... but not the trip up and down...

The only carry-on oxygen allowed on US flights is a portable oxygen concentrator. Battery-powered, I don't think they go much higher than 6 - maybe 8 lpm. A lot of hoops to jump through for that -- doctor's letter, advance notice to the airline . . . Policies vary airline to airline. You can rent them for travel. I don't think the airline, at least on a domestic flight, will provide you anything more powerful than that to treat an attack. You can carry on empty cylinders or check them in baggage. You can have cylinders available to you at places you go to, through your O2 supplier or if not, through other suppliers. Of course, you can bring abortive pharma meds on board, and energy drinks (I think they usually sell Red Bull). Many people here have reported success with a SPUT (small piece/(amount) under the tongue) of seeds or M. I suppose maybe L would work, too. I feel like (though this just might be the way it seemed to me) not many years ago, a flight for someone in cycle seemed to practically guarantee getting hit. Now it seems less certain. As I say, that might just be how I was reading posts. Similarly, I don't think there's much risk of an attack for someone who is definitely out of cycle -- but again, people will correct me if I am wrong about that.

i have had success asking the flight attendant to provide me with the emergency oxygen that they carry on board and just tell them it is for a neurological condition ...you have to have your own regulator and mask though to make it work

This is good to know... Maybe that's what I have been doing wrong?? My Neuro told me to plug one side and sniff hard when administering it goes down my throat and I cant help but up chuck.. Then I get a nasty nose bleed...

...oh that is golden!!! there is a definite technique that can make a huge difference. my best result was a gentle inhale (short of a snort)....if it drips out the inhale not enough, if a nasty taste and need to swallow then too much and the effectiveness very poor. a liitle blech being normal...... tis a bitch to learn this thru experience

Thanks Jon, I get a bit leery even when just going to our other home in Truckee as I've gotten hit nearly every time on the climb up but I was always in cycle so maybe I just need to be 100% out prior to travel. I do carry the nasal sumatriptan in my back pack (everywhere I go) I just hate taking it as i get instantly sick (toss anything in my tummy and bad nose bleed)... Not so sexy... I will have to look up Lincares travel program. Thank you!

I would check with your French oxygen supplier and see whether they can arrange O2 in the US, at least temporarily. I know that some companies will do that for people with US prescriptions traveling outside the US. As Freud says, you might want to get welding oxygen, which is used by some percentage of people with CH. Since you probably never have had to look into that, here's is a link to a post about welding O2. https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/5627-notes-about-welding-o2/ (There's info there about regulators and masks, too.) If he has some written documentation that he has CH (ideally, in English), it might be possible to go to an urgent care place in the US and get an O2 prescription. Certainly it seems that would be feasible with a "regular" doctor or a neurologist at a headache center. Once you have the prescription, as Freud says, you can usually get O2 and self-pay without insurance coverage. One quibble with Freud -- I don't think you can get a filled welding tank, or any large tank, at Harbor Freight. I could be wrong about that as a generalization -- it was true of the two HF stores I went to. But wherever you end up there are likely to be welding supply stores and places like Home Depot that rent and refill tanks. Finally . . . You might take a look around this board for information about the Vitamin D3 regimen. It might not be familiar to you/him, and it has been very beneficial for large numbers of people. The basics are in here, starting on the fifth page (the second page 2): https://vitamindwiki.com/tiki-download_wiki_attachment.php?attId=7708 Others can fill you in on nuances. This thread seems to cover a lot of the bases: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/7417-ditch-the-benadryl/?tab=comments#comment-71582

More Countrypolitan, well this was contemporary country music, the early 90s the beginning of the demise of all country music, Garth Brooks and Allan Jackson is to blame for that. Anyway, I still like this video and song b/c if you pay attention it has the early gen/heydey of the bump and run/wide open NASCAR, Davey Allison, Ricky Rudd (taping his eyeballs open) Rusty Wallace, Waltrip, car. And Lori was flipping gorgeous. More contemporary and a Texan, Clay Walker Rhett Atkins That Ain't My Truck (I know a lot besides myself who know this all too well). Mark Wills Jacobs Ladder Y’all City Slickers had Britney Spears us country bumpkins crushed on Lilla Mccann. My parents were much too conservative to allow me to watch anything but GAC or CMT

1 of the best club tunes ever

I appreciate and respect your approach, and it is one that I take. Keeping my baseline headache in check prevents migraine, preventing migraine appears to prevent the Cluster Headaches. That stated if limited by a formulary, you are footing the bill, and most can't afford that. While not scientific, by following that logic I have about eliminated my Cluster attacks. Best of luck, it's a matter of process, experimentation, and trial & error (never exact). I wish someone could explain how to eradicate the incessant exhaustion associated with CFS/FMS on the sidebar.

This is new to me, and not much gets past me unless it is corporate radio post-2008. The video had me in flashbacks t%#. I don't know about anyone else. I hope it's safe to say that. I'm just being honest.