Leaderboard

Finished

I've messaged a member of the Busters that has direct experience with some of these issues. Hopefully he will be by to connect...

He's off his head !!!!!!! @BoscoPiko

Each of us could have been looking a lot better after that way overdone rager of a booze fueled 'Survey Complete Partayyyy'. The last thing I remember is repeatedly shouting "I'M A CLUSTER BUSTING MICK JAGGER, MOTHERF**KERS!!!" while vigorously strutting in the middle of the highway - that was probably around the time law enforcement got involved.

Just completed survey, so if @Bejeebercan strut his thing so can I!!!!!!!

@Bejeeberthe strutting peacock

Royster, the redneck bag is great to get the O2 supply up to where you need it. One word of caution is do not advance set up the bags of O2. I have built many of them myself and was cautioned by Racer1_NC not to leave them lying around due to the possibility of an explosion: based on the possible leak of O2 that would raise the ambient O2 to a dangerous level. So, I would start filling a bag with O2 when I was downing my coffee. That gave the slow regulator time to start filling the bag so that I had plenty for each inhale. Then, when I was doing my 'post breathing', I would turn off the regulator and pull down the contents of the bag by breathing it. That keeps the environment safe. Storing the O2 in the bags is a bad idea. I strongly suggest that you do the same! The bin bag is not going to contain the O2 for a long time without it escaping into the atmosphere. That plastic is permeable. BE careful! So, suck it down and leave it empty until you have a hit to deal with. In your situation, I would leave the bag on between hits to save time and tubing. If you make the tube long, then you have plenty of room to pace. I don't recall reading if you are doing 'post breathing' or not? That is when you stay on the O2 and breathe normally when the pain is gone for another 5 minutes. The 'Y' connector that Racer showed you is a brilliant idea! That should offer a much better chance of killing a hit. So hang onto doing Post Breathing!! Additionally, many find that keeping some cold caffeine at the ready is a huge help. I do! Iced coffee in the fridge, as well as V8 Energy. Most find that cold is the best when hitting the caffeine. Some will take an ice cube and put it on the CH side, holding it on the palate as it melts. A bit less dramatic than your bucket dunk. BTW: When do you prep that bucket of ice? When the hit is starting? I would expect that you would do better to spend your ramp-up time huffing O2 as opposed to doing anything else! Thye faster you hit the O2, the better your chance of killing the hit. If you know when your first hit will come, then you can take evasive measures by downing some caffeine before the hit is expected. That can, at times, eliminate the first hit. One aborted before it starts is always a bonus! You can also put your feet or lower body into a shallow bath with very hot water. Add more hot water as you adjust to it or it cools down. Perhaps place some ice on your head. I use a cool washcloth as the 'cold' of ice is too much of a shock to my system, but others swear by it. The idea is to open the blood vessels of your lower body and reduce blood in the upper parts - mainly your head. Questions: Has O2 ever worked for you? Have you had an MRI of your noggin in the last 5 years? How does it feel to have a CH in the center of your head? When does it side-switch during a hit? That part of your description has me baffled. Yes, some do side switch during a cycle. Some have one cycle on one side and then another on the opposite side. But what you describe is different.

I so appreciate being able to come on here and talk through any concerns I’m having with my CH. it’s much easier than talking to family. My trip to Puerto Rico is 5 weeks away, and I wanted to go over my plan with you all to see if there is anything I should add, avoid, or improve. 2 weeks before my trip I plan on busting with MM at least twice. I also talked to my doctor about increasing my verapamil slightly. He told me it would be fine for the trip, since my blood pressure is good. He thinks I’m on too low of a dose anyway. I am on 80mg 3x per day currently. I do not have a way to get oxygen on the plane or at my destination; so I will have to do without. I am planning on loading on D3 and the cofactors a week before the trip. As for MM, a SPUT will be taken on the runway as well. I will be plenty hydrated and I’ll buy some Red Bulls before hand. I expressed to my doctor that my concern wasn’t so much getting hit on the plane (although that would SUCK), but mostly having multiple hits while on my vacation. He gave me a steroid taper he said I should take if I start to experience hits while over there. He also told me that could help with the flight back as well to avoid a hit. He also prescribed Xanax and Valium for the flight because he said any high stress leading to the morning of the flight would likely trigger an attack. Any thoughts here? The only nasal spray I have is the ergotamine. Much love to you all. My hope is I am pain free and I can start traveling and enjoying life again.

A small PS. I remember seeing a video about O2 use in which the guy was saying that the way that the Optimask/ClusterO2 Kit is built, when using high flows some O2 tends to leak from the back of the tube that the mask is attached to. As I remember it, he put his palm over that end of the tube while using it. That video is pretty old now, so it could be that that minor flaw has now been corrected.

Here's is one... If you are using a welding regulator, more than likely you have an unlimited flow rate available to you, so you'd not benefit from a demand valve's increased flow. Here is a post I made a while back explaining things: I hope this helps a little.

CHF, for many years I have done O2 breathing without benefit of O2. Think stuck in a store and trying to get out. Using the method I use with my O2 at home, I can hold off a hit for a while. With caffeine backup, I have aborted with this method. And I am referring to the hard exhale with a crunch and deep inhale portion. It really is a good skill to have for just about anywhere!

I think everything is well covered here. As I understand it, Batch's recommendation from 2017 is different from what he recommended in the 2011 post linked to by Siegfried. The 2017 one (which seems like it would seriously save O2) is here: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/4919-batchs-hyperventilation-red-neck-bag/ Here's what I understand him to be saying. (1) For 30 seconds, hyperventilate using room air. That's ten three-second deep inhale/full exhale events, deeply inhaling and forcibly exhaling during three seconds each time. He says, "On the tenth exhalation, hold the squeeze/crunch until your breath makes a wheezing sound for at least 3 seconds... or until you stop wheezing." (2) Then inhale a big lungful of O2 and hold it for 30 seconds, exhaling with a crunch. (3) Then do another 30 seconds of hyperventilating with room air, followed by another inhale of O2 that is held for 30 seconds and exhaled with a crunch. Although he's describing this in relationship to the "red neck bag," I assume there's no reason to think he wouldn't recommend it with an O2 tank and mask. You'd want your lpm setting to correlate with the one minute between inhales of O2, which I would think would mean that you could use a lower lpm setting. You should read fully what he says here and at the other post. I just found it a little difficult to figure out the basics, which is why I summarized them here. He says in the 2011 post that you should stand up while doing this, leaning against a wall. Doesn't say that here, so I don't know whether he still thinks it important or no longer does.