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This post might be helpful as you consider welding O2. Notes about welding O2 - ClusterBuster Files - ClusterBusters

Welcome to the community @danawright65, but sorry you had the need to join us! Unfortunately, when you have to deal with getting a (correct) script from a doc, and then deal with O2 suppliers, it can be difficult!!! My solution in 2007 was the procurement of a welding ox setup.....I paid $300 for a large ( 4 ft tall by 9 in diameter) cylinder, $50 for a welding ox regulator, and $25 for a clusterO2 mask from our sister site clusterheadache dot com. And I pay $23 for a refill/exchange. Now for the drawbacks.....cylinders this size are really heavy and difficult to move around, and you can't let the welding supplier know that you intend to breathe it. Same O2....the only difference is that med ox tanks go thru a vacuum process prior to refill. Dallas Denny

For an overall guide, you might look here: Basic non-busting information - ClusterBuster Files - ClusterBusters. At the end of that file is the same concise description of busting that appears under the button "New Users -- Please Read Here First" near the top of each page. ("Busting" -- using psychedelic substances to treat CH -- is the reason this site was created, but we cover everything you might need to know if busting doesn't appeal to you.) This is most definitely NOT how your life will be!! CH is manageable. Craigo has told you many of the ways (all discussed at the above link). Your overuse of the rizatriptan is understandable, but it is also almost certainly worsening your attacks and extending your cycle. OXYGEN is a necessity. (And rizatriptan is probably fifth or sixth among triptans in effectiveness for CH. I'm gonna say that by throwing meds at it and (as far as we can see from what you've said) not prescribing what works best, your doctor probably isn't great. A headache center is best if you can get to one (but many people here only see doctors now for filling the prescriptions they know they need, such as oxygen, and getting tests for the D3 regimen). Did you get relief at the ER? If so, what were you given there? A lot of people worry that they have become chronic. It's at least 90% likely that you have not. You are going to be okay. You might get the kind of fabulous preventive effects that Craigo and others (even people with chronic CH) have gotten, so that you are actually pain-free for long periods -- years, even -- but even if you aren't that successful, you will know how to manage your cycles and your attacks so they do not define your life.

Hey Erick. It's not strange at all - I get it, we get it - I actually travelled from New Zealand to Dallas this September just to meet other cluster headache patients. We hear you, we see you. Welcome and I am sorry that you find yourself in the midst of a particularly tough cycle. 1-2 a week would be nice, 3-7 a day is more in tune with my cycles which run annually Nov-Mar. I would say this isn't your life now and there are options available to you and you are in the right place to learn about those. There are 3 types of therapies for CH, abortive, bridging and preventative. For the abortive I hear your thoughts re triptans, they come with side effects, you can only use so many within a 24 period and they can cause rebound attacks. I would recommend investigating high flow oxygen via a non-rebreathable mask like the cluster o2 kit or looking into a DMT vape pen (there is a recent thread on this from one of our active members maybe worth checking out). Once you find you are able to abort effectively and quickly you'll hopefully find you get a bit less dread and anxiety for the next attack. Bridging therapies are used temporarily to offer relief whilst you wait for a preventative therapy to start working, sometimes a short tapered course of prednisone is enough to break a cycle or buy you 10-14 days pain free bliss and hopefully when you taper off, a preventative medication has started to work. You haven't mentioned what preventative meds have tried, you could share that info - perhaps we could offer our thoughts. I would just leave you with my experience being that I am now in the 10th season of successfully preventing my CH using the patient led treatment protocol the Vitamin D3 Anti-Inflammatory Regimen for Cluster Headache. If you immediately thought yeah, right - tell me another one then I'd encourage you to put that preconception to the side and just learn a little more to see if it resonates with you. It has been so effective for me I consider myself lucky but I am one of thousands since circa 2011 that has seen similar benefit. I also like that it is natural, safe (when followed as documented), accessible and affordable - I buy the supplements for less than $1 USD per day. www.vitamindregimen.com or I am sure you will find the protocol here on this site as well. There is the option of busting and I am sure others would be able to offer solid advice over and above the resources available on this amazing website. Importantly hang in there man, I hope pain free days are around the corner for you - this will pass. PFW, Craig.