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I do not use insurance to get my oxygen. I just got the prescription from my neuro and took that to a medical supply store that sells oxygen. For me you can buy a small tank for 120 dollars, I live in Texas. Once you have your first tank, you can exchange the empty one for a new one for 20 dollars. I am sitting on a very comfortable 8 tanks at the moment. Is it expensive to start? yes. Is it worth it? yes. Oxygen saved my life.5 points
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G'evenin @Sub. I've been huffing weld ox for close to 20 years now. So, weld ox has got to be contam free or the welds won't be good......if an O2 supplier deals in both med and weld ox, both types of cylinders are filled from the same spigot......med tanks are vacuumed prior to filling while weld ox cylinders just get a "sniff" test. Costs are going to vary depending on location......when I began using it in Texas I was able to lease a large (48" tall x 9" dia) cylinder but sorry, I'm old and don't recall pricing.....when I moved to Okla I had to purchase my rig.....$300 for a full cylinder the same size as above, $50 for a weld ox regulator from Harbor Freight (last time I checked they were up to $75), and $25 for the clusterO2mask from ch dot com, and refills/exchanges were $23 ( it's been 4 years since it was refilled so not sure about current pricing. The cons: You can't tell them you're gonna breathe it....you're taking up glass blowing as a hobby or selling minnows....their biz is selling welding stuff so they really don't care....the 2 I've dealt with didn't ask me anything. As I said, no Idea what you'll run up against trying to source it in your part of the country. Hope this helps...any questions just fire away! Dallas Denny5 points
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Greetings to all thanks @Dallas Denny and hey @jimmyogden, great to hear the headaches are better- that is the main signal and a drop in attack frequency even without full remission is a signal the regimen is doing its job. Hopefully with a few tweaks you could get more improvement. First, @snafu is spot on about the fatty meal. D3 is fat soluble, so a capsule taken midday on an empty stomach can leave a chunk of it unabsorbed. Moving it to right after a meal with some healthy fat is a single easy change and on its own it may lift your numbers. On the 56 to 52 reading, I would not read too much into the drop. Most D assays carry a 10 to 15 percent margin of error, so 56 and 52 are effectively the same result. You are sitting stable in the low 50s on 25,000iu a day, and that is useful to know. The question is less why is it not increasing and more how do you push it up. Before I suggest anything I know Batch would ask for a few numbers: What was your baseline 25(OH)D before you loaded? What was your total loading dose (the standard 600,000 over 12 days, or something else)? Roughly your body weight or BMI? D distributes through body fat. If you can get them, your PTH and calcium (albumin corrected) from a recent panel. That's some private info so feel free to tell me to piss off or rather DM or whatever you are comfortable with. With baseline and total load you can work out roughly how many ng/ml you gained per 100,000iu and from there how much more you need to reach 80 to 100ng/ml. Options to consider, in the rough order I would try them: Switch to a nano-emulsion or micro D3 drop. These bypass a lot of the GI absorption bottleneck, so you get more into your blood per unit. If absorption is your limiter, this moves you without raising the dose much. Where are you located, perhaps can find a link to suitable product. A partial top up load. As a rough rule of thumb, 100,000iu units shifts serum about 10ng/ml. To go from low 50s to the 80 to 100ng/ml band you are likely looking at something around 300,000, taken over a few days the way you did the original load. For context, that is not an extreme number. Renu Mahtani used 600,000iu loads across her psoriasis case series of around 90 patients, with some staying on 30,000iu a day or more until clinical remission and adjusting from there. And here in NZ, Starship runs stoss therapy at a single 600,000iu dose for deficient kids aged 5 to 18. So an extra 300,000 spread over a few days sits well inside what is done clinically. That said, you would want to see your PTH and calcium and hopefully are able to discuss with your doctor A short course of calcifediol instead of cholecalciferol, then back to D3. Calcifediol is already a step down the activation pathway, so it raises 25(OH)D faster and more reliably, handy if absorption is the issue. A short run could lift you into range, then you revert to normal D3 for maintenance. Hope that is of some help there mate, again - feel free to DM. Cheers, Craig.3 points
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If you found a medical oxygen company that would service your area and it is just the insurance that is not approving ask about out of pocket payment. I do not use insurance to pay for my oxygen and it is actually cheaper for me paying out of pocket. Still need a script from the doc tho.3 points
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I was on Verapamil for about 10 years, got all the way up to 1080 a day and it sucks. Tapering myself down little at a time and I am now off all together. The higher dose did help with the clusters but like CHfather said above the vitamin D3 along with some other things has helped me get to the same place without the side effects. I did it on my own and told the doctor at each visit I went to what I was dong. He was not a fan but as long as I took it slow he said it should be fine. Doctors go to school for years learning things, I have only watched a few hundred hours of MASH, almost the same thing...3 points
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Thanks to all that responded to my post in Theory and Implementation, some how deleted the post when responding. Think my head isn’t firing on all cylinders. I will continue to read and follow along for now. Foggy head and tired Cheesehead in Wisconsin :|2 points
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DMT use in Cluster Headache: Interim Analysis of an International Survey (S23.003) | Neurology "Among those who used DMT to abort attacks (n = 85), the majority reported it completely eliminates pain (67.5%) and that it works every (45.7%) or almost every (35.8%) single time. Over half reported that DMT worked in under 30 seconds, and all participants reported either no change or an improvement in their health with DMT use."2 points
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Sorry for the long absents. I have been busy at work. I have increased magnesium to 800 a day a couple weeks ago with no side affects. (Should have mentiond that). After reading what you had responded with at the beginning I increases my vitamin d to 25000 per day. After about 3 days I went into remission I believe. Not sure if it was natural cycle or the increase. Regardless the vitamin d regimen greatly helped lower my pain levels this time. Only wished I would have tried it several years ago. Thank everyome here for there help, knowledge, and resources.2 points
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Hi Amy, I'm sorry this migraine board has been pretty inactive - I'm just a clusterhead responding here who has a general impression that while some CH treatments such as oxygen are ineffective for migraine, the CH alternatives mentioned below can work for migraine, and hopefully(?) vestibular migraine (it's sudden dropping sensation symptom in particular sounds horrible). Busting info is found at the blue "New Users" bar at top of page https://clusterbusters.org/forums/announcement/7-new-users-please-read-here-first/ And the D3 Regimen is known to be effective for migraine: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/1308-d3-regimen/ These knuckleheads CH'ers @Dallas Denny, @CHfather, @Craigo are just a few of the CH regulars here who know a lot about this stuff, and who may have further input, so I'm tagging them, thinking they might be alerted to this topic that could otherwise be missed.2 points
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Hey again there @jimmyogden sure thing. Again I am just a patient that read a few too many studies and followed Batch's work so please take my commentary as exactly that but... reference ranges vary slightly by laboratory, most common ones are: Serum calcium: 8.6 to 10.2 mg/dL (2.15 to 2.55 mmol/L). Your result was 9.0 mg/dL. Intact PTH: 15 to 65 pg/mL (some labs use 10 to 65 or 16 to 77 pg/mL). Yours - 47 pg/mL. If Pete were active I am confident he would say thats a green light to take another loading as your PTH is relatively high and your calcium on the lower side of mid-range. The risk of issue with a further loading dose is minimal and the benefit of further CH improvement is a goal worth aiming for IMHO. But even increasing to 25,000iu per day for some time I am sure you will see an improvement. I am remiss that I did not mention magnesium in my original reply albeit just made a presumption that you were getting the 400mg or as much as tolerable. Whilst some would say its used up in the conversion of vitamin D3 through its various forms, I know as much as to say it is a necessary cofactor in those enzymatic reactions but just like the starter motor in your car, it isn't consumed each time you turn over the engine but you do need sufficient amounts of magnesium as you increase the demand on the liver to convert the vitamin D3 into its storage form 25(OH)D - the form we measure in the lab test. Anyway good luck take care keep us posted.2 points
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Hi community, I had cluster headaches for 20 yrs from the age of 15 to the age of 35. I went numerous times to the doctor looking for a diagnosis including to the emergency dept to find out what was going on.No one could give me answers.So I ended up self medicating,with ac and c.Whenever an attack was occurring within minutes or seconds I would take the ac and c.Yes I would get some pain at the beginning of the attack but 20 minutes after taking the medication the pain would start to go away,then I could resume my life but being still exhausted after the attack was over. My last attack was unbearable at the age of 35 no ac and c would work,so after about 20 hours into the attack I decided to try and run this attack off.I ran for a good straight hour.I came home exhausted laid down in my bed fell asleep.Woke up and it was gone forever so far,29 years and counting.But I started cycling daily not long after my last attack 20km a day for years.Im still in remission after 29 yrs Horrah!!! Hope my story helps someone out there that is suffering with this condition.The pain there are no words to describe it.2 points
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@Sub I agree with DD, easy to get, just a little cost up front. The other pro, you own everything so it is there for you when ever you need it, no fighting with health insurance companies. I have had mine for about ten years, have not had to use it in four. But it doesn’t go bad it worked just as good after 4 years. There are Tractor Supplies in your state, that’s where I go. Tank was in the $350 range with exchanges about $60 depending on what size tank you can handle. Don’t worry they don’t want to know for most part, but any excuse will work. Most people in retail are busy just trying to make it through their shift.2 points
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Hey there Jimmy. I would say you sound like you have been doing the reading and I reackon you are onto something with the D3 regimen down year round along with intermittent preventative busts and hopefully it never comes. As for diet, there was that small ketogenic study - I just don't know about caveman diet, by that I presume you mean meat - and meat alone, I am not sure that the microbes in your colon would thank-you for that and I suspect in time we might see that the state and composition of the microbiome influences the disease in ways we currently don't understand. I am one for the D3 regimen year round and 3-4 monthly busting (more so than ever now given a recent 16 day cycle was aborted with the MM - 2nd dose). If only there was a magic prescription of things we could do to guarantee ourselves no cycles would come but thats currently a well-wish, best we can do is - as you say, stock up and implement those things that are tried, tested and true as per the community, be that traditional or alternative treatments. I think you'd be hard pressed to find a more definitive guide that Bob Wolds Pocket Guide as a resource of most all treatments, last time I looked. Worth having a look if you have not done so before! Cheers and all the best. Craigo.2 points
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Well, I'll tell you something -- the hobby horse is definitely somebody's hobby horse. See this amazing Wikipedia entry and you will fascinate your friends at parties and on fishing boats with hobby horse information for years to come. Hobby horse - Wikipedia Here are just a few of the spellbinding facts you will be able to report. For example, you could say, "Yep, pardner, fishin's quite a hobby, by gum. Hey, that reminds me! Did you know ...." A May-Day procession including a Teaser, a Fool, and a Hobby Horse that tries to capture women under its skirts features in the climactic scenes of the 1973 British cult-horror flick The Wicker Man. From the term "hobby horse" came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favourite pastime", and in turn, the modern sense of the term hobby.[63] The term is also connected to the draisine, a forerunner of the bicycle, invented by Baron Karl von Drais. In 1818, a London coach-maker named Denis Johnson began producing an improved version, which was popularly known as the "hobby-horse".[64] The artistic movement, Dada, is possibly named after a French child's word for hobby horse.[65] The term is also nautical. A vessel that is pitching forward and backward into the sea harmonically is said to be hobby horsing.2 points
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Thanks @Bejeeber. I would refer to the earlier posts I have shared on this migraine forum in respect my evolving understanding and views of both CH and migraine and the related alternative treatments as to the options that the OP may find worthy of her investigation; not much has changed from my side. @Amy R, welcome and glad to have you join. I would ask what alternative treatment your friend tried and found success with; whether using psychedelics or the vitamin D3 regimen, both popular alternative treatments you will find well discussed on the CH forums. It is only my personal view as a CH patient and someone who tries to read as much as I can about headache research that there is an evolving literature suggesting a correlation with gut health / microbial dysbiosis and migraine. Whether this is applicable to your migraine type I could not offer comment although I would say that the vitamin D3 regimen and psilocybin in more recent literature are both shown to shift the microbial landscape in the GI tract towards a less inflammatory profile, reducing systemic inflammatory burden and this may be a contributory pathway that correlates to some of the improvements we see in CH - the jury is still out. I would encourage you to check out the resources relating to the regimen either here or at www.vitamindregimen.com - download the guides or watch the videos and see if it is something that resonates with you to explore further. One thing that cannot hurt is having a baseline 25(OH)D vitamin D lab test to see what your level is. As for the approach of busting for migraine, I would only say that my recent experience using psilocybin for CH was both successful and an incredibly fruitful experience for my soul, and as to whether the emotional release of the medicine (only a 1g dose at 5 day intervals) had anything to do with its prophylaxis for my CH cycle is again not something I can offer any literature to support but certainly for me it felt that way. I anticipate to continue with this quarterly as a preventative strategy and spiritual / tension release alongside my continued commitment to staying on the vitamin D3 regimen year round for CH prevention and overall good health, fingers crossed. Another thing I have found recently to try and release tension and relax a bit more has been to do 2 or 3 TRE exercises per week in the evenings before bed. Strange, funky, odd - not something I would have normally tried had my odd sibling not suggested but weirdly and entirely relaxing! Every time we do these my wife is lights out within 5 or 10 minutes. I have found myself a little more relaxed so far. It is off topic to share this and I apologise but here is a video that explains it! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoB9wpuO688 Hope that is of some value, I feel like I have drifted - and its very much a post from the lens of a CH patient not versed in your specific migraine type thus treat with caution and make of it what you will. Wishing you well on the journey of discovery, hoping you find your answers. Cheers, Craigo.1 point
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I have had migraines since I was about 8 years old. Sometimes status migrainous and a trip to the ER, or a hospital stay. In my 40s I developed cluster headaches. The first four years I had them I did not go anywhere, because much like my migraines, I can not wear anything including jewelry because everything feels like it is constricting o2 and blood flow. Also I can't stand light or motion. I had written about it in a journal where I simply referred to the headache as brain pain. A week long event. The first time I went to the hospital for the headaches they mistook it for Ocipital Neuralgia. I was admitted to the hospital and seen by many specialists. The Neurologist was able to diagnose it as Cluster Headaches. Since then I was on things like o2, Emgality, Injectable Sumatriptan, ketorolac, etc... Anyway my Dr at a pain clinic sent me to a headache specialist, pain doctor. That doctor gave me (probably misspelled) Sphenopalatine Gnangalion Blocks. A catheter injection thru the nostrils. He also gave me over time more than a few ketamin infusions. My headaches are in remission right now. I am truly blessed and thankful. I am not so disolusioned to believe that my headaches are gone. But it's been 5, 6, years without migraines or clusters. (Though this year I have had 3 migraines, not as bad as it could be. Here is to hoping that I get another year off, from clusters and status migrainous1 point
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@Craigo Thank you for your reply. I will def order some drops. Here is my info you requested. Again thank all of you for the help. Baseline before loading was 32 normally for me Loading was the 50000 daily for one week and 40000 daily for one week Body weight is about 230 Calcium 9.0 PTH, intact 47 pg,ml I have currently imcreased my vitamin D to 25000 units per day1 point
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I have also seen on Craigslist and other facebook free stuff type places people getting rid of empty tanks they have from older family members that passed away or just found in the garage. I grab them and add them to the mix for getting refilled. I figured if they are bad the refill place will know and trash them. It just adds tot he supply chain if they are good.1 point
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You need to be checked out for something besides clusters. Like today, like right now!1 point
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you can fight the insurance company, of course. i suspect they are legally required to cover it. it is said that a "certification of medical necessity" from your doctor will help. Tractor Supply could be a very good source. Google something like "welding oxygen" or "industrial gas suppliers." Many people use other big national suppliers, such as Airgas and Linde. You can look them up, too. this might help as you consider welding o2. Notes about welding O2 - ClusterBuster Files - ClusterBusters1 point
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Have a question. My cycle this year has been weird. Luckily I only get one every 3 years. They have lasted anywhere from 1 month to 6 months. This is the lightest cycle as far as pain Ive had. I am 7 weeks into it. Havent had a full blown ch in almost 3 weeks. I started the vitamin d regiment 3 weeks ago. Just took my second round of emgailty. Now for the question. My cycle usually gets real sporadic then is just gone one morning. This time I am still having constant shadows of about a 3. But atleast twice a day I have one that will spike to a 6 or so. O2 if I am home will stop it. My question I guess is the emgality and vitamin d just masking the bad pain and I am still in full cycle or is it actually trying to taper down and end. I have had a few days here and there I woulda bet they were gone and everything felt normal. Also Ive noticed any pressure such as a pillow on the back of my head will set off a headache this time.1 point
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Hi Friends, I'm 53, my CH began at 37. I get them about every 12-18 months for about 4-8 weeks. Maxalt, Verapamil, and Oxygen are my top 3 "helpers". I will though explore busting and anything else that can help prevent, reduce, or extinguish the pain. I'm thinking about the stretch of time between the attack. I'm basically healthy. No smoking, drinking, fairly decent diet. I'm thinking about what I can do to gear my body (and mind) up so that if a cycle comes, I'm ready for it and maybe I'm so "fit" that the severity and length of the cycle gets reduced. Should I take vitamin D regimen throughout the year? Bust every 6 months just to keep the brain peaceful? Lift weight like a madman? Breathe from an oxygen tank or get into deep breathing exercises? what can I do to prevent the cycle or if I I can't prevent it, what can I do to stockpile and prepare when the battle comes? Is sounds like people who bust do it every few months as a lifestyle thing that also either prevents the CH cycle or it makes it so that when the cycle comes, it's weakened dramatically? My primary doctor (not headache doctor) told me that the faster you get to the oxygen when a cycle starts, the better chance you have of destroying the cycle. Maybe just pound oxygen for a few days straight and perhaps that can kill the cycle before it can "take off"? we are all different but I'd love to hear more from the people who have either found a way to cure themselves or make it 1000% easier and better to deal with. is anyone in LA and would anyone be open to phone call about all of this? my thinking is that if I throw enough things at CH and try as many combinations or remedies as possible, someone will break loose and big time progress can be made. has anyone put together an entire list of EVERY SINGLE remedy or option we have to throw at this condition? I'd love to see that list and hear what other people think about it. also, if we use drugs like lexapro or Vyvanse or any type of drug for ADHD, depression, etc, could that help with the CH? how about cold plunge therapy. it seems cold helps with CH. or the caveman diet? there has to be a combination of things that can make a big difference. who is the most successful person to ever combat CH? I'd like to read their book. thank you all and I truly believe by sharing information and persevering, we can help each other end this ailment FOREVER.1 point
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... thank you Jeebs and DD....trying to share what i've learned from fellow clusterheads and the CH giants... many right here! still remembering when i didn't know and how scary it was. so, anyway...1 point
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Thank you Bejeeber! I hope you are receiving this communication?1 point
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"Hobbyhorse"? That's a good one! Nobody should be surprised to see me also start adopting use of it trotting that one out.1 point
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I fully concur with CHfather that chances are pretty good that your doc never got you up to a therapeutic dose for clusters anyway and, it kinda sounds like increasing your dosage would be contraindicatedso.....!! And, like him, I'm not a doc, but a quick Google search stressed that it should be titrated down under strict doctor supervision....and then told me what a doc would probably do to titrate down from a 240mg (3 x 80mg) daily dose so.... I'm of the school of thought that Verapamil is another off label pharma med that's thrown at cluster patients often but effective for a relatively small % and many of them deal with unwanted side effects!!! I commiserate with ya though, being a student and trying to learn stuff would be a biotch with the Beast hangin around!! DD1 point
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It's very unlikely -- in my view, of course -- that 120mg of verapamil has had any effect at all on your CH. The recommended minimum starting dose is 240mg/day (3 80mg doses), and that is usually just to provide an initial safe test, with dosages going up regularly if it proves safe. At least for CH, regular monitoring by EEG and symptom-watching is considered essential. Drowsiness is one symptom to watch for, and you seem to have that. Weaning is considered important for verap, but how much you have to do with 120/day would not seem a lot (and I think the weaning is mostly for BP patients, because of rises in BP while stopping). Typical weaning, I think is a 30-50% reduction every 5 days or so. I assume you can find this info on your own. There are people here who hate verap and think no one should ever take it, and others who found that at higher doses (sometimes as high as 960/day or more) it helped them (usually with side effects they did not like). You are in a perfect situation to start the full vitamin D3 regimen, a better (and generally safer) preventive. I'd strongly recommend reading this -- Basic non-busting information - ClusterBuster Files - ClusterBusters -- and the replies to it, and following the links, and then getting back to us. (A personal hobbyhorse of mine: A lot of students tend to eat a lot of food with MSG in it, for instance, those instant ramen meals and flavored chips, and for many, MSG is a trigger.)1 point
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Hi all, I wrote on this board for the first time after many years of just reading, during my most recent cycle, which started in March of 2026. I remember the day distinctly because it was Daylight Savings on Sunday, March 8, 2026. I quit drinking beer for the duration of the cycle a week later as the attacks intensified. April was the cruellest month. (Hat tip to T.S. Eliot.) Finally, in the first week of May, they began to taper off slowly. By the second full week of May, it was over. It was about nine weeks total, which is kind of average for me. This was the first time I had oxygen and I have to say, it was a game changer. Oxygen aborted some attacks completely, lessened the intensity of others, and gave me an alternative to medications. There were a couple of times in this cycle where I had an attack a short distance from home, so instead of taking a pill, I just rushed home and used oxygen and it ended the attacks. If you suffer from cluster headaches and you're not using oxygen, you should try it. Go to a doctor and get a prescription for medical oxygen. It is much easier to use than I thought it was. Lots of places will even deliver it to you. You have to be careful with oxygen, obviously, it is flammable. I did not even turn on my gas stove once for the entire time I had a tank in my home. I would microwave stuff, get takeout, or just make a sandwich or something. It was totally worth it. Anyway, I just wanted to drop a line and say thank you and that my most recent cycle is over. If you are in a cycle now, hang in there. It will end eventually. I hope it is soon. - Mike1 point
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Welcome Mike and congrats on ending your cycle and getting O2 to make the cycle easier!!! I must tell you though that you're carrying your oxygen safety concerns to the extreme an totally unnecessary! O2 is NOT flammable!! It's an oxidizer, and will enhance an existing fire, making it burn hotter and longer....if it's in your bedroom away from a fire source you'll be good...and if you're a smoker, wait a few after aborting before lighting up!! Or, just keep doing what you are if it makes ya comfortable! DD1 point
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Here's some basic oxygen info: You should have oxygen from a tank/cylinder/cannister, not a concentrator that makes O2 from room air. You should have either a non-rebreather mask or the mask that is made for people with CH, the “Cluster O2 Kit,” which you can buy here: http://www.clusterheadaches.com/ccp8/. The flow rate should be sufficient that the reservoir bag on your mask is always full when you are ready to inhale using a forceful breathing strategy. For some people, this is 15 liters per minute (lpm); for others it can be higher. Since medical O2 suppliers generally won’t provide a regulator that goes higher than 15 lpm, you might have to get your own regulator. More about regulators below. You want to have at least two tanks: one large one for home and one smaller one that you can take in the car, to the office, etc. Batch has recommended what he refers to as a “redneck” approach, in which hyperventilating with room air is alternated with using pure O2. Read more about that here: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/4919-batchs-hyperventilation-red-neck-bag/ (There is some research that indicates that O2 is sometimes less effective when first used, and then gets better over time (pretty quickly). That's something to keep in mind, although many people get excellent relief from the beginning.) If you get a standard non-rebreather mask, there will probably be at least one little circle of small holes in it with no gasket behind it. Tape over that circle or cover it with your thumb when you inhale. Be sure you are pressing the mask firmly to your face; don't use the strap to hold it on (cut the strap). Be sure you are getting a good seal, particularly if you have facial hair. You want to be inhaling pure O2 from your mask, with no room air getting in. Cutting the strap will allow the mask to fall off if you fall asleep, so you don’t continue breathing O2. Stay on the O2 for 5-10 minutes after you have aborted the attack. For many people, this holds off future attacks. Many people find that drinking caffeine or some kind of energy beverage as they start on the O2 significantly improves their abort time. More on caffeine/energy beverages below. There is no documentation of people experiencing “rebound attacks” from using oxygen at proper levels. People find different ways of breathing that work best for them. I have mentioned Batch’s suggested hyperventilation strategy as one example. In general, you should be inhaling deeply as you begin, holding the air in your lungs for a second or two, and then deeply exhaling, to the extent of doing or nearly doing a "crunch" to force out as much air from your lungs as possible. Looking down toward your feet as you use the O2 has been shown to help with aborts. Regulators. The oxygen should be flowing into the reservoir bag on your mask at such a rate that you do not have to pause before your next inhale. 15 lpm doesn’t do that for everyone, so they buy different regulators. NOTE that medical O2 tanks take different types of regulators. The smaller tanks use CGA 870 regulators and the larger tanks use CGA 540 regulators (all welding O2 tanks, of any size, take CGA 540 regulators). You can buy higher-flow medical regulators of both types online at amazon, EBay, and elsewhere. Many people use welding regulators (which, as I have said, will only fit on larger medical tanks). These allow very high flows, and can be adjusted for the optimal flow rate for you. You also can find these at many places, including amazon and EBay. You can get them at welding supply stores, too, but they are likely to be much more expensive. You should be able to find a very acceptable one for about $40 or less. If you buy one, try to be sure that it comes with a barbed valve that will hold your mask tubing. You can also buy a very inexpensive barbed adapter at many hardware stores or online. (Some people have gotten mask tubing onto the non-barbed fitting that is standard for the welding reg -- I'm just not very "handy" in that way.) Also, be aware that unlike a medical regulator, a welding regulator has no lpm settings or gauge. So you have to fiddle with it a little to get the flow rate you want. This becomes very easy very quickly. One other thing you'll need if you buy a CGA 540 regulator: a large adjustable wrench to tighten the regulator onto the tank. A demand valve system supplies oxygen only when you inhale (or sometimes when you press a button to release the O2). People who have these swear by them: as much O2 as you need whenever you need it. They can sometimes be found on EBay. There are other sources for them, but I’m not sure what they are. Maybe someone will add that information. Some people have observed that for some reason when the O2 level in their tank is “low,” the O2 doesn’t work as effectively for aborting, or might not work at all. “Low” in some cases can be as much as a third of a tank remaining. Something to be aware of. Some notes about dealing with oxygen suppliers (repeating some of what was said above). To avoid frustration, it might be wise for you to contact your O2 supplier before their first delivery to make sure you are getting the right equipment. Many of them are not used to providing for people with CH. You want cylinders (tanks), not a concentrator. At the least, you want one large tank (an M tank or H tank) and one smaller tank for portability (an E tank). Multiple versions of each tank are better. You need some kind of stand, at least for your larger tank(s). You want regulators that go up to at least 15 liters per minute (lpm), and preferably up to 25 lpm. (I say "regulators," plural, because the large tanks and the smaller tanks take different types of regulators.) And you want a NON-REBREATHER mask. These are all things they should know to give you to treat CH, but often don’t. When the stuff is delivered, have the delivery person set it up for you and be sure it's working. Some people have found that the O2 delivery people are quite willing to provide them with extra tanks.1 point
