CHfather

Interesting. Thanks.

Interesting. Thank you! And any study that inclines toward greater acceptance of LSD as a therapeutic agent is to be celebrated.

Back in 2016, a fellow wrote this: >>.I mix and chug down: 1 Teaspoon of baking soda 1 or 2Lime(s) (Preferably organic) 1 cup of filtered water (Don't use tap water) Not only I have been able to reduce the intensity of an attack, but I have been able to abort it. It's worked several times.<<

Paula, sorry you're going through this. Stills Disease sounds awful. I'm sorry to say that is generally believed here that prednisone blocks the effects of busting. (I guess it might be somewhat surprising that you are having attacks, since prednisone often stops attacks. But the dosage you are taking is lower than what would typically be used to treat CH (except that I don't understand the effects of methotrexate on the dosage).) Do you have other resources to deal with your attacks? Oxygen, for example? It seems like a call to Dr. McGeeney would be a very good idea.

Batch has written: "CH'ers who have used this regimen and experienced a significant reduction in the frequency and severity of their CH or gone pain free and then had this test have had an average 25(OH)D serum concentration of 81.4 ng/mL. (203.5 nmol/L), min = 34.0 ng/mL, max = 149.0 ng/mL."

Here's an overview of CH treatments. It also has a link to the D3 regimen. https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/ I'm not completely certain that what she has is CH, but you might as well try the recommended treatments and see what happens. Maybe it won't be too hard for her to get her hands on a cylinder of O2 with a non-rebreather mask and a regulator that goes up to at least 15 lpm? (She could try 12lpm if that's all that's available.) Thank you for being there for your sister!

I don't think they're "intractable" unless they fail to respond to all conventional treatments, and I'm pretty sure that's not the case. It's possible that you won't have another cycle for a long time, or at all. More likely that you will, of course. Quite possible that the various CGRP meds will be better developed for CH by the next time you have a cycle, or another effective treatment will have been discovered/approved, and it will turn out to be easier for you than it has been for all the previous generations of people with CH. For a general overview of ways to treat CH, you might want to look at this file: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/ You'll probably forget most of what's in it, but if/when you do have another cycle, you'll know it's there. Asking myself if there's anything you should do now. I'd say to seriously consider starting some version of the vitamin D3 regimen (there's link in the post I linked you to above), so you are building up your D levels. As far as anyone knows, there aren't any bad side effects from following that regimen in a disciplined way. You don't say whether you received any prescriptions (maybe the diagnosis came after your cycle was over). You will read about triptans in the post above: they have their uses. Because the number of triptan devices (injectors or spray containers) that you can get at any time is limited, more than a few people fill their prescriptions for triptans when they are out of cycle so they have a "stockpile" when/if they need them. This is just something to consider. They're expensive. And you might never need them, or never really want to use them.

igdc, this is a kind of guide to the treatment options we're most familiar with. Maybe you'd want to look it over, just for preparedness' sake: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/ It doesn't address the new CGRP pharmaceuticals (Emgality, Aimovig, Ubrelvy, and others), which might be worth trying. And people are always mentioning new things that seem to have helped them. Do not underestimate the potential power of busting!!!!! It's discussed at the end of the post I just linked you to, and also under the blue "New Users..." banner at the top of each page.

Thank you for this information.

Thank you for keeping us informed. Hoping you'll have some good (or great) news.

I hope you get some good help with getting O2. I would also check in at the Facebook group "Cluster Headache (trigeminal autonomic cephalagia)". A pretty strong international representation there. There's a link to D3 regimen basics in this post, which might also have some other ideas for you: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/

Busting has been a last resort for many people in your situation. And then they wished they had tried it earlier. If you are interested, you can read the content at the blue banner "New Users..." at the top of each page. (EDIT: I see just now that you have asked about mushrooms (one kind of "busting") at another post.) D3 regimen is not drugs, and it has helped hundreds. https://vitamindwiki.com/Cluster+headaches+substantially+reduced+by+10%2C000+IU+of+Vitamin+D+in+80+percent+of+people

If you are chronic -- essentially, no days without attacks for the past year -- Emgality isn't really likely to help you. Results have been poor with people with chronic CH. Rather than waiting for replies, you could type Emgality into the search bar at the top right of the page and read what people have said about it in the past. I hope you're not on prednisone for more than 10-14 days a year. Lots of longer-term risks from that. D3 regimen? Busting? Verapamil? Maybe take a look at this file: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/

Myhed', you might want to look into the condition called Horner's syndrome, I think. People with CH can have it outside of their cycles. The main characteristics, as listed Mayo Clinic are droopy eyelid (ptosis), a persistently small pupil (miosis), slight elevation of the lower lid (sometimes called upside-down ptosis), sunken appearance to the eye, and little or no sweating (anhidrosis) either on the entire side of the face or an isolated patch of skin on the affected side. As I understand it, though, Horner's is rarely painful unless there's a more serious underlying condition. I think your symptoms probably are not a sign that your CH is returning (maybe others will correct me about that), but I think you should have them checked out by a doctor to rule out other causes. An opthalmologist, I would imagine.

Seigfried, I was just reading this for another reason, and saw this info about an apparent way of treating HC. Maybe it doesn't fit for PH, but I felt I should mention it. https://jmedicalcasereports.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13256-019-1986-y ".... Patient 1, an 82-year-old Caucasian woman, presented with hemicrania continua with a partial Horner’s syndrome that was present for 2 years. She was unable to take indomethacin as she was on anticoagulation. After a C2–3 diagnostic facet injection, not only did she become pain free but her ptosis completely resolved. She then underwent a radiofrequency facet neurotomy with complete alleviation of head pain ...."

Siegfried, would it be worth it to try any of these supplemental or alternative treatments? https://americanheadachesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Hemicrania_Continue_June_2015.pdf "There are alternative medications that can replace indomethacin if needed, but unfortunately they are not perfect for treating hemicrania continua. Sometimes they can supplement a lower dose of indomethacin if that is all that is tolerated. Melatonin is a natural hormone with a chemical structure similar to indomethacin. A few people have had a complete response for their HC with melatonin alone, but more often they have been able to get relief with a lower dose of indomethacin while taking the melatonin. Alternative medications that may replace indomethacin, if it cannot be taken at all, include gabapentin, topiramate, verapamil, and cox-2 inhibitors (anti-inflammatories less likely to cause stomach bleeding). Even onabotulinumtoxinA, commercially known as Botox (Allergan, Irvine, CA, USA), has been tried in cases where other options failed or were not tolerated. Nerve blocks, injected at the back of the head on the same side as the pain, can be performed with long-acting anesthetics. Rarely, a nerve stimulator is placed with leads extending over the back of the head or neck, providing continuous low-level stimulation to the area."

This is a study of people who developed CH shortly after head trauma (with seven days). (Nothing at this link that isn't here.) https://www.docguide.com/new-insights-post-traumatic-headache-cluster-headache-phenotype-cohort-study?tsid=5 New insights in post-traumatic headache with cluster headache phenotype: a cohort study; Grangeon L, O'Connor E, Chan C, Akijian L, Pham Ngoc T, Matharu M; Journal of Neurology; Neurosurgery; & Psychiatry (JNNP Online) (May 2020) OBJECTIVES To define the characteristics of post-traumatic headache with cluster headache phenotype (PTH-CH) and to compare these characteristics with primary CH. METHODS A retrospective study was conducted of patients seen between 2007 and 2017 in a headache centre and diagnosed with PTH-CH that developed within 7 days of head trauma. A control cohort included 553 patients with primary CH without any history of trauma who attended the headache clinic during the same period. Data including demographics, attack characteristics and response to treatments were recorded. RESULTS Twenty-six patients with PTH-CH were identified. Multivariate analysis revealed significant associations between PTH-CH and family history of CH (OR 3.32, 95% CI 1.31 to 8.63), chronic form (OR 3.29, 95% CI 1.70 to 6.49), parietal (OR 14.82, 95% CI 6.32 to 37.39) or temporal (OR 2.04, 95% CI 1.10 to 3.84) location of pain, and presence of prominent cranial autonomic features during attacks (miosis OR 11.24, 95% CI 3.21 to 41.34; eyelid oedema OR 5.79, 95% CI 2.57 to 13.82; rhinorrhoea OR 2.65, 95% CI 1.26 to 5.86; facial sweating OR 2.53, 95% CI 1.33 to 4.93). Patients with PTH-CH were at a higher risk of being intractable to acute (OR 12.34, 95% CI 2.51 to 64.73) and preventive (OR 16.98, 95% CI 6.88 to 45.52) treatments and of suffering from associated chronic migraine (OR 10.35, 95% CI 3.96 to 28.82). CONCLUSION This largest series of PTH-CH defines it as a unique entity with specific evolutive profile. Patients with PTH-CH are more likely to suffer from the chronic variant, have marked autonomic features, be intractable to treatment and have associated chronic migraine compared with primary CH.

devon' is right. I was wrong. An M tank holds about 3000 - 3400 liters (not 1700, as I had written). Divide that range by 20 and you get 150-170 minutes of O2 at 20lpm.

What the doctor wrote the script for is really irrelevant to your O2 use. The lpm settings you use from the regulator that you put on the tank are the only factors that affect how much O2 you are using. An M tank holds about 1700 liters of O2. That means that if you use a setting of 20 liters per minute, you will have about 85 minutes of O2 in the tank (1700 liters in the tank being used at 20 liters per minute; 1700 divided by 20 = 85). The higher your lpm settings, the faster you will go through the oxygen that's in the tank, but that is not affected by anything related to the script that the doctor wrote.

kat', This file has answers to your questions: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/5627-notes-about-welding-o2/ In brief: Typically, welding tanks are bought, not rented. They have no reason to ask you any questions; there are no legal restrictions for getting welding O2. If they do ask, they are just chatting. In the file, there are some suggested possible answers if you are asked. Plenty of women weld, or use welding O2 for other things, such as art projects. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeaMj2m_Wj4 My wife and daughter both get my daughter's welding O2 regularly. The flow rate is determined by your regulator, not by the type of tank you have. Since you have an M tank, your regulator is the right kind for a welding tank (in my previous post, I was assuming you had a smaller tank). Just as an unrelated note, the prescription for medical O2 can be written for 15lpm. That's how most are written.

kat', sooooo happy to read this. You want an M tank or an H tank (plus you want to keep your smaller tank for portability). Those are the big ones. The big tanks are heavy, so you might also want a stand, or particularly a rolling stand if you have to move them. Now that you know more about O2 working for you, you can consider using welding O2, too, if your supplier is not cooperative. Since they make more money when they provide you a larger tank (or tanks), and have less hassle from having to constantly replace the smaller tanks, you'd think they'd be interested. If you get a bigger tank, or any kind of welding tank, you'll need a different type of regulator. An O2 supplier will know this, but you'll need to know it if you go the welding route or if you decide to buy a higher-lpm regulator than the one the O2 supplier would give you. Keep us informed.

The pills barely work in any event. If you ask your doctor about oxygen, s/he is likely not to give it to you. Lord knows why, but that's how it usually works. You need to insist on oxygen, and/or find a doctor that is competent enough to prescribe it. For a bunch of stuff that might be helpful, take a look at this file: https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/

For basics, click on the blue "New Users..." banner at the top of any page. Rivea corymbosa seeds (in most places) are "over the counter" in the sense that they are legal to purchase and possess, yet are very effective busting agents. To discuss any of this further, you'd want to start a thread at one of the more private boards ("Share Your Busting Stories" would work, or "Theory and Implementation").

Might not be any detriment. But . . . According to your NHS, "Diphenhydramine is also called by the brand names Histergan, Nytol Original, Nytol One-A-Night and Sleepeaze." https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/diphenhydramine/# Looks like maybe Tesco also sells it (??): https://www.drugs.com/uk/tesco-sleep-aid-25mg-tablets-leaflet.html

You might look through this file to see if there are any other strategies that might help. https://clusterbusters.org/forums/topic/6213-basic-non-busting-information/