diamondmaker

Stupid monkey caught sight of a beautiful butterfly. He was in awe of its sheer beauty. He thought, I must possess that beauty, so he set about to build a trap so he could capture the beautiful butterfly and study it… perhaps unlock the secrets of its beauty. Stupid monkey was successful and trapped the beautiful butterfly. As he sat and marveled at its beauty, he felt compelled to touch it. He opened the trap and reached in. In the instant that he touched the beautiful butterfly it turned into a beautiful lion, that instantly consumed stupid monkey with not so much as a swallow. Beautiful lion then turned back into a beautiful butterfly and flittered away. That night beautiful butterfly had a bit of indigestion, for stupid monkey was so stupid that he still believed he had captured the beautiful butterfly. But soon, the beautiful butterfly digested the stupidity out of the monkey and crapped his remains into the beautiful forest where they would help fertilize the next generation of beautiful flowers that the beautiful butterfly loved so much. The End.

Sorry to see they are back, Back away from that cliff... maybe take a day off to prepare, get your O2, try to get some MM or seeds in you before you start pumping in the pharma... that can make the difference where busting is concerned. As far as stress is concerned, I do notice de-stressing in the evening, laying down for sleep, to be a trigger for me. On the other hand, many of us, including myself, have PTSD from pushing ourselves too hard and getting too worked up over things. Yes to meditation!

Hate to see this end here. Again local laws? Anyone know if Italian docs can accept and rewrite the script of a US doc? or better... the name of a pharmacy that does this?

Definitely agree with you CHF. Anything that helps... helps! Just commenting in terms of causality.

From what I know (not much), CH has nothing to do with sleep apnea. There are many cases of CHers getting sleep apnea equipment and it changes nothing. As for the one sided stuff... only just another "quirk" of CH. I have had it change sides at least 2 times in my past.

We have heard good things about this from many posts before this one... but no one seems to still be reporting good things... just wondering for those who have been down this road... is it still working... or is this just another thing the beast adjusts/morphs to...???

Excellent! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I will second that! Alcohol is undoubtedly the one thing that will give me K10's all day with no hope from oxygen! If you want to cause yourself a lot of pain... have a beer.

I dose at any sign of impending doom. That said.... You will have your own point of "Impending Doom". Go by what you have known to be an onset of CH. You may have to dose more frequently during "high cycles".

There it is... O2 to the rescue! [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

I think the mask is the most important thing to master. It doesn't sound like you have the O2ptimask? With the cheap ones the plastic bag can stick together... 1. My first step is to make sure the little flapper valve where the O2 comes into the mask from the bag/line is loose and operating freely (they can get stuck, or dry out). 2. Turn on the O2 full blast, cover the exhale holes and blow into the mask. This pressurizes the mask area, forcing the flapper valve shut, forcing the bag to fill with O2... maybe a little breath from the pressure too but that's OK, you just want to pop the bag open fully so all pathways are open clear. I would sometimes squeeze the bag a little while it was inflating to make sure it opened up all the way. 3. Set the O2 where you want it and operate the mask. Remember, you are trying to get pure O2 only, so plug holes when inhaling, open holes or remove mask slightly when exhaling. The important thing is the bag should fill while he is exhaling, and empty while he inhales. I know this sounds like a hassle (thus the invention of the O2ptimask)... but I had it down to seconds, between going for it and breathing my O2. A little exploration and practice when not getting hit would be advised. It is harmless...

Just referring to my earlier question about your O2 set-up, sorry for the misunderstanding. It sounds like it is working The usual recommendation is 3 busts, 5 days apart. Some require more to end the cycle. If you have predictable cycles, you can do preventative busting just before the cycle usually starts.

Oxygen?

Sansert was one of the first meds I was given way back in the late 70's... I described it as constantly feeling like the first few minutes of coming on to psychedelics, all the anxiety and uneasiness... but then never the level out and trip. It never did zip for the CH.

Cluster Headache: With pain so bad, the worst thing about them is they don't kill you.

I am not aware of anyone successfully using O2 as a preventative while sleeping... I know I have tried it as well as many others here. I don't remember the exact biological details (could look it up, there is a lot that actually takes place), but it goes something like this... you need to simply hyperventilate pure O2 to get the necessary chemical changes to take place in your body. It is not a lack of oxygen we are fighting here! But, by going from a normal state to saturation quickly, we get that chemical change that works to abort headaches (vasoconstriction effects mainly). My attempts to sleep with it on did nothing, except possibly make it harder to get the effect needed when I finally was awakened and went full blast with the mask. To sum it up... you need an oxygen attack to kill the CH attack. Lesser amounts will do nothing for an attack, whether in the attack or not. Trying to maintain the saturation effects is, if not impossible, dangerous. Just my observations.

No, that's been around for ages... you can read about it on the other site clusterheadaches.com has a menu tab for it "Water X 3".

Had mine removed after I sarted getting CH... no difference. In general, pulling teeth for CH is a pointless effort, and you can't get them back. However wisdom teeth do mostly cause teeth problems (not CH problems). I had impacted wisdom teeth growing out sideways, they were pushing the rest of my teeth forward, dificult surgery... so I was also "Having problems with them". Just not CH related.

I researched scuba equipment a while back and it seems that special regulators are used for high O2 concentrations. They need to be O2 compatible for reasons like (I am guessing) oil used in assembly and other possibly flamable components when pure oxygen is used. They are available, but more expensive. On the other hand, I have seen reports of people using the standard regulators without a problem? Gonna take more research for sure.

Yes usually 3 doses (maybe more) every 5 days. It looks to me like it is working. However you must keep in mind the detox thing: https://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290130731 And the every 5 day thing: https://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290130968 Edit: The usual dose is 1.5 to 2.0 grams. And chillin out in a recliner to music (pink floyd is my favorite) is much better for a good "trip" than TV, especially for the larger doses. The more you take, the more important it is to minimize interuptions/distractions and do nothing that requires brainpower. Just my 2 cents.

Don't get lazy now that you are PF. Get strait on to getting an O2 setup that will work. Tips: If you buy your own regulator, which is cheap, they can't charge you rental on it. After working for years with apria I am finally at the stage where they don't even charge rent on the "M" tanks. I explained to the Resp Therapist that I only use it A few months, then it collects dust for a few months... yet I must have it available at any unpredictable moment or it means a trip to the ER. I know I am lucky, But explaining to them that you have all your own equipment, all you need is the tanks, changes the game. Be aware that those small E tanks use a different connection than the big tanks. and all welding tanks. Check this regulator: http://www.amazon.com/HCS8715M-Medline-REGULATOR-0-15-CONNECTION/dp/B000JIVWPA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380520451&sr=8-1&keywords=oxygen+regulator+15lpm this is the CGA-870 connection that will fit your E tanks http://www.amazon.com/Low-Cost-Regulators-Regulator-0-15LPM-CONNECTION/dp/B002J7FLTW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380520451&sr=8-2&keywords=oxygen+regulator+15lpm This is the one that fits the big tanks, CGA540. Although most will advocate getting even a higher lpm regulator... 25 lpm... at least for your big tank: http://www.amazon.com/Oxygen-Regulator-Standard-Body-CGA540-protector/dp/B00BXRBERC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1380520742&sr=8-4&keywords=oxygen+regulator+25+LPM Edit: OOPS, that last link said 0-25 lpm on the selection page, but in the detail page it says 0-15 lpm. OH Well... they are out there and easy to get.

Got to question your O2 set-up. Sorry in advance if you have done your research, but most of us find that when we get no results from oxygen, we are using it wrong. And for those chronics that it quit working for... higher flow with the O2ptimask, or a demand valve system has brought them right back into it working again. O2 Mask ref below, and up to 25 liters per minute! http://www.clusterheadaches.com/ccp8/index.php?app=ecom&ns=prodshow&ref=o2ptimask

Depends on the knowledge of the emergency room staff. If they try to give you opiods like dilaudid and demerol, they are clueless. Of course this will make you feel better as far as being high, but won't touch the K6-K10 levels of pain, and certainly will not abort anything. If they give you a shot of imitrex and slap an O2 mask on you (non-rebreather at high flow... not one of those canulas), they know what they are doing. Anything is possible going into an emergency room. Say STOP, what is that drug! If it is a imitrex pill, nay nay at them and tell them to go get the injections. If it is opiates, nay nay them again and suggest they just hook you up properly to high flow oxygen with a NRB mask. You can tell them to give you a Ketamine drip, but that is a slim chance unless they have a doc on duty that is familiar with it. Edit: If they offer you a valium or other Benzo, take it! It will help you put up with the frustration of their lack of knowledge and/or their inherant "slow to get you anything" deal.

I will simply repeat the Ketamine suggestion... don't know how it will help with the complications of getting off other meds, but as an alternative abortave it may be useful in some way.

It is so sad seeing other sites that are aparently there for help and support, but are really just idiots, and as bad with thier advise as your typical PCP. I think they just want to wallow in thier misery, not find a way out.