diamondmaker

Start with a mask http://www.clusterheadaches.com/khxc/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=prodshow&ref=o2ptimask&sid=2i5v99iimxrm05h361daw389x4r89tts You need a large tank, 125 cu. ft. or better, and a regulator. Welding supply stores, Harbor Freight (tool store), auto parts stores, anyone with welding supplies will have these. If you would rather have a "medical" regulator, rather than a "welding" regulator, then Amazon has them for around $40+. The regulator must match the tank valve, large medical tanks and welding tanks use a CGA 540 style valve. Many like the welding regulators because they basically have no limit on output flow. Medical regulators are a little easier to use, but make sure you can get at least 15 lpm flow, preferably 25 lpm. Hope that helps.

I have a similar story as you... I have always been honest about my CH when dating... it never really made much difference. I think we all know people rarely "get it" when we talk about CH. Most ladies will relate it to migraines, to which I will correctly say... "no, much worse... like a red hot ice pick through your eye". If they are interested I answer questions, if not, I just put it on the table and drop it. Many dating relationships won't last long enough for it to even be an issue. If things do start to look serious... then I really bring them up to speed and basically try to scare them away. If they don't run... you got a good one. I divorced in 2004, dated for years, finally found a good one a few years ago. She even survived me going chronic. A little worse for the wear and tear, but she still loves me and refuses to be scared away. Beware of all the ladies walking around with their match.com checklists... love is not an exact science. If you failed the health check box with that one woman, you are probably better off. Keep going for it!

Ya, I'll also bring my 540's just in case.

I will have a couple of regulators that can be borrowed @15lpm.

OK, denial... it is simply the self preservation instinct. I recently had to go through a series of studies when I wasn't in cycle and had the hardest time trying to convince myself that I truly suffered as much as I said???? Ya BullSh@t! I think that is the biggest challenge episodic's face, facing the fact that the beast is real, and always there. I got T-Boned on the freeway on my motorcycle and the first thing I did after tumbling down the wrong way on the freeway was... jump up and say "I'm all right" just before I collapsed. Go figure. Please donate to clusterbusters.com... they will eventually cover it all.

Plum crazy about that PFW!

Ya... my ass hurts from all the kicking.

Amen to that. Welder's O2 is recommended because it is easy to get no questions asked... and cheapest! Don't worry about welder's tanks being in some way inferior... they are not. All O2 standards are the same across the board, just the questions, licenses and costs are different.

I got you 100%! I have just had to come to the crossroads myself between work and mental health... screw your siblings... this is about you! You will know when, if you get there, when it is time to go back to work. I volunteer at the local food bank... to keep active and test the waters. I hold no expectations over my head. I had to completely blow off every "social pressure" to "perform" in order to keep my sanity. You say busting has helped you with the depression. Me too. Have you considered the anxiety/depression/PTSD is simply an extension of your CH? Why not bust that too? I am currently pursuing this notion with good results.

As far as getting him to the conference... and on this board. A seasonal riddle: There is a village in Africa where every year a lion shows up and drags one of them off for lunch. There was no help from the authorities, they simply did not have the money to go after the lion. After a few years the villagers got wise and started figuring out how to build brick houses and put up fences. All except one. Discouraged by the bleak situation, he chose to ignore the other villagers, and instead enjoyed himself walking barefoot through the tall grasses vowing never to ruin his day by thinking and worrying about a lion he can't kill. So, who do you think will get eaten this year? The lion is still out there! Band together with the villagers and learn how to build brick houses and put up fences. Then when the lion shows up you can sit on the other side of the fence and flip him the bird! Edit: I mean no disrespect. In 2007 I was that guy... in 2010 it almost cost me my life.

I think it is important to know how to handle things without medicines that interfere with busting. I am not so concerned with the 5 day wait, after just one shot... I am more concerned about what you will be doing between doses. The general plan is 3 doses 5 days apart. If you can't keep away from the trex for the 20 days after starting, you may never know what could have been. Success may be had by not following the protocol (many here have bent the "rules" and succeeded)... but if it doesn't work, just means you gotta do it again to be sure. From a different angle... dosing can be done BEFORE going into cycle. Take a dose a month before they are due to start, and a couple more at the first sign of trouble. That doesn't mean wait till next cycle! I would rather see someone screw up an attempt that has a chance of success, than blow off the attempt completely. Just remember this for next time.

I would do the M ASAP. Yes, the Imitrex can block busting, usually requiring a 5 day detox period. Usually this is handled with oxygen and energy drinks. I noticed in your last post you had gotten the script for O2... you got that up and running at the right lpm with the right mask? How's it working? As far as the seasonal/allergy thing... that is a common thought because episodic clusters can be so damn regular. I believe it has more to do with the hypothalamus (our internal clock). Allergies may make CH more miserable... but not a cause, I would drop it.

Good answer spiny.

I always feel better about everything when in top shape... not sure that translates into milder CH, but feeling better is feeling better.

I usually don't drink, makes me too sick. And in cycle, only if I want a 10+ that O2 won't touch! HOWEVER, after battling the beast for 5 months, completely toxic from all the western meds, I rather enjoy getting quite potted. Alcohol is my detox buddy for a few days, and a way to say feck you, I survived another one!

There is this link on a CH.com post just up today, looks like the same thing. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2190266/Gadget-zap-agony-migraine.html Dr. Goadsby was talking about a handheld stimulator being developed to excite a specific nerve?... an attempt to provide a convenient non-invasive approach to DBS type treatment. This may or may not be it, good question for him at the conference.

I have always said that I get "Hypersensitive" from CH. At cycle ramp up I really have no problems with sensitivity... it comes on more after I have been at high cycle for 3-4 weeks and worsens the longer I stay there. Too hot or too cold, stomach too empty or too full. Just the change in body chemistry from eating sometimes. I would swear that in the depths of my last high cycle, my autonomic nervous system was making too much feckn noise.

Don't give up on busting. Could be you got some older seeds that lost potency, not uncommon. You really need to bust at least 3 times, a week apart with materials you know are good. Good, bad or indifferent you should feel something if the dose is good. Iamshaman.com has been a good supplier for me. Also, wondering if you were able to detox all the way.

This sounds like it could be a good way to detox from everything else... just wondering if the steroid component would affect busting?

Did you get your seeds? Sounds like busting is your best low cost solution... hope you can get there... I know detox can be a bitch.

It is a great tool if you have never done it. I kept one for years when I was new to the game. I found it useful in showing myself and doctors that nothing I was doing caused them or made them worse, and nothing really helped them either. If you are someone who feels the need to try and find something to blame your misery on, it will help get you out of that, at least it did for me. After about 10 years it just became another ball game, no need to do the play by play. These days things that really make a difference stand out like Mt. Everest in the middle of the Sahara, the smaller helps or hindrances I perceive I just write off to the natural randomness of the syndrome coupled with my apparent psychosis.

Ya I got told that too... actually my neuro followed up by saying "he had CH patients, he had elderly patients, but he didn't have any elderly CH patients"... I followed up by saying "I hope that doesn't mean they all eventually killed themselves". He didn't think it was funny. It maybe true, but what seems universal is everyone is different. I think they use the very real possibility of it happening to give us the strength to go on. This web site works much better for that.

Agree with the bb. Knowledge is power against the beast, and you gotta own this one.

Read up... lots of "Busting" info here.

I know airplanes always make me nervous. I usually carry Initrex injection. That aside, when I was traveling a lot for business, I would call the airline company and advise them of my medical condition and ask them to make sure someone on the plane would know of my possible need for O2 in flight (they always carry O2 for emergencies). I would carry on my regulator and mask since I doubt they would have anything high flow with a non-rebreather mask. Hope this helps.