Beginnings

[maxx4life]

Purchased first rc seeds for my husband.  I plan on using the peppermint tea method to soak them.  He has a terrible gag reflex, we'll see if he can keep those down.

I also plan to grow mushrooms, for the next cycle, since this one will probably be over before I have success.  I am apprehensive about growing them because I'm afraid of contaminating them and giving hubs something potentially harmful.  I read some about philosopher's stones, anyone have any thoughts on those?  Are they as potent?

And finally, a question about oxygen.  We didn't realize that his insurance only allows him to see a doctor twice a year, which he's already used.  What can you tell me about welders oxygen?  Sorry, I know I'm showing how green I am. 

I appreciate any advice you have.  Thank you!

[diamondmaker]

OK, I would say the site www.clusterheadaches.com has much more info on the subject of oxygen. Check out their "Oxygen Info" link in yellow on the left side of their site pages. On their message board under "Medications,  Treatments,  Therapies" there is a thread entitled "Welders O2 ?'s"... on the second page I posted this reply...

As for the tanks... oxygen is an efficient oxidizer... yup. Therefore all cleanliness standards for all oxygen are the same. The O2 is the same.

I personally use medical stuff, but didn't always. Took pleading poverty with no insurance to get my current deal.

I purchased all my own equipment back in the early 80's. This has always been a valuable bargaining chip when trying to get out of rental costs.

As of this writing - I just bought new regulators on Amazon for around the $15-$30 range, supply my own masks, and now pay $25 for an M fill (122 cu. ft.), no tank rental, delivered. It can be done.

Tanks are also not a bad one time investment. BUT, unless you buy from a medical supplier willing to always fill your tank for a reasonable price (and hope you never move)... this is what I found. You MUST buy "industrial" tanks for O2. No medical company will fill someone else's tanks, and welding supply companies will not touch medical tanks. With that said, a NEW 122 cu.ft. or 150 cu. ft. tank can be had for $300-$350 range. You can blow that on rent in 6 months. Call around in your area to see who will fill what for you... BEFORE you buy a tank. Of course, if calling a medical place... you have a prescription, and when calling a welding place... you are a welder.

If I hadn't already done all this, I would lie, cheat, steal to get it done... for the relief it gives! Just do it!

[diamondmaker]

I will let someone with more busting experience answer the other questions... but I have read peppermint turns LSA to LSH, which can be stronger. It all works the same though... I am sure others will advise. There are other methods for making it palatable.

[CHfather]

You can find places to buy regulators and masks in Section 11 of my oxygen page. http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cb/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1299901790

The O2ptimask is a bit more expensive, but very highly recommended. Folks here are also strongly recommending a demand valve system, but that's about $350 retail and is probably not necessary right now, in my opinion (a good long-term investment if you have the $, but first it seems to good to know if a more standard system will work).  Similarly, you might want to go right away with a 25-or-more lpm regulator, but 15 is probably going to work for him, given his history and the nature of his cycles.

If there's a Harbor Freight store near you (there are a lot of them in a lot of places), you can probably get tanks and a regulator there. Here's a link to their "store finder": http://www.harborfreight.com/store-finder/

And here's the regulator you'd want: http://www.harborfreight.com/oxygen-regulator-94846.html

This regulator does not have specific settings for the liters-per-minute flow rate, as medical oxygen regulators do -- you just turn it up (open the valve) enough that the bag attached to the mask fills quickly with air.

Other welding-supply places probably sell a similar regulator. 

Regarding the seeds . . . You're talking about drinking down about two ounces of liquid.  It's a quick thing and it's done.  You can strain out the sludge with a coffee filter before drinking it (some people drink the sludge, but if you're worried about gagging, you can strain it).  Some people can't bear the taste; others don't mind it nearly as much.  If he doesn't breathe in the smell, it will be, like anything else, considerably less "flavorful."  The peppermint tea method, if the tea is cooled per the directions, does seem to create more of a psychedelic effect, but whether it's more effective as a treatment has not been established.  Maybe I'm alone and wrong here, but I'd go with the standard preparation: seeds ground with a mortar and pestle or crushed in a plastic bag with a hammer (not ground in anything heat-producing like a coffee grinder), soaked in an ounce or two of water (bottled, non-carbonated water, in my opinion) for an hour or two, and then chugged down (with or without the coffee-filter straining).  Some people wash it down right away with a cranberry juice to get rid of any aftertaste.

How many seeds are you thinking of using?

[maxx4life]

I think we'll start with 25 seeds in plain water and see how he does with that.  Then we wait 5 days right?  I don't want to do anything to make him feel worse, so I want to start slow and see what happens.  I'm starting a journal so we can keep track of everything. Thanks for all your insight and suggestions.  I'd be lost without some guidance in this struggle for some peace.   [smiley=undecided.gif]

[CHfather]

Well, it's unlikely that anything about the seeds in themselves is going to make him feel worse. There is always the possibility of one or two "post-dose hits" that are more severe, or that come at unusual times. Those are considered a good sign here that things are being shaken up in good ways. (Having oxygen to abort them helps, of course.)

Cold water is fine, by the way, if that makes the drinking part more tolerable for him.

In that poster I sent you a link to -- http://www.maps.org/research/sewell_2008_aha_lsa_poster.pdf -- a core finding is that when seeds didn't work, it was because people didn't get enough LSA.  The strength of seeds varies unpredictably.  Some people here have obtained good results from a very small number of seeds (10-15), but most would recommend a larger number to be sure there's enough LSA.  25 is probably fine as an initial "test" dose to see how he tolerates the seeds; I suspect some people here would recommend more (30, maybe) to be sure he's getting enough LSA.  It's a very imprecise thing -- we all learn from others' experiences, and your caution has merit.

Regarding possible nausea, a leading LSA researcher once wrote this to me: >>>Nausea is dose-related, and shouldn't be a problem at the doses needed to treat cluster headache. If it is, then there are a wide variety of over-the-counter nausea medications such as

meclizine or dramamine that can be taken beforehand.<<<     I've never read of anyone needing those medications, but it might be good for you to know about this option if he does turn out to be unusually sensitive to RC.

[maxx4life]

Update:  He took the seeds and went right to sleep.  I could tell by the way he was sleeping that he was actually getting some rest.  It was several hours before he had a headache again.  Although the  pain isn't gone, I'm still hopeful that it will help, we'll do it again in 5 days.  Fingers crossed.

[Pixie-elf]

Sending good thoughts and prayers your way!

Mystina

[ThatHurtsMyHead]

You may need to up the seeds dose.  I've previously gotten relief from seeds at levels where I could just 'feel' them.  (others have been successful at lower doses though)

Jeff

[Bejeeber]

Agreed with Jeff - If it was me, after the 5 days I would double the dose.

Fingers and toes crossed.