A POSSIBLE ABORTIVE METHOD?

[HOPEFUL]

Hi eveyone, thanks you all so much for your concern and replies. Adam has a neuoligical appt in April (Yeah so quick) not. 

I was racking my brains and on some sites and thought of the gas and air used when mums are giving birth.  This stuff hits the brain doesnt it and is an analgesic? do you think there is a poosibility that it coud e used as a help during an attach of CH?  Just trying to think of other alternatives.

[TakinitEZ]

I'm not sure what the analgesic gas is that they provide to mothers giving birth. Do you?

Generally, you want to stay away from narcotics and other habit forming medications. They may help reduce the pain a little, which can lead to higher doses and eventually to addiction. Drugs like Vicodin, Oxycodone, etc. can actually cause what are called rebound headaches, which can actually be worse than the original headache. It's a bad cycle to get into.

-Chris

[Bejeeber]

I'm with TakinItEz on that, and on an air related note, there's a cheap abort that can work for some of us some of the time: The deep breathing of freezing air through the nose at onset of attack.

It actually works as well as O2 for me in the first week of an episode before the intensity of my hits has ramped up and while I'm often awaiting my O2 cylinders.

It can be particularly easy to try this this time of year in many areas of course (just step outside!), but if you're in a warmer area, the trick is to hop into the car, engine running, blast the air conditioner on max cold, put shnozola up to main vent and go at it. Should take 10 minutes or so, and if successful, the welcome in comparison sensation of an ice cream headache may take over momentarily - with CH aborted.

[Guiseppi]

I agre with the above. The actual pain of CH does not respond to pain killers as it's too intense, so absent knocking you out, they won't help. You'll have a higher degree of success attacking the mechanism of pain, which is what the ice cold air does, and the oxygen does even better!

Joe

[BrainDread]

I'm gonna have to try this. I've noticed that when I feel a shadow coming on, or even in the midst of an attack, that repeatedly splashing water on my face and on the affected side of my head helps. I've tried ice packs, but the weight of the pack exerts too much pressure for me to stand.

[les genser]

I'm with the guys re: cold air. Its free and it works. I also was in the habit of packing my head and neck with cold packs like a tuna on a plane to Tokyo; ice can help abort. Ice water, held in your mouth on the affected side (then spit, and repeat as it warms) helps if your palate is affected.

If you don't have O2 you can try this: do 20 pushups, wait a few secs, do 20 more, etc. ...this does 2 things: raises your blood O2 levels and increases blood flow to limbs& muscles so less can f up your cranial vessels. I aborted like that back in the 80's.

Also, look into acupressure. There are places around your neck, upper chest muscles, base of skull, that you can self apply this to and if you get the right ones you can successfully abort in minutes, in concert with breathing. There are a number of good books on the subject...I like Donna Eden's book Energy Medicine.