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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> imitrex w/pics
        
(Message started by: jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 7:13pm)

Title: imitrex w/pics
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 7:13pm

I know this has been touched on in the past, but I cannot find the post, we have a TON of imitrex, alot expired in sept 07, and more to expire soon, dr does not want my husband to use it for awhile, to give his body a break , as he tends to abuse it using upwards of 18mg day. How long will the hold for future use or should I toss it? I hate the thought of throwing this out, but what else to do?

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by Ray on Jan 31^st, 2008, 7:18pm

I have used Imitrex that is past date, up to a couple of years. It works fine, perhaps slightly less potent. It will keep much longer in the refridgerator. I am referring to the injectable formulation only.

With best wishes,

Ray

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 7:22pm

thanks ray, though I doubt we have enough room in the frig for all of this

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by Melissa on Jan 31^st, 2008, 7:46pm

on 01/31/08 at 19:22:07, jace77 wrote:

thanks ray, though I doubt we have enough room in the frig for all of this

Are they the pills, nasal sprays or injections? Imitrex is like gold due to the cost of it. If you need to, take them out of their boxes, put them in a ziploc freezer bag and MAKE ROOM for them!

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by Jonny on Jan 31^st, 2008, 7:53pm

on 01/31/08 at 19:22:07, jace77 wrote:

I doubt we have enough room in the frig for all of this

Hmmmmmm, what do you have....a cooler?.....Hmmmmm.

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 8:04pm

they are injectables, but with 5 children, frig is always packed. We get 12 boxes of the 6mg prefilled, 12 boxes 4mg prefilled and 10 boxes of the vials each month, have been stocking them up for over a year...

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by Paul98 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 8:14pm

Can you go out and buy a 1/4 size fridge? They are pretty cheap to buy and run.

If they are injectable, ...autoinjectable (stat dose) you cannot freeze them! If they are single dose VIALS with septum top, you can freeze these. You can freeze oral medications for longer storage. I would think you can freeze the nasial but try with one pack. Any frozen liquid medication MUST be thawed and well mixed before use!!!

-P.

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by Jonny on Jan 31^st, 2008, 9:16pm

on 01/31/08 at 20:04:03, jace77 wrote:

Can I ask a question here?

Has anyone here (and ive been here for more than 8 years) ever heard of anyone get that much each month?

Hmmmmmmmmm!

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 9:42pm

Our insurance is very generous, if I can get the photo to upload would be happy to post it, just got a new camera and trying to get the computer to recognize it.

Just an fyi, been a member since 1999, haven't been active for a few years, so forgot the login and had to request a new one, we were one of the first to register with where we live when it began, check it out by going to where we live, under ohio and look for us there in grove city ohio added in april of 2000

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by Jonny on Jan 31^st, 2008, 9:49pm

on 01/31/08 at 21:42:32, jace77 wrote:

Our insurance is very generous

Generous?.........Please tell us who that is, because most everyone here cant even get six shots a month.

Hmmmmmmm!

Edit to add: If you have been a member since 1999, where the fuck have you been and why didnt you tell us we could get boat loads of Trex?

WTF?

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 9:54pm

caremark, go through the retail side rather than mail order

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 9:56pm

I was in a car accident nearly 5 years ago, hit a dump truck and was ejected. 2 of my children were taken in by medflight, I just underwent my 7th surgery, want proof of this too
I didn't realize it was such a problem to get, we have always been able to get it with no problem

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by vietvet2tours on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:00pm

on 01/31/08 at 21:56:32, jace77 wrote:

I was in a car accident nearly 5 years ago, hit a dump truck and was ejected. 2 of my children were taken tin by medflight, I just underwent my 7th surgery, want proof of this too

Whoa nelly ya sure got defensive there. Hey I wanna see pics of shitloads of drugs.

Potter

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by brewcrew on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:12pm

With all due respect, I understand the need to make sure you don't run out - I do the same with my meds. But why take so much more than you need?

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:16pm

somehow I have a tendancy of forgetting at a friends house.

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by Linda_Howell on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:18pm

Hi Jace,

Yes...In the US it is VERY VERY rare for anyone to get what they actually need in the way of Imitrex. Inj., NS or pills. Of course in other countries it is a whole different story. People here could fill up volumns telling you the horror stories of how badly they have to fight the Ins. Co's and Pharmacies not to mention the Dr.s themselves to get what they need. Even when the Dr. is willing, the cost is prohibitve for many.

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by brewcrew on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:18pm

Sorry, but I can't get past the idea that this is a form of gluttony.

Title: Re: imitrex.
Post by totka2 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:21pm

on 01/31/08 at 20:04:03, jace77 wrote:

We get 12 boxes of the 6mg prefilled, 12 boxes 4mg prefilled and 10 boxes of the vials each month...

34 boxes/month = 408 boxes / year!
Holy $hit! Glaxo sells 1000 boxes / year in whole of Hungary.

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jpa on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:24pm

I ain't very good at math but aint that over $5000 per month? :o

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:27pm

we pay 17.00 X 3 per month= 51.00 , less any imitrex checks we may have, usually they are for 10.00,

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:38pm

at our new years eve party, didn't someone forget their bag containing theirs? oh, no, that would never have happened

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by vietvet2tours on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:55pm

on 01/31/08 at 22:38:55, jace77 wrote:

at our new years eve party, didn't someone forget their bag containing theirs? oh, no, that would never have happened

WTF

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 10:56pm

http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=meds;action=display;num=1196090778
I knew I would find the old posts, look it over, more specifically post #8 and you will see I am not trying to pick a fight, though I am stressed as my husband is in the hospital in chicago for these damn things, and I had to come back to ohio to take care of the children and follow up with my surgeon, hoping to go back tomorrow weather permitting.
And no, I was not involved in this discussion, but remembered reading it and thought it was creative

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by vietvet2tours on Jan 31^st, 2008, 11:02pm

This thread is worthless without pics.

Potter

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by chewy on Jan 31^st, 2008, 11:15pm

I'll come right out and say it.

I think your full of shit.

Post a pic and prove me wrong.

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by jace77 on Jan 31^st, 2008, 11:40pm

http://i30.tinypic.com/9bm2cp.jpg

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by vietvet2tours on Jan 31^st, 2008, 11:41pm

on 01/31/08 at 23:15:28, chewy wrote:

I'll come right out and say it.

I think your full of shit.

Post a pic and prove me wrong.

http://s1.tinypic.com/2dwi3ag_th.jpg

Title: Re: imitrex
Post by vietvet2tours on Jan 31^st, 2008, 11:43pm

gawddamn I do love porn.

Potter

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by totka2 on Feb 1^st, 2008, 2:33am

[smiley=JAW_DROP.gif]

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by E-Double on Feb 1^st, 2008, 7:04am

There was a time when I had mass quantities like that which I kept forgetting during my visits.

I had awesome insurance in addition to sharing an office with pain management of a pretty famous doc in migraine research who would kindly give me samples

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by chewy on Feb 1^st, 2008, 7:23am

Thats that. You got em and I'm wrong.

Can I move in with you?

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by thomas on Feb 1^st, 2008, 9:05am

Is trex the only abortive you use? Are you chronic?

Edit - I shuddered when I saw all of that stuff.......

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by midwestbeth on Feb 1^st, 2008, 9:54am

Damn!!

on 02/01/08 at 09:05:00, thomas wrote:

Edit - I shuddered when I saw all of that stuff.......

It's like looking at a pile of gold!

Beth

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by thomas on Feb 1^st, 2008, 10:13am

on 02/01/08 at 09:54:17, midwestbeth wrote:

Damn!!

It's like looking at a pile of gold!

Beth

Not for me, looks pretty damend scary! Yes I know it knocks em out, but it gaurantees that I'll get hit again in two more hours, I firmly believe that if I had kept using it I would have went chronic. The best thing I've ever done as far as managing my CH's was to quit using that stuff.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by karma on Feb 1^st, 2008, 10:51am

It refreshing to see someone manup and aplogize for jumping to conclusions.

questions? If trex has the value of asprin in your experience is it wrong or glutunous to stock up?
How many people have multiple bottles of 500 aspirin in their cabinet?
How many people are advised to stock up when out of cycle?

Man up or don't but give the woman a break.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by Melissa on Feb 1^st, 2008, 10:55am

Oh. My. God.

Wow. That's definately a pile!

Anyway, I am along the same lines of "scared" too when I look at that pile. My heart raced just to see it! I am so freaking glad I don't take that stuff anymore.

Anyway, I would keep a reasonable amount, say enough for 2-3 shots a day if he's episodic. If he's chronic, then you'll have to regulate how much he takes each day so as not to go so overboard with it. If you truely do not want to keep it, then I suggest you PM Linda_Howell as to what to do with the rest. She will probably give you some good ideas. ;)

JMO

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by midwestbeth on Feb 1^st, 2008, 11:04am

on 02/01/08 at 10:13:03, thomas wrote:

I quit the stuff too. When you're chronic, it's just too scary to get dependent on.

Beth

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by jace77 on Feb 1^st, 2008, 11:31am

He is chronic, and I am in the process of packing up to get it out of the house, he was beginning to abuse it, and was taken to the er by squad with problems with his heart beating crazy, then we went on to chicago and he was admitted there tuesday, they have him off it entirely now, with 2 attacks since admitted. I will store some at my moms house so we have it available, just not in such massive amounts, some at our home, and the rest just needs to go. The temptation is too great for him, thought I was helping him, and realize now I wasn't at all.
Oxygen has no affect on him, the dr is now trying a different med at the hospital, we will find out what it is and if it helps, I will post the results

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by DennisM1045 on Feb 1^st, 2008, 12:13pm

Good luck to both of you. You are a great supporter. Hang in there...

-Dennis-

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by thebbz on Feb 1^st, 2008, 1:22pm

I got wood and a heart attack. :o
thebb

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by Linda_Howell on Feb 1^st, 2008, 1:36pm

Quote:

I suggest you PM Linda_Howell

Already on top of it Mel. ;)

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by brewcrew on Feb 1^st, 2008, 4:38pm

on 02/01/08 at 10:51:27, karma wrote:

questions? If trex has the value of asprin in your experience is it wrong or glutunous to stock up?

I'm going to assume you're talking to me. Not sure what this "value of aspirin" thing is of which you speak, but gluttony is defined as "indulging in something to excess." I stated plainly that making sure one has enough on hand is quite different than taking as much you can get just for the sake of having it.

Quote:

How many people have multiple bottles of 500 aspirin in their cabinet?

Not a comparable argument. People don't buy aspirin assuming that it has a limited shelf life. It's always assumed that it will all be consumed before more is purchased. I suppose there may be a few nutjobs who have cabinets full of aspirin, but I don't know any.

Quote:

How many people are advised to stock up when out of cycle?

Again, we're talking about definitions here. Making sure you have enough is quite different than hoarding.

Quote:

Man up or don't but give the woman a break.

Uh, sure.

Title: Re: imitrex.
Post by Kevin_M on Feb 1^st, 2008, 6:25pm

on 01/31/08 at 22:21:16, totka2 wrote:

Glaxo sells 1000 boxes / year in whole of Hungary.

For many years before a preventative I could annually top that figure all by myself,
never really maintaining a stock, used most all plus other aborts before oxygen.

edited, my mistake, he says boxes, I meant individual n/s Imitrex abortives.

I learned of oxygen and verapamil from this message board. :)

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by karma on Feb 1^st, 2008, 8:50pm

Hey Brew,
I guess we see things differently. Just thought it was unnecesary.
Peace.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by billlmack on Feb 1^st, 2008, 11:50pm

wow
i'm chronic and can only get 9 100mg pills a month
retail in Ohio is $269 for nine 100 mg pills.
if u have to get rid of it ship it to me......... oh thats injectables................ never mind.
Toss it, I guess.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by tony-PA on Feb 2^nd, 2008, 12:37pm

posted by bob-johnson feb.2006

Headache. 2004 Jul;44(7):713-8.

Subcutaneous sumatriptan induces changes in frequency pattern in cluster headache patients.

Rossi P, Lorenzo GD, Formisano R, Buzzi MG.

Objectives.-To document the relationship between the use of subcutaneous (SQ) sumatriptan (sum) and a change in frequency pattern of cluster headache (CH) in six patients. To discuss the clinical and pathophysiological implications of this observation in the context of available literature. Background.-Treatment with SQ sum may cause an increase in attack frequency of CH but data from literature are scant and controversial. Methods.-Six CH sum-naive patients (three episodic and three chronic according to the International Headache Society (IHS) criteria) are described. Results.-All six patients had very fast relief from pain and accompanying symptoms from the drug but they developed an increase in attack frequency soon after using SQ sum. In all patients, the CH returned to its usual frequency within a few days after SQ sum was withdrawn or replaced with other drugs. Five patients were not taking any prophylactic treatment and SQ sum was the only drug prescribed to treat their headache. Conclusions.-Physicians should recognize the possibility that treatment of CH with SQ sum may be associated with an increased frequency of headache attacks.
************

In Italy we could have such pile of imigran (personally always have at least 30/40 box, but we don't pay for ;)).
Many doctors begin to wonder.......
Besides myself, many other heavy users have had an increase of attacks. That's why now I'm convinced that O2 is the best and safe way to fight the beast.

I would appreciate if someone can give me some link about this issue (if there are any and the pharmaceutical big bosses let know the danger :().

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by jace77 on Feb 7^th, 2008, 7:45am

we are home from Chicago, with only a few shadows, Dr said DO NOT use the imitrex at all! He prescribed norflex and DHE intramuscular injections to use at home should we need them. Hubby is not really liking the needles for them, and said he will not use it, so I will be the one to give him the shots. The imitrex definitely contributed to rebounds and he said he would still be tempted to use them over the new meds, now I get to box it all up and clear it out of the house so the temptation is gone.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by larry777 on Feb 7^th, 2008, 12:21pm

2001 annual meeting

http://abstracts.neurosurgeon.org/view.php?id=6714

MIGRAINE SURGERY VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/v/VoQV5VPN2ZE

http://www.youtube.com/v/wL1y0SHSKs8

MIGRAINE SELF TREATING VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/v/JZ8mmkRu748

;;D ;;D ;;D

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by thebbz on Feb 7^th, 2008, 2:38pm

Hey Larry,.
I'm sure there is a migraine site looking for you. You should probably go there.'
thebb

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by Gena on Feb 7^th, 2008, 3:57pm

on 02/07/08 at 07:45:11, jace77 wrote:

I use DHE intramuscular and there would be no way I could give them to myself.
The needles are big and the shot is painful.
Compared to Imitrex I get 24 hours of relief per shot most times.

I hope the DHE gives him the relief he needs.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by jace77 on Feb 7^th, 2008, 4:21pm

thanks for the info

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by thomas on Feb 8^th, 2008, 9:10am

on 02/07/08 at 15:57:35, Gena wrote:

Just to add a footnote to what Gena said, the DHE is NOT and effective abortive if you wait until the CH is full blown, it is more for giving your self a 18-24 hour break and letting your body get the rest that it so desperately needs. However usually 3-8 days of DHE treatments can break a cycle. Good luck with everything.

Edit to add - make sure you give the shot sllllllooooooooowwwwwwwlllllllyyyyyyyy and like anything else overuse/abuse is not a good thing at all. There are times when you just have to tough it out and use ice/heat, coffee, redbull and those types of things.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by Gator on Feb 8^th, 2008, 1:35pm

on 02/01/08 at 23:50:18, billlmack wrote:

.. oh thats injectables................ never mind.
Toss it, I guess.

Say what? [smiley=huh.gif] Toss it my way maybe.

When a ch attack hits, time is of the essence. Pills don't work fast enough to provide acceptable relief for a ch attack. Injectable Imitrex works extremely quickly, in less than 10 minutes for some - less than seven minutes for me most of the time. I was needlephobic until I developed CH. One shot of trex and I got over that real quick. I'd much rather feel a quick prick in the arm, thigh or stomach and be feeling better in minutes than take a pill and suffer through 30 - 45 minutes or longer waiting for it to take effect. Using the vials and a 31 gauge short needle insulin syringe, you hardly feel a thing except relief.

If you REALLY just can't get past the thought of giving yourself a shot, try Zomig NS. That works for me in under 10 minutes, probably 90% of the time. Zomig stays in the system a lot longer than trex. Many people report Zomig gives them 10+ hours before they get hit again.

Another alternative if your attacks always come at the same time is to take a long acting triptan, like frovatriptan, about an hour or two before your scheduled attack. I use this if I have to be clear headed for a period of time, like travel, business meetings, etc.

Title: Re: imitrex w/pics
Post by jace77 on Feb 8^th, 2008, 2:05pm

the histamine desensititization is not working the diamond headache clinic did last week, now they are moving on to the dhe 24hr X 4 day sub-cu infusion. we are waiting for the home health nurse to arrive at the house to try this treatment and they are taking him off lithium and adding lyrica 50mg X 2 day. His attacks are not coming at any "scheduled" time, just when they feel like it, sometimes in the middle of the night, sometimes after breakfast, or middle of afternoon, no rythum, just chronic. The doctors do not want him using imitrex at all, as he gets horrible rebounds from just one dose! I must have 100 vials or more sitting here, even using the 2-3 mg at a time, still gets rebounds...