I've been getting hit after going to sleep at night lately and I have noticed that after I get off the 02, I am WIDE AWAKE!  Like I've drank two red bull's wide awake.  Is all the 02 waking my brain up?  Anyone else notice this?  

I always took something to help me sleep when I was in cycle, so I was able to go back to sleep. Do you take anything to help you fall asleep? If not, you might try that.

Keep a copy of "Ulysses" or "Tale of Two Cities" near the bed - these two titles counteract the effects of the O2, and nighty-night you go.

Scott ;)

Hmm... Are you taking Melatonin? If not, it helps prevent night hits for some, and you could always take some after you get on the O2 and see if it might put you back to sleep.

I've never had that effect from just oxygen. I use cafergot with my 02 and THAT will jack me up for 6-12 hours!!

Joe

I still have some melatonin, I'll try that again.  I've never tried any Rx sleep meds.  I go through boughts of insonmia, and of course ch makes it worse.  If that fails, I'll get out "Tale of Two Cities".  ;D

thanks

I'm dropping a quarter pill of 40mg relpax 2 hours, and a 1/4 just before I go to sleep. For a month now, no nighttime hits after 3-4 a night, and the Relpax knocks me out for 7-8 straight. I did try it in the daytime to kill a headache, had three that night, perhaps the body builds immunity? After way over thirty years of total drug resistant ch, I am amazed to find any drug that does anything.  BTW, after research, had my doc write an "emergency override" prescription, can now get 24X a month vs 8X on insurance, at 25 bucks per pill, that is a major help.
Best of luck, keep at it, chances are you will find something.
Chris

Oops, forgot, but if you have not read the threads, most people are talking 10-12 mg of Melatonin to get any efficacy. There are some serious warnings on Big M, blood pressure, interactions, pregnancy, would pay to ask the doc, or at least do some serious reading up.

Oxygen doesn't wake me up--just the actvity of having to use it, as well as using ice packs.  I've tried melatonin, but I get really inconsistant results with it.  So I pop 50 mg of generic benedryl at bedtime during cycles.  Not everyone gets the sleepy side effect, but that stuff really knocks me out for a few hours.  It won't keep the hits away, but it really helps me to get back to sleep in between.

Not me.

For the last week or so, I've been having to hit the O2 for about 10 minutes - two to four times every night - but I fall right back to sleep in seconds.

Melatonin never seemed to do much in the past, but now I'm thinking I'll give it a stab tonight.

Marc

I'm thinking it's insomnia rearing it's ugly head again.  Ch at night just adds to it.

In the past Benedryl has made me wired and then I crash.  I don't like the tingly feeling I get with cold meds and only take them when absolutely necessary.

I'm putting the Melatonin back on the nightstand.

Sorry about the nighttime hits, Beth.  And the sleeplessness too!  Hope it gets better soon.

Jeannie

midwestbeth wrote on Dec 31^st, 2008 at 11:40am:

I'm thinking it's insomnia rearing it's ugly head again.  Ch at night just adds to it. In the past Benedryl has made me wired and then I crash.  I don't like the tingly feeling I get with cold meds and only take them when absolutely necessary. I'm putting the Melatonin back on the nightstand.

the nyquil and benedyl had the same effect on me. after about 2 nights Melatonin started to work. the o2 alone never cranked me up however the most amount of sleep i could get was 2 hours. Melatonin did make it easy to go back to sleep without feeling so drugged.

beth do you get on the o2 as soon as you open your eyes at a kip3 or do you wait until your at a kip7 or 8?

Remember when starting the melatonin regime, sometimes it takes up to two weeks for it to really start to work efficiently !!

When I get up for my night time hits, if I JUST do the O₂ and then go right back to bed, I zonk right out.  BUT, if I stay up for a drink, or a cigarette, I have a harder time getting back to sleep.

But DAMN that is a good tasting cigarette!

Chuck

-johnny- wrote on Jan 1^st, 2009 at 2:38am:

beth do you get on the o2 as soon as you open your eyes at a kip3 or do you wait until your at a kip7 or 8?

I lay there in denial and get up when I can't stand it anymore.  I know I should get up at the first sign, but sometimes (not often enough) it's just a shadow and I can go back to sleep without hitting the 02.

fly gas wrote on Dec 31^st, 2008 at 7:35am:

Oops, forgot, but if you have not read the threads, most people are talking 10-12 mg of Melatonin to get any efficacy. There are some serious warnings on Big M, blood pressure, interactions, pregnancy, would pay to ask the doc, or at least do some serious reading up.

Most people who are taking melatonin as a CH preventative seem to use 10 mg or so, and that's what I include in my 'mix', but if you intend it as a sleep aid, it's well documented that a much smaller dose will work better.  Try about 300 mcg.  I believe Chuck has a bottle he'll let you have  ;D

As for the "serious warnings", I'm curious.  I have never seen a credible warning about BP or interactions associated with melatonin beyond the common-sense caveat about pregnancy.  What's your source, Chris?

Regards,
Jim

Here is a good information source from the National Institutes of Health which I referenced in the article I wrote for an OUCH newsletter a while back.  It's a good place to start for people who want to know more about melatonin.  Again, personally, melatonin isn't consistant enough for my needs, and I've given it several tries.
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Thanks for the link pattik!

Jim,

Pattik's link is a good one, actually a dynamite one, I got much of my info off the bottle, and just researching some sites, NIH, Wiley etc.

Keep in mind, the doses we are talking about are times 2 or more "normal" doses.

Off my Melatonin bottle, brand name Natrol, they specifically mention depressants, (although they don't mention BP), and anticoagulants.
My MD, who I have a LOT of respect for, was concerned that Melatonin might mess up some of the other drugs that seem to be working, ergo Zomax and Relpax, so I have been off it for the cycle. Out of cycle, I use it every two or three nights, does seem to give me good night's sleep.

Keep in mind, on dosing and/or efficacy of any treatment, the nature of CH. For 37 years, my first line has always been hot showers, but if you read the CH.com survey, only 3% of us get the same benefit. That means one could read 32 straight emails from honest people who have tried them and can say they didn't work, but if you didn't read the one in 33 where they did work, you'd be out in the cold.

Try the popular stuff, it it doesn't work, try every single thing that even one person said helped them until you find a treatment or mix that works.

BTW, Beth, if there is a question on whether you're getting a shadow or the real thing, don't think about it, hit the O2.

Denial is a highly overrated emotion in CH..................

Best,

Chris