Hi everybody. My name is Mike and I am a CH suffer. I was diagnosed (thankfully by a Dr with Ch) in 2005. I have not had an episode since then. But, as you all say the beast has been back for to weeks now. My question is I just started a new job and my health plan does not kick in for another 30 days. My Ch is episodal and will last for about weeks. I would appreciate any recommendations on what I should do. Thanx

Hi Mike and welcome,


Not knowing what your Dr. prescribed back in 05...I would have to say, can you go back to him and ask if maybe he can give you samples?  

Caffeine is a good bet to abort a headache if you have nothing else.  strong coffee or those energy drinks like Red Bull and Rock Star.   make sure it has the Taurine in them as that has an added kick to it and will help.


Make certain you ask  any new dr. that you want oxygen.  There is a button to the left of here on it and print it out if you have to...  But please read all about it.   It is a life-saver for about 70% of us in aborting an attack FAST.   It won't prevent an attack though and so you will need a preventative, like Lithium, Verapamil and a host of others.  

Linda

I'm with Linda. If you can get your old doc to write a script for 02 it's cheap to pay out of pocket. $4-5 a tank fo monthly rental, $12-$15 a refill. Good luck, the thought of facing a cycle with nothing would spook me just a bit!!!

Joe

Hey Mike,

Welcome aboard.  Being able to use oxygen therapy wlll make your cycle a lot more tolerable.  The following sample prescription for oxygen therapy with the Standards of Care treatment chart for cluster headaches should come in handy.

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To print a copy, select the following link and print then take it to your doctor...  It's already passed muster with several other doctors and neurologists so it should work just fine.

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Take care,

V/R, Batch

Thanx for the advice everybody. I really do appreciate it. Unfortunatley my old Doc no longer practices. But I am definetley going to take the O2 information with me today when I try an urgent care Doc close to where I live.

Several advantages with this treatment: number of us have found it very effective to abort an attack; pill form makes it easy to take to work, etc.; your doc can give you a sample bottle which will cover several attacks at no cost; even if you have to buy some, the doc can write for a small # to cover you until insurance kicks in; cost per dose is reasonable compared to other abortives.
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Headache 2001 Sep;41(8):813-6  

Olanzapine as an Abortive Agent for Cluster Headache.

Rozen TD.

Department of Neurology, Jefferson Headache Center/Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, Pa.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate olanzapine as a cluster headache abortive agent in an open-label trial. BACKGROUND: Cluster headache is the most painful headache syndrome known. There are very few recognized abortive therapies for cluster headache and fewer for patients who have contraindications to vasoconstrictive drugs. METHODS: Olanzapine was given as an abortive agent to five patients with cluster headache in an open-label trial. THE INITIAL OLANZAPINE DOSE WAS 5 MG, AND THE DOSE WAS INCREASED TO 10 MG IF THERE WAS NO PAIN RELIEF. THE DOSAGE WAS DECREASED TO 2.5 MG IF THE 5-MG DOSE WAS EFFECTIVE BUT CAUSED ADVERSE EFFECTS. To be included in the study, each patient had to treat at least two attacks with either an effective dose or the highest tolerated dose. RESULTS: Five patients completed the investigation (four men, one woman; four with chronic cluster, one with episodic cluster). Olanzapine reduced cluster pain by at least 80% in four of five patients, and two patients became headache-free after taking the drug. Olanzapine typically alleviated pain within 20 minutes after oral dosing and treatment response was consistent across multiple treated attacks. The only adverse event was sleepiness. CONCLUSIONS: Olanzapine appears to be a good abortive agent for cluster headache. IT ALLEVIATES PAIN QUICKLY AND HAS A CONSISTENT RESPONSE ACROSS MULTIPLE TREATED ATTACKS. IT APPEARS TO WORK IN BOTH EPISODIC AND CHRONIC CLUSTER HEADACHE.



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Olanzapine has a brand name of "Zyprexa" and is a antipsychotic. Don't be put off by this primary usage. Several of the drugs used to treat CH are cross over applications, that is, drugs approved by the FDA for one purpose which are found to be effective with unrelated conditions--BJ.