I went to the 'doctor' this morning and he screwed up my script for 02 because "I don't fill comfortable going any higher than 5 LPM" so I was only able to get just one tank according to Lincare so I got an H tank and I need a regulator as the one for my E tank want work with it but I want to get the one with the highest LPM I can get.

You would think I was trying to get narcotics with all the trouble I had today to get 02  >:( now I just hope that I will only get hit while I'm at home because I don't have any E tanks...

With every cycle that goes by my resentment for doctors just gets deeper.

What kind of "Doctor" are you seeing presently?

There are many here that have regulators that go to 25 lpm.

Have you tried printing up the info available on the oxygen info link and showed that to your MD?

5 lpm is not taking full advantage of the thearaputic value of o2

All the best

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Print out the link from Todd Rozen and give it to your doc.

Its from one of the leading Headache authorities in the world.

If he still balks then fire him and find someone new asap

I gave him oxygen info and he gave it back to me (to lazy to read it like most doctors.) I have another appointment Monday with an MD that my parents like - we will see.

I was seeing a neurologist but it takes forever to get in to see him and I don't like him him anyway so I would rather find a doc that is just willing to listen to me and give me the oxygen. I know more about my condition than 99% of doctors anyway.

One problem I am having is taking off from work due to all of this doc hopping that I am doing - and trying to explain my problem to my boss (or anyone for that matter) is just a waste of time.

Is 25 LPM as high as you can get with a regulator? I am thinking of getting the demand valve but before I spend that kind of money I want to try the seeds to see if they work.

I bought my own regulator - it is fitted for either the optimask or a demand valve should I ever decide to go that route. This regulator goes from 1 to 60 LPM. The best thing about it is the only hurdle I'll ever need to jump is getting a tank of oxygen in my house.

O2 companies can be a pain in the butt too. Mine gives me a hard time about every other week nagging me about my flow rate, and they had a fit when I bought my own regulator. I asked them if I needed to find another company - apparently not, they're still delivering.

One suggestion I've seen here is to remind your MD that you are not using the oxygen to raise your blood oxygen levels you are using it for vassoconstriction. Make sure they know that you are cutting the straps off your mask or using a mouthpiece that you hold with your hand and remind them that you only use it for less than 20 minutes at a time.

I had a neurologist tell me that high LPMs were bad. I asked him why. He said it could give me headaches and cause ocygen saturation. I think he was trying to tell me I might achieve respiratory alkilosis.   :D  He's the one that insisted Imitrex rarely if ever works for CH. He was fired.

Eric,

Excellent post...  I wish I could have been a fly on the wall when your ex neurologist said high flow rate oxygen therapy would give you headaches and cause oxygen saturation...  

That has got to be a classic...  I'm glad no neurologist ever told me or the rest of the pilots in the squadron while we flying Navy fighters and breathing 100% oxygen at flow rates over 40 liters/minute...  that it was bad for us...  and all the other Navy and Marine Corps pilots who have been doing the same for over 60 years while flying tactical aircraft...  We would have float checked him on the spot or sent him back to stupid study for a refresher in aviation physiology...

Ctech...  Call your doc and ask for a new Rx for O2 with a higher flow rate of at least 15 liters/minute...

Use the info in the following link when you call your doc for the oxygen Rx:

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At best, a single E-size oxygen cylinder will be good for 3 aborts...  Although I seriously doubt you'll be able to achieve an abort at 5 liters/minute...  That low a flow rate will cause your CO2 level to spike and you'll start having anxiety and panic attacks in less than a minute using a non-rebreathing mask.  In short, the excess CO2 will prevent an abort with oxygen at that low a flow rate.

Here are a couple suggestions...  Get the biggest industrial hefty trash bag you can find and use some duck tape to seal the open end of the trash bag.  Then cut the tip of one corner on the closed end of the trash bag, un-tape the 1 liter reservoir bag on your disposable non-rebreathing mask and replace it with the hefty trash bag...  That should give you a 20 to 40 gallon reservoir bag.  Place your finger inside the non-rebreathing mask to hold down the inlet check valve while the reservoir bag fills with oxygen.  Once it's full, fold the bag over the nipple at the bottom of the non-rebreathing mask an put a rubber band over it so it's charged and ready to go for your next attack.

When that attack hits, remove the rubber band, put the mask on your face and breathe the oxygen as fast as you can comfortably breathe it.

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The other option is to hyperventilate on room air for a minute inhaling and exhaling as fast and as deeply as possible, then relax and suck in the oxygen until the reservoir bag collapses.  Breathe room air while it refills then suck the reservoir bag empty again 4 or 5 times.  At that point You'll need to hyperventilate on room air and suck the reservoir bag empty several times in order to achieve an abort.

Good luck and take care,

V/R, Batch