How do other people cope with the exhaustion of the broken sleep pattern?
This cycle the CH is waking me up 1-2 hrs after going to sleep and then if I'm really lucky :( again at around 6am
I'm going to try going to bed 2 hrs earlier tonight in the hope that'll wake with the CH, take an injection and be back asleep before my normal bed time.

Any other ideas?

Longer acting triptans, like Amerge or Frova, taken at bed time, can usually buy you anywhere from 4-8 hours of pain-free time so you can get some shut-eye.

There is no good way to deal with the exhaustion, so you have to channel your energies into finding a way to sleep.

Mine mostly (i know mostly is not what your really looking for) seem to wake me up after about an hour and 45min to 2hours of sleep. once i figured this out i started taking 30 min naps to try and mitigate some of the tiredness. I still wake up with a hit sometimes, but on the 3rd or 4th day of absolutely no sleep even the little things help. Try and figure out how much sleep it takes to trigger one, and set an alarm for at least 30-45min before an expected attack. Unfortunately this means trial and error, with error being the worst possible outcome, but desperate times breed desperate measures and being awake in pain is better than being a zombie in pain i feel.

Good luck and stay strong my friend.

Thanks guys.

I'm hoping that when the O2 arrives next week I can relax a bit knowing that I can jump on that when the CH starts rather than waiting 5 minutes (like I have been doing at the moment) to check it is really a CH rather than a shadow before injecting - do others worry about using the meds too soon and wasting it? I've read about how to take the auto injector apart to reduce the dose but I'm not too confident about this yet...

I wasn't aware of the stronger triptans in the UK? Maybe the GPs can only prescribe certain ones and others come from the specialists? I know the stuff I'm on costs the NHS £46 for two injections (the last prescription of 12 sets caused raised eyebrows at the chemists but apparantly they have 3 other guys using this stuff) and I got the impression that the O2 is also quite costly. Then again, it is wrong for them not to prescribe stuff that works based on cost...

At the moment the CH definitely starts after 1-2hrs of going to sleep so I am going to try the short naps this weekend and after work next week.

Something has to work....

I was just telling a friend how I used to save my Trex for the worst hits because I only got two shots a month.   If it got bad enough to make me cry, something I try my hardest not to do, I'd consider injecting.

With my oxygen, I can abort every time and not worry about it!  It's a great feeling knowing I don't have to endure high kip levels anymore!

Jeannie

Have you tried using melatonin?

Quite a few people have been using it as it helps them sleep and avoids the night time CHs.

Frova is not a stronger triptan, just different.  You should be able to get it with no problem (it is in pill form).  In fact, I got my first Frova from a friend of mine in the UK.

Deltadarlin is correct - Frova and Amerge are not stronger, they're just time-released. They act for a longer period of time. Injectable Imitrex/Imigran is still the Rolls Royce of triptans, the gold standard. But it won't buy you a full night's sleep.

Hi,
I used to take a sumatriptan tablet just before bed and this stopped the early morning hit so I would get about 5 hours sleep.

Tiredness update:
I tried propping my top half up by approx 30 degrees last night (as I often find that laying flat with just one or two pilllows can start to trigger the shadows in my neck) using four pillows and it helped a lot.
I still woke at 11.30pm with the shadows in my neck and just above my left eye but I sat upright for 10 minutes and it eased by itself! I managed to get back to sleep within half an hour and was woken again at 5.30am with the same shadows but sitting up again stopped it
I've still had neck ache all day (but not as intense as Friday) and I keep having the odd shadow twinge but nothing bad. I also don't feel quite so zombie like today as I reckon I had around 7 hours sleep in total

I've had one night previous in this current attack with no CH so this makes it two but I know that CH can be every other day so tonight will tell if I'm onto something or the CHs are just messing me around!

That's good. Whatever you have to do. Meanwhile, have you spent any time looking for something that will allow you to sleep regularly?

What Mike NZ said about the melatonin.

Some folks here have reported success preventing the night hits with dosages from 9 mg to 21 mg before bed. I'd start with 9 mg and take 'er from there.

I'm going to try tonight and Sunday and see how it goes. My thoughts are that as my neck is feeling less sore it will lead to me getting to sleep comfortably and then I may sleep through....

I also don't want to try too many things at once, I'm on the second day of vit D3 and Omega 3 and I'm cutting out Lactose which showed up in an allergy test mid cycle years ago so these may be starting to work? If on Monday my sleep pattern is still poor then melatonin is my next try.

If it helps any one I've always believed my neck to be the trigger point when I'm in a cycle (I believe that Chiropractic treatment help stop a bad cycle around eight years ago)

Apparently in the UK Melatonin is prescription only?
I'm trying Nytol herbal tablets - I think I slept a bit heavier last night but not too sure
I'm on the O2 now - I've found the general background head ache was less today and did not feel the need for a Red Bull to take off the edge

MRI scan appointment is in a months time...Still nothing on the neurologist yet though