there is so much info on this site. i wish i could read it all at once but i do think that the brightness of a computer screen can be a trigger for me. plus, i stare at computers and phone screens all day long at work :'( . i needed to know what are some good inexpensive drugs on the go? no needles or sprays. i haven't found cheap ones yet. or maybe you guys have.

I know i have to look into preventative meds, i have to get a new doctor first as well. just asking because this episode is so unlike others. i'm  not getting as many headaches but they are still coming at inopportune times. not only are they erratic in occurrence during the day, (only my early morning ones are predictable) but it seems my shadows (i guess that's what you guys are referring to when you speak about that lingering  pain?) are ALWAYS present. I used to have some painless time in between but not anymore. Usually when i'm not fighting one, i try to get as much rest as i could. i"m kinda mad at myself for not looking further into this site years ago. I never knew there was a message board. you guys are like greek gods to me right now lol

also, sometimes i do tend to combat the pain at work. I dunno what the hell i'm doing, but I can feel one coming on, and it hits about a 7 and i massage and rub my head as well as rub my thighs and close my one eye, but then it dies down. over the years i have felt like here and there i found ways to subdue the pain but not really. no technique ever really works all the time. does anyone else get that as well? like i'm using no meds at all. maybe i'll have a cup of joe if i can or a glass of water. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. just a thought in my mind tho.

Hi Kay Jay!

If you haven't tried 'em yet, energy shots (such as Red Bull) can be helpful if downed at onset. It's something about the combo of taurine and caffeine that makes them more effective than caffeine alone.

Of course for a powerful and non toxic abortive, many here have an E tank of O2 in the car and office, and use the newer, more effective way of administering it as outlined in the oxygen info to the left.

In a pinch, there's always the trick where you run to the car and put your nose up the blasting air conditioner vent, breathing the freezing air deeply. This can abort what would've otherwise been a K7 or so for some of us some of the time.

Glad to see in another thread that you're becoming aware of the D3 regimen.

Then some folks just prevent entire episodes with the clusterbusters approach discussed in this Newsweek article: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

As far as drugs are concerned, I know Bob here has been an aficionado of inexpensive Zyprexa (but I don't know much about it).

Kay Jay wrote on Jun 25^th, 2011 at 1:59am:

..No technique ever really works all the time. does anyone else get that as well?.. .

Yep that sounds mighty familiar.  :-?

Look into olanzapine (Zyprexa). It works well for some as an abortive, and I understand it's relatively inexpensive.

All of the highly effective meds require an Rx. So, until you line up with a new headache specialist (who will be in charge, in any case) there isn't much to offer which is highly & consistently effective. (Zyprexa suggested a couple of times is an Rx item costing about $3/dose.)

Might try melatonin, an otc item at the drugstore, taking about 9-12mg/day. It has a modest track record but is inexpensive.

But work hard to get to Duke or Bowman-Gray.

Re. PC screen: you can reduce the brightness and that may ease some of the strain.

AVOID any otc pain meds. They can quickly increase the problem.

KayJay, I'll second what BeJeeber said about Energy Drinks. 
 
I just got back from a weekend trip out of state in the middle of a cluster cycle.  In addition to my ample melatonin stash, I brought a full case of Monster Blue (sugar free) 16oz tallboys with me in a cooler.
 
Now I've tried a dozen different brands of energy drink out there specifically for aborting cluster hits and Monster works at least twice as well as everything else I've tried.  The key for me is to down the whole can, ice-cold, as soon as I feel the pain start to drill in. 

You said no injections or nasel sprays, but I'd like to ask you why.  Besides Zyprexa, I have found Imitrex nasel sprays to be about THE most convenient way to abort a H.A. occasionally, when you're in a situation in public, at work, etc.  that there is out there.  It's tiny, about 2" by 3" in size, fits in your purse and takes only a few seconds to use.  Takes about 10 mins. to take effect and you're good to go.

     Pure oxygen though is my number one abortive.