Hi there. I'm a sporadic lurker on these boards. I'm currently going through a pretty brutal cycle of my clusters.

O2 works well for aborting my KIP 5+, but doesn't do much for my less intense HAs (i.e. the pain fades while I'm on the O2, but comes back 5 minutes after I stop).

Energy drinks work well for aborting KIP 1-3, but are only kinda-sorta helpful if they're more intense than that.

(KIP 4s just suck for me as neither treatment is terribly effective on them.)

I take Imitrex shots to deal with HAs that can't be dispatched by O2 or Caffeine/Taurine.

At any rate, dropping by here, I've seen discussion of Demand Valves and hyperventilating using them. So I asked my Dr. about getting one, but he couldn't find any info about Demand Valves being used with Cluster Headaches. Basically, insurance won't cover a demand valve for me w/o my Dr's recommendation, and my Dr. won't recommend it w/o published studies showing that O2 via demand valves are an effective treatment for clusters. (Possibly, he requires it to be more effective than a non-rebreather mask.)

So...are there any studies out there showing that O2+demand valves are effective treatment for clusters? I couldn't find any, but I figure if any are out there, someone here would know about it.

Wink     ;)

Wink,

Dr. Rozen, is conducting a study at Geisinger Medical Center in Northeast Pa. He is a preeminent Neurologist in the headache field. He took me on as a patient, due to my confirmed diagnosis, and I had already been using Highflow with demand valve. (I purchased my own, prior to him coming to the area) The regulators and attatchments are not cheap, but in my case well worth the investment)

I believe Lifegas was at one time considering a lower cost alternative, perhaps they have it available.

He, by a stroke of good luck came to my area, to do the study. I was not, nor am I, a part of the study as I already was using it and thankfully went out of cycle. 


I don't think the study has been completed, but it is being conducted. Results, I would imagine, should be forthcoming.

I'll try and drop him an e-mail and see where it stands.

All the best,
Baer

I doubt you will find studies on demand valves.  It is just another mechanism of getting high-flow o2 to your lungs.

It gets attention here because it can be more efficient and easier to handle than the other masks.  No bag, etc. 

In fact... this reminded me to check eBay, where I just bought another one for $25.  They tend to need to seals, but that is $20 of drop-in parts. 

Wink,

You don't need a demand valve in order to hyperventilate - it's just more convenient. What you need is any regulator that will give you enough flow to be able to breathe very, very deeply, at a good fast pace. I require 45-65 liters per minute to make that happen, you may need a different flow. The number doesn't matter: completely filling and emptying your lungs quickly is what matters.

I use a $35 welding oxygen regulator which can provide a far more flow than any demand regulator, but I simply adjust it to my breathing rate. Large medical tanks use the SAME fitting as welding oxygen tanks. More info available if needed.

If your CH's are anything like mine, you won't delay even one more day getting high flow O2 regardless of what regulator type you choose or what your insurance company thinks.....

Marc

Just to clarify, I believe Dr. Rozen is doing a study on high flow oxygen as an abortive, and its' relationship to Ch.

I don't think the study is specifically related to demand valves Per se.

Baer