Hi all,
I have been reading this site for a While now, but this is the first time I've posted. I'm a 63 year old female and I've had episodic clusters for about 6 years now, but only just been diagnosed and given the right meds. I have sumatriptan injections and they really work. They are a real life saver.
I am planning some serious travelling soon and will be spending a lot of time on planes, busses and boats. My question is can they be taken through your clothes. It's not always going to be convenient to find an exposed bit of body and I want to be as inconspicuous as possible.
This a great site, I've taken so much advice from here and I'm sure it will help me cope. Thanks Guys.

If you're going to jab yourself through your pant leg, I suggest you get the auto-inject pens (as opposed to regular syringes). The needles are a little beefier (and as a result, they hurt more).

I've told people that if a regular syringe feels like getting stuck with a thumbtack, an auto-inject pen feels like a 6-penny nail.

Hi Brew, Thanks for your response.
Yes I have the auto inject pen thingies. Not nice to use but compared to the pain of CH. [smiley=bomb.gif]..........well I'm sure I don't have to tell you.

There have been times when I would have happily carved out my own liver with a kitchen knife if I thought it would take away the pain. So a little old jab is nothing. When the pain starts I actually look forward to it as I know relief is on the way.

So it's ok then to do it through, say, jeans?

Under extreme conditions, jabbing an imitrex syringe through clean jeans is ok but not as a constant thing.  You're just forcing antigens past the body's protective layer...  skin.

Load up on 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3 (the anti-inflammatory regimen) and the odds are 80% you'll leave the cluster beast behind you.

See: START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

and for the "How To" with all the supplements:

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Take care,

V/R, Batch

When travelling just make sure you've plenty of supplies for CH. If going overseas it might not be easy to get hold of medications, so ensure you've got what you need. Plus pack medication in hand luggage, not in the hold so that it won't go missing.

As with anything to do with CH, planning beforehand makes a massive difference so you can get on with enjoying your adventures.

Batch's solution above is the best. Jabs only as a last resort, and then I'd try to make it to the restroom to do it straight into the skin, cleansed with an alcohol wipe first.

maz wrote on Jul 29^th, 2013 at 4:14pm:

Hi all, I have been reading this site for a While now, but this is the first time I've posted. I'm a 63 year old female and I've had episodic clusters for about 6 years now, but only just been diagnosed and given the right meds. I have sumatriptan injections and they really work. They are a real life saver. I am planning some serious travelling soon and will be spending a lot of time on planes, busses and boats. My question is can they be taken through your clothes. It's not always going to be convenient to find an exposed bit of body and I want to be as inconspicuous as possible. This a great site, I've taken so much advice from here and I'm sure it will help me cope. Thanks Guys.

If you must use Imitrex of any type of injectable form it is best to inject directly into skin and avoid a foreign substanbce such as clothing that could create an infection even from the smallest particle of fabric that would enter your body.

Try lifting your shirt and go for an area about an inch from your belly button or lift your shirt sleeve and go for the upper arm/shoulder.  Process takes less than 5 seconds.

As a word of caution, Imitrex and other triptans should be utilized sparingly and only on unfortunate occasions you don't have o2.

Pain Free Wishes ;)

-Gregg in Las Vegas

If you have time before the travel begins, ask your doc to run a trial with this med to see if it's effective for you. I found it almost as fast acting as Imitrex but with the convenience of it being a pill.

(Also get your doc to write a letter giving your diagnosis and listsing the meds you will be carrying  with you. That should satisfy security/customs.)
===
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.

PMID 11576207 PubMed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
=====

Quote:

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

Unless you're interested in purchasing a firearm in the future...

Just sayin'.

The thing that works for me is to make sure whoever you're with knows you have to inject yourself.  Most of the people around me...co-workers, wife, friends etc all have a complete understanding as they've all seen me at least once in the middle of an attack. 

I've been everywhere from my bathroom at the house, airplane lavatory, movie theater, first building I could find when I was on the motorcycle, and most recently in a MRAP in the middle of Afghanistan.  Although I prefer the privacy of my own room I don't let that stop me.

I use the vials with insulin syringes and always have them on me.  I've found that 1ml is the minimum I need to knock one out after I was in Afghanistan and down to my last few vials before my refills made the 10 day trip in the mail.  Although sometimes that isn't enough more often than not it is.  Not to mention my supplies last longer and the side effects (someone sitting on my chest) aren't as pronounced.

Hi all, I've bumped this thread because I have just thought of another possible problem. Will I even be allowed to take my injections on a plane in my hand luggage. Would a doctors letter cover that. There must be thousands of people , diabetics for example, who travel, and I'm probably just panicking, but I just know that if they take them off me I'll get an attack. I always get it when I travel. We will be going with American airlines, and Quantas.

I've flown well over 100 times in New Zealand and Australia carrying sumatriptan (imitrex) injectors without any issues at all. But do contact your airline to find out what rules apply for where you'll be flying.