So first of all,   PAIN FREE FOR THREE WEEKS!!!!!!

Sorry,had to get that out.
listened to all you veterans and instead of rescheduling i kept my appt. with my new neuro/headache specialist.if you're ever in va beach, Dr.Pugach is fantastic.cost me a pretty penny but he sat with me for three hours.let me vent,ask questions,etc...
Confirmed my CH and then broke out with all this info on CH.
Was even familiar with this website.could not believe I was only getting bye with imitrex pills.handed me two samples each of alsuma and sumavel dose pro.figure out which one i liked and he would get me a script for it.now I find out Pfizer is out of alsuma and won't have it back in stores for a couple of years. What's the difference in alsuma and imitrex?is the sumavel dose pro better?any ideas guys?

Great news on the three weeks pain free. May you be posting six weeks free at the end of the month!

And well done in lining yourself up with a good neuro. With your description of your appointment you hit the jackpot there. Did you learn anything new you've not seen here? If so please post about it so we can all benefit.

No,nothing new,but he did seem like he would be willing to listen to any ideas I might have.i asked about o2 and he said that he thought all that did was delay the inevitable.he felt it would certainly stop the headache,but it would just come back in a couple of hours.wasnt a fan of it,but would help me get it if I wanted it.seemed to be very flexible with treatment.my gp was like,"you don't need it.its expensive".the neuro was like,"we will do whatever to make you feel better".very nice guy.

Dr. Pugach was recently highly recommended from several CH sufferers in VA.  You are in good hands! ;)

-Gregg in Las Vegas

Congratulations on three PF weeks..... :)

Happy you've found a good doctor who is willing to listen.

I would suggest (as I'm sure many here would) that you get the 02 and the cluster mask (sold here).  The abortive meds work but MANY find they rebound and they are hard on your system.  Oxygen, used properly, is the best abortive out there.

Good Luck  :)

Totally agree about the oxygen. It is one amazingly good CH abortive and it can be used as many times a day as you need it, unlike most pharmaceutical abortives.

Will probably get the O2,he said he would help me with that if I wanted it,but what do y'all think of the alsuma?thesumavel dose pro?whats the difference in that and regular imitrex injections?

Esheel,

Push for the oxygen and have your neurologist write the Rx/script for a 15 liter/minute flow rate with a non-rebreathing oxygen mask... 

25 liters/min is even faster aborting CH if you can get your neurologist to write the Rx for this flow rate...  Make sure you get a paper copy of the Rx.

Although you're PF at the moment and your CH cycle may have ended, having the Rx for oxygen therapy in hand and ready for the next cycle is a good idea.  That way when the beast comes a calling, you can call your local home oxygen supplier and have it delivered usually in less than 24 hours. 

If you average 3 CH/24 hours, be sure to ask for at least three of the large M-size oxygen cylinders. They hold 3995 liters and they're good for 25 to 30 aborts.  The smaller E-size oxygen cylinders are good for three aborts at best.  Three of the M-size oxygen cylinders should last you 25 to 30 days

There's little difference between alsuma, and sumavel dosepro as cluster headache abortives.  They're both sumatriptan succinate, usually at 6 mg/0.5 ml per dose/injection.  The dose pro has no needle. 

There is a difference in cost.  Generic sumatriptan succinate (brand names imitrex here in the US or imigran in Europe both made by GlaxoSmithKline) auto injectors may be less expensive unless they're all covered by your medical insurance... usually at nine doses per month.

Alsuma is made by Pfizer and they offer a $4 copay/prescription with some medical insurance programs... That's if your policy doesn't cancel 1 Jan 2014 due to the ACA.

Sumavel DosePro is made by Zogenix and offers a $12 copay/prescription.

Did you ask your neurologist for the lab test for 25(OH)D?  See the following link for details: 

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Take care,

V/R, Batch

LasVegas wrote on Nov 7^th, 2013 at 3:09pm:

Dr. Pugach was recently highly recommended from several CH sufferers in VA.  You are in good hands! ;) -Gregg in Las Vegas

I couldn't agree more!

He is my Doctor as well.
I had the same questions regarding Alsuma.
I works really well for me and I was devastated to hear that it would be unavailable until September 2015.
(I'm very curious as to the reason...)

I just started my latest CH cycle and had to figure out what drug to go to and had to go to the Imitrex.
Same stuff as Alsuma and Sumavel, just different delivery.
As an added bonus, it was only a $10 copay compared to the $267 copay of Alsuma.
(FWIW, the Alsuma injectors are $150 each  :o if one were to pay out of pocket.)

Good luck to you and please feel free to reach out to me.
I'm almost local and that may be of use to you.