Hello everyone. My name's Brent and I'm in the San Jose, CA area. I've been getting CHs about once a year since 2000, I think. Each time it's lasted for about 2-4 weeks, with 1 to 2 headaches a day, each lasting somewhere inbetween 1 and 4 hours.
I didn't realize that what I was experiencing were CHs until probably 3 or 4 years ago, and didn't do much research until just recently. I had been fighting CHs with tylenol and excedrin, but now I think those may be actually making the attacks worse, after reading other people's experiences.
So I've determined that O2 might be the best way to abort CHs, but after looking through this site, I'm a little confused. It seems that the basic information for newbies like myself is missing. I've checked all the sticky threads in the forums, and there are a few that seem potentially useful, once I get the basic information down.
The "oxygen info" link, which I assumed would lead to this, instead brings me to a whole other website, filled with all sorts of stuff that might or might not be related to getting an oxygen solution.
I really just want to know what exactly I need to abort my CHs with O2, and what exactly I need to do to get that. After reading a bunch of the recent posts, I think I've figured out that I need a regulator, a mask (the O2PTIMASK seems to fulfill that requirement, right?), and a tank, which I'm guessing I have to get filled somewhere. But then there's all sorts of little details that I'm missing, like are there different tank sizes? Different regulators for different tanks? Different regulators for different masks? Different connections for all this stuff?
What about "oxygen concentrators"? I looked up "oxygen therapy" on wikipedia (Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or
) and it lists three types - liquid, cylinders, and concentrators. I'm guessing, based on the posts I've read, that cylinders are what everyone uses. But before I determined that, I was thinking that concentrators seemed the most convenient. And some sell in the $300-400 range online (although there are much more expensive ones). Would something like this (Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or
) work? Or do these even come close to doing what I need (I know there's a 15 lpm requirement)?
It'd be nice not to have to get my tank refilled. Or do you even do that? Do people just buy whole new tanks, and recycle the old ones or something? All this is info that'd be great to have explained somewhere up front for noobs like myself. The link to lifegas is great, but I don't have a clue what to look for on there. Even if I figure out what products I want from them, do I just call that number and place an order? Do they ship oxygen filled tanks, or just empty ones that I get filled somewhere?
Sorry for all the questions. I'm just a little frustrated with my lack of progress in figuring this whole O2 thing out. Yesterday I experienced one of my worst CHs ever and I was hoping to have some sort of decision made by now. Maybe it was just wishful thinking, but I thought I might even be able to pick up whatever I need at a medical supply store on the way home from work.