i am so thankful to have finally found a site where people actually understand theese horrible things, i was beginning to think i was alone in this. Well, im a 31 year old single mom, and i've been suffering from clusters since i was 14 years old. i've never had medical insurance so my journey with theese things has been rediculous. i wasn't diagnosed until i was 24 years old, so 10 years of ER doctors sending me on my way with no clue what was going on. i was on the verge of suicide when i was finally diagnosed. i suffer for about 2-3 months every year or so,and im just starting a cycle now. i went to the ER and got a rx for imitrex, but i have to pay cash, and im sure you all know how expensive that is, but i dont know if i can bear to live through another cycle untreated, im pretty sure i cant. so i was wondering if anyone out there knows of any other, less expensive ways for me to get through this cycle, or where i can get imitrex the cheapest??? ive been using them 1/3 at a time, witch actually works pretty well. and thank you to whoever posted that, its been a HUGE help to me.

What Jonny said! Oxygen has all but eliminated my dependance on Imitrex. If you have no insurance, it's doubly better cuz it's so cheap. $4-5 a month to rent a tank, $11-15 a refill. A tank will abort up to 6 hits for me, so you can see per attack it's dirt cheap.

You'll need a prescription for oxygen, a tank, a regulator, at least 15 LPM, and a non re breather mask. Then you jump on the oxygen as soon as an attack starts. I can abort a hit in less then 10 minutes, ususally closer to 6, certainly worth a shot.

You don't mention any preventative meds. I use lithium while on cycle, eliminates up to 80% of my attacks. Others use verapamil or topomax, amny others to read about on the board.

The following is a cut and paste from Bob Johnsons post regarding another inexpensive alternative to trex:

. Do you have a primary care doc who  you might approach, asking for a sample of this med? It works very well for some of us as an abortive.
---------
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.


Welcome to the board, needless to say, you have much reading to do, hope we can help you!

Joe

Like the others have said, get 02.  It's really im0ortant that you use it properly.  Read up on all the 02 info.

Hang in there. 
Tabitha