Oh I have lots!!!!

What have you used to treat your CH in the past? What has and has not been effective? Do you have a decent neuro? Do you have oxygen yet? The strength in this board is the gazillion years of experience everyone brings to the board. Maybe you'll throw a new idea to us, maybe we can point you in a good direction.

The good news is YES, everyone here understands what you're going through, and you'll never have to face the beast alone again. Welcome home!

joe

Wr.
Welcome to Clusterville.  Tell us ALL about yourself. What have you taken, what are you taking. What works, doesn't work? Everything - we'll drag it out of you eventually anyhow (some of these people are SO nosey!) 

Have you tried O2 - that's the ONE thing most of us agree on cause it works for about 70% of us. Done RIGHT with the right mask it can be a lifesaver - done WRONG it's useless -so you need to do it properly. We GIVE classes on doing it right.

As you've probably figured out, we ALSO use a little humor in dealing with these horrible things. A lot of us are chronic (never get a a break - my last episode began in 97 and haven't had a break since, but humor keeps me sane). Nothing you can say is anything we haven't heard or been thru, so when we say WE UNDERSTAND - you can believe WE DO.

Melatonin at night before bed might help you get some rest (it does a lot of us) 15-18 mg before bedtime helps us get thru the REM sleep where the headaches start.  And RED BULL (or any energy drink with lots of caffeine and at least 1000mg of Taurine) chugged at the first sign of a CH sometimes aborts the hit.

But let us know what you're doing for prevents etc.

Again welcome.

Hugs BD

WrFoard wrote on May 14^th, 2009 at 5:15pm:

Methergine, a blood-vessel constrictor, is given to prevent or control excessive bleeding following childbirth. It works by causing the uterine muscles to contract, thereby reducing the mother's blood loss.

            Potter

Welcome .....glad you have found us.

Methergine or Methylergonovine is still being used I see. I used to use Sansert with is a close cousin but not as strong. You should not use it for over 6 mos without a break.

Methylergonovine has been shown to decrease headache frequency and intensity within 1 week of starting therapy.20 This agent is an ergot derivative with vasoconstrictive properties. It is more potent than its parent drug methysergide and, hence, may be used in lower doses (eg, 0.2 mg 3 times daily); as a result it has fewer side effects.20 This agent should be reserved for refractory cases. Because of the possibility of retroperitoneal fibrosis, pleural fibrosis, pulmonary fibrosis, or cardiac fibrosis, use should be limited to no longer than 6 months at a time.


As far as the 02, 8 lpm is not a high enough flow for most people. If you could get a regulator with 15 lpm and a non rebreather mask, you may find that is very effective.

Hi and a big Welcome to the mad house, If you find the guy with the key can you please tell him i wan´t out. 
I agree with all the above statements but then again im married so used to agreeing to everything 

Dont worry about not being a big talker, most here ramble on for hours with out taking a breadth, not like me i know when to be quiet, just one word and thats me like a mouse, hardly hear a word, some just go on and on and on and on and on oooh sorry 

Mark (small mind, large ........Feet)

I agree - you need a high flow regulator - 8 liters is NOT enough and you have to stay on it too long. The RIGHT mask is ESENTIAL!! Check with the CH.com store - DJ has an Op2tic (or whatever - that's close) mask that works great. But you NEED the right flow with the right mask. (Told you we give classes). 

Methergine worked for me thru ONE episode (when I was episodic). My pharacist asked me where his "cigar" was when he gave me the script. (I'm WELL beyond the childbearing years!)  But it didn't work for the next one - go figure that one.

Imitrex and cafergot are the drugs of choice around here for aborts (after O2). Lithium, Topamax and Verapimil are the most used preventatives. Check them out on the Medications page. Then talk to your doc about getting on a prevent and get an abort that will work.

Hugs BD