You handle things with a suicidal cluster sufferer just as you would anybody who is suicidal.  Keep him talking.   I would also suggest, that, if possible, you sit down and have a talk with his psychiatrist, with or without him.

That aside, what has he tried for his headaches?  Is he on oxygen?  And, if I may ask, what meds does he take for the bipolar condition?  Does he see one physician who coordinates all his meds or does he see different docs for each condition?

I know that you're coming here to try and find out how to best prevent your husbands potential suicide, but he has a myriad of conditions that compound the clusters.

Carolyn~aka~deltadarlin

Hi,
I have paranoid schizophrenia and major depression.  I have felt suicidal on many occassions due to multiple medical conditions.  I suffer from chronic ch.  which means I get them every day all year round.  I was blessed to find a good and compassionate dr who gave me some good meds to stop the ch.  Has he tried verapamil, topamax, lithium, zerprexa, elavil, oxygen, imitrex, there are so many combinations out there to try.  You dont say what he takes for ch.  Can you tell us?  As far as feeling suicidal get him to see his pyciatric dr that perscribes his meds.  Tell them how he is feeling.  It is one thing to feel suicidal.  It is another to have a plan of committing the act.  They will ask him if he has a plan.  If not, they probably will give him an antidepressant. If so, they will probably want to hospitalize him.  I have been hospitalized with ch in the mental ward.  What is more important is his life!  When I checked in I told them I had ch all hrs of day and night and that I needed room to pace and head bang.  That was not an attempt at suicide but part of a ritual because the pain was so intense.  They gave me a private room and I could pace and do all I wanted to in there.  However, I had to go to them to get the imitrex to abort my ch and they dr didn't have the order written up.  I was livid.  They got it quickly as possible I made sure after that when I went in the order was ready to go and up there.  If he does try to kill himself in the hospital which I tried to do they will put you in a room with 4 walls and a mat and blanket for 24 hrs or until the drs say you can come out. So again he would have another room all to himself to headbang and walk around in.  Dont let him fool you.  It isn't as bad a place as it sounds.  If his life is in jeapordy please call 911 or take him to the emergency room if after hours.  Otherwise get him to see his pdoc.  Hope I helped some.

They all said the things that need to be said.  I'm a supporter, too and I just want you to know I'm praying for you and your husband.  Strength and peace and pain free times for both of you.

Thanks everyone for your caring replies !

For his Clusters he has oxygen which doesn't abort his headaches but it helps so they don't get as bad, but only if he can catch it early, so it doesn't help when he wakes up with headaches at night.He has been on Verapamil for about a year , so this cycle and last cycle were milder due to the Verapamil. (He has his cycles in the spring & in the fall) The only problem with the Verapamil is it makes the cycles last longer , but it is a good trade off. He also has imitrex injections which do help but he doesn't like to take it often due to the side affects. He tried prendizone & Lidacane , both of which didn't help.  How does the red bull work ? & how should he take it ? 
His psycopharmocologist does both the prescribing of his Prozac for his bipolar & depression . He is a really good doctor , he goes out of his way to help my husband . He also does his therapy & prescribes trilepltal for his epilepsy (which hasn't been a problem lately) He has a background in Neurology. His PCP prescribed the other meds for his clusters. He has a Rheumotologist that prescribed the Lyrica for his body pain (but it doesn't work) , He is slowly going up on the dose , so he is not at the full dose yet , so hopefully it will help when he is on a higher dose. He has a gastroenterologist that prescribes his stomach meds & during his non-headache time was doing testing to try to figure out what is wrong , but he hasn't figured it out yet.
Well thanks again everyone , Linda, I may take you up on that phone call. Karla, Sorry to hear about your chronic clusters as well as all of your other health problems , I have schizophrenia too & I can't imagine having chronic cluster headaches on top of it. thank you on your input about what it would be like for him in a hospital during his clusters, His psycopharmocologist does know he is suicidal & I did call him a couple of weeks ago , I told him I was very worried , I asked him if I could get him in a hospital even if my husband refuses & he said , if he is suicidal a doctor or a policeman can write a ten day note to put him in the hospital. I asked him what I should do & he asked me if I was calling him because I thought my husband was going to attempt to kill himself then & I said no, & he said take it as it comes. After reading what you wrote about your hospital stay, I feel better about it if I have to put him in one.
-Dehlia

Dehlia, you said he has tried the o2 but that it doesn't work very well. I wonder what kind of mask he uses, and the flow rate. Be sure to check out to the left yellow button about oxygen. Many have thought o2 didn't work for them, until they tried higher flow rates and a non-rebreather mask.

Good luck!

Thank you ,

I read the oxygen info. I told my husband that 25 to 60 liters can work better , also he wasn't staying on it long enough , he thought that if it didn't work in a short amount of time , it wasn't going to work , so now he can try staying on it for 15 to 20 minutes , & also I told him he should continue to stay on it for 5 minutes after it is aborted , I hope it works for him!

-Dehlia

Thank you Don ,

I will let my husband know your O2 tips !

-Dehlia

Linda_Howell wrote on Nov 3^rd, 2009 at 4:56pm:

She was here yesterday but there was nobody here to massage her.

         potter

If he is on most any sort of the newer anti-depressant medications (SSRI's) the use of any triptans can cause something called Serotonin Syndrome. Don't know what that is but some of the symtoms sound similar to what you are describing. Might be worth a mention to the doc. Good luck.

K. Hartley wrote on Feb 17^th, 2010 at 11:43am:

People who are seriously contemplating suicide are not thinking of others or their positive outlook. Your "bright side of life" treatment may, in fact, have exactly the opposite effect as is intended. He needs to talk to a professional.

I know when i was in the hospital, it was nice, if u are in the psych ward they let u do just about everything because they want u to prove to them u can live on the out side. so they would let ur husband walk around at night.  but i do have it say the doctors were unavailabe. and really easy to lie to them. it would be better to get ur own doctor and do out patient. which is probably what ur husband is doing now.  i wonder i noticed that i only get suicidal after i start getting a headache lol i probably should see a doctor but well, they said i was ok in the hosptial so when i kill myself i will know i have logically come to that choice .  but it is interesting i never thought of my headaches causing me enough pain that i want to die

I want to kill myself when I get CH... when i'm not having one i'm a happy go lucky guy. I've been to psych wards myself, so I understand his pain.  Basically I know many people on this site will disagree with me on my suggestion but in a circumstance where he is in HORRIBLE pain, mentally and physically, go to the ER and get some drugs, ASAP... then when the pain is under control in the moment get moving toward a non-narcotic approach until he finds something that works for him.