Ive been a sufferer for 22 yrs. In that time Ive been to many neurologists as Im sure alot of you have. The only abortives that works for me are Imitrex injections and O2. Im into my 7th week of these with no sign of relief in sight. I had built up quite a collection of injections over the past couple yrs waiting for my next battle to start and have used my last one.
I have no insurance now thanks to the economy and cannot afford to see a neurologist or pay $200.00 plus per perscription of Imitrex.
I have been to 2 physicians in the past week trying to get them to ok O2 for me. Neither will do it.
Last night took the cake. I had gone to an urgent care knowing I was due to get hit at 7:30-8:00. Got there at 6:30. I explained to the nurse at the front desk why I was there (cluster headaches) and that I was due for an attack at anytime. I loved it when she said "Oh I get migraines too"
Ignorance once again. Long story short, the headache came right on time. The nurse and aids saw me over their counter, Pacing, eye closed, watering, etc. They didnt offer any room to go wait in, didnt come to see if I was ok, (which probably was a good thing). I couldnt take it any more and went up and asked if I could get some 02 to abort this headache. She said she would go ask. After 5 minutes she came back and told me no, not until I could see a Dr. Fast forward an hr. I finally get called in. Ive been at k7-8 for almost an hr. Wait another 20 minutes, Dr finally comes in. She asks me why Im there and I explain to her the cluster headaches and I need O2 for abortives and also prednisone as I was prescribed in the past. I saw her for 30 seconds tops. One of her aids came back in a few minutes later and told me no to the 02 and that they would give me a 5 day dose of prednisone. When I questioned the aid as to why I couldnt get an 02 script he said because the Dr says it doesnt do anything for headaches. I told him obviously she hadnt treated anyone for clusters and that she must not know much about them as most dont. I asked him why she didnt tell me that when she was with me during the 30 seconds and that I would like her to explain to me her reasoning. After a few minutes I was asked to go into the facility owners office. I walked in, sat down in front of his desk, He looks at me and says I had no right to talk to his employee in that manner. I told him I was just questioning the Dr.s knowledge of Cluster Headache treatment and wanted to speak to her about it. His reply was... "I dont have to give you and explaination and the bottom line is Im not giving you a script for 02". I told him I understood that and I was fine with that and I only wanted an explaination as to why they felt 02 wont work for Clusters. He basically told me that theres no proof that 02 works for "headaches" and to leave his facility. I told him fine, and to have a good day. I went to the front desk so I could "check out". As Im standing there he comes out of his office and asks if I wanted my money back.  Incidently, I was asked to pay before the Dr. would see me. I did get my money back but cant figure out why they were so rude and unprofessional. I have been to many facilities over the past 22 yrs and NEVER have I experienced anything like this.
Anyhow, Im still in the same position.. no 02 and fighting the devil every 3-4 hrs. Have no health insurance, cant find anyone to help me with 02. Im to the point where theres times I just want to give up, the beast has won the battle, But I have 2 boys that would be devistated. Sorry about the rambling.. just looking to vent and trying to find a solution for the 02.

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Don't give in to the beast, and don't give up hope. And most certainly don't give up trying. You know O2 works, we know it works. The oxygen info at the left has some articles you can print out to inform a GP. You do not mention if you have done this, but if you have not, I encourage you to do so. There are others here much more knowledgable about places to get O2, including welder's O2 for which I do not think you need a Rx. You also said you cannot afford insurance. But achinghead, you can't afford to keep on in this way. You say you've been to doctors, were any of them knowledgable or sympathetic? If so, make an appointment, load up on info, and make the most of the time. Friends, family, even churches may front you the money for the visit. Don't suffer silently...keep ranting!  lance

A few yrs ago I tried to get O2 from a welding supply company. I was told I had to have a welders license to purchase one. I was also told that if I got an E size that I would need a script because it was labeled medical.
Well this am I called around again and was told the same about the E size but can come in and purchase M or larger for welding purposes. Thank the good Lord that I can go get a tank. Now I need to figure out where I can get a regulator today and also a non rebreather mask. I know I can order one online but I dont want to wait that long.
I also called GSK, the maker of Imitrex and found that they will send me FREE injections if I can get a physician to be an advocate. I go to the VA healthcare center here in town since Im a veteran. I did go in there today with the proper applications in hand and tried to get them to let me talk to a nurse. They wouldnt do it. They set me up for an appt next Tuesday. I hope I can get the DR to make a 5 minute phone call and be my advocate. It is the Govt however and I guess I cant expect much unfortunately.
One last comment... can I get a regulator from the welding supply company? What about a non-rebreather mask.. any idea where I could look for one locally?

found where to get the non rebreather mask. $4.00 at the local pharmacy. Welding supply has the tank and regulator. I have to purchase them they will not rent it to me. Cost for M tank is $125.00, $20 for the gas, and $80.00 for regulator. Total Cost = $225.00
Ive read the O2 info and dont think I need anything else. I wanna make sure before I go and purchase so I think Im going to wait for some feedback.
I believe the hose that is connected to the mask just hooks to the regulator.
Sorry but as bad as Im being hit this time my state of confusion is probably showing. Its hard to focus when I know the beast is due to hit me in 23 minutes if hes on schedule.
Seems the physicians are eager to hand out vicodin,percocet, or any other addictive pain killer but refuse to let me have an O2 tank. I dont get it.. and I did refuse the above pain killers. They do nothing anyhow.

achinghead wrote on Jun 24^th, 2010 at 9:46am:
I had to wait for my regulator for the "E" tank so I actually hauled around my "M" tank in the car, LOL!  I would stick with the "M" tanks if your home.   Those "E" tanks are great for work or when you're mobile.  They don't last long though.  Anyway, I would think a medical supply store might have non-rebreather masks, i'm not sure about the regulator.  Some here use the welders regulator since it puts out higher flow rates.

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Good luck with the medical supply store. My reservoir bag broke a couple of weeks ago and we called several supply companies to no avail. They refused to sell me one without a script even though a script is not legally required. When I finally found a store that would sell me one they had to order it b/c they did not have it in stock. What I requested and what I got were two totally different things. I finally broke down and just bought a complete new kit from the CH store. If you send Batch a PM he can help you get the right and the best regulator for a fraction of what you will find on ebay. I use welders O2 b/c my docs. will not write me a script for O2 either. You don't have to figure this out on your own. There are people here that are willing to walk you through the process.

PSI is pressure in (pounds per sqaure inch). It should be the same in welding and medical tanks. But you are reading pressure and need to read flow. If the reading is in PSI you don't have a flow meter you have a pressure gauge. LPM (liters per minute) is flow and you are looking for 12 to 15 LPM of flow for a CH. You may have a regulator that is measured in cfm (cubic feet per minute) of flow, in which case you have to multiply liters per minute by 0.0353146667 to get cubic feet per minute. So 15 liters per minute x 0,0353146667 + equals .52822 cubic feet per minute. I don't know much about CHs yet, but I am in the compressed aire business so hope this helps. Jay