Welcome to the board. You've discovered cold, a great emergency abortive. In a pinch I'll stick my head in front of the automotive air conditioning vent and breathe dep thru the nostril on the affected side of the head. Some stick their head in a freezer and do the same thing!. I’ve had CH for 33 years, they haven’t killed me yet! You need an organized approach to managing them so they don’t manage your life. I use a 3 pronged approach, many use a similar approach:
1: A good prevent med. A med I take daily, while on cycle, to reduce the number and intensity of my attacks. I use lithium, it blocks 60-70% of my attack. Verapamil is the most common first line prevent, topomax also has a loyal following. Some have to combine lithium and verapamil together to get relief.
2: A transitional med. Most prevents will take up to 2 weeks to become effective. I go on a prednisone taper, from 80 mg to zero over a two week period to give me a break while my prevent builds up. Prednisone will provide up to 100% relief for many CH’ers but is harsh on the system and should only be used for short periods of time. Now the bad news is, if I go on prednisone with nohting to back it up, when I go off the prednisone, the CH comes back with a vengeance, like its making up for lost time.
3: An abortive therapy, the attack starts, now what? Oxygen should be your first line abortive. Breathing pure 02 will abort an attack for me in less then 10 minutes, that’s completely pain free. Read this link as it must be used correctly or it will not work
Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or
Imitrex nasal spray and injectables are very effective abortives. The nasal spray didn't seem to do it for you, do give the injectables a try. I use the injectables, they’re expensive, and I rarely use them, mostly just when I get caught away from the oxygen. The pill form generally works too slow to be effective for CH’ers, as you've discovered!!!
Go to the medications section of this board and read the post "123 pain free days and i think I know why." It’s a vitamin/mineral/fish oil supplement, all over the counter stuff, that’s providing a lot of relief for people who have tried it, it’s a long read, worth the time.
For now, get some energy drinks. Rock Star, Monster, any containing the combo of caffeine and taurine, chug it down as fast as you can when you feel an attack starting. Many can abort or at least really reduce an attack using these.
Do visit this site:
Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to
or
They have a lot of area specific info for your side of the pond, how to best access the medical system, get set up with oxygen etc.
Finally, visit our sister board for “alternative” treatment methods outside of mainstream medicine. As you’ll see from all the success stories on this board, there is something to it.
clusterbusters.com
Read everything you can on this board, for a CH’er, knowledge is your best ally. We’ll help you all we can.
Joe
Home
Pages: 1
New poster (slightly luckier than most!) (Read 1101 times)
