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Hopeless and Afraid (Read 7221 times)

jmccune84

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Hopeless and Afraid
Sep 15^th, 2013 at 5:01pm

OMG! I'm so glad i found this page! I feel like no one in the world understands what I'm goin through..I have been in remission for 18 + Months and now the beast is back. I have had 3 today and i have already missed two days of work. Every time i tell someone what's going on the say "oh i know how you feel " I'm sorry but i just want to smack them! This is making me depressed and i feel isolated from the whole world. I've been a clusterhead since i was 20 and i just turned 29. I have an 8 year old son and a beautiful wife... the only person who truly knows and understands my pain. I am also a recovering alcoholic and have been sober from any mood changing mind altering substance since February 22nd 2011 a little over 30 months. I am a line cook at the country club here in town. But these last few days have been pure hell . This cluster has affected every aspect of my life. And i feel so afraid ...hopeless... alone and depressed. I am holding on to my last imitrex for qhen it gets bad again. Probably tonight as soon as i fall asleep. I have a Dr appointment on tuesday at 9am and its my only hope. Talking about this in hopes that there's someone else who understands also give me hope. So if anyone reads this and wants to tlk please contact me! Thank You!

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LasVegas CH.com Sponsor Offline Episodic CH since 11 yrs old, now 50. Posts: 2020 north of the 60th parallel Gender:	Re: Hopeless and Afraid Reply #1 - Sep 15^th, 2013 at 5:22pm You are definitely not alone and definitely not hopeless. We can and will help you get through this. What city/state are you in? -Gregg in Las Vegas
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Guiseppi

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #2 - Sep 15^th, 2013 at 6:02pm

Never alone again, welcome to the board. Are you working with a headache specialist neuro yet? We have seen the best results from doing so. There are hundreds of headache types, some which mimic CH, and it’s important to eliminate those before arriving at a firm diagnosis. I’ve had CH for 35years, 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. But first and MOST IMPORTANTLY

Follow this link to the medications section of this board and read the post

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It’s a vitamin/mineral/fish oil supplement, all over the counter stuff. It’s up to an 81% success rate of those who try it and respond to the survey so you’re just shooting yourself in the foot if you don’t give it a shot. I’m 3 years pain free on it after a 35 plus year track record with episodic CH. Best of all, it’s healthy for you even without CH!

As of January 20, 2013, the compiled raw data indicates an efficacy of 80%. 240 out of the 300 CH'ers who have started this regimen and stayed on it for a month or more have experienced a significant reduction in the frequency and severity of their CH... 78% of the 300 CH'ers experienced a pain free response and 60% of the 300 have remained essentially pain free. Episodic and chronic CH'ers respond to this regimen at roughly the same rate.

Preliminary survey results indicate most of these CH'ers were pain free before the end of the third week with some responding in a little as 12 to 24 hours. The average time to respond is five days

So all that follows will be worthless I hope……….but still…

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.

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

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This link will show you how to get set up with welding oxygen:

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Imitrex nasal spray and injectables are very effective abortives. 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.

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.

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, if you are a CH’er, knowledge is your best ally. We’ll help you all we can.

Joe

"Somebody had to say it" is usually a piss poor excuse to be mean.

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Mike NZ

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Oxygen rocks! D3 too!

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #3 - Sep 16^th, 2013 at 2:27am

You're not alone now you're here as there are 11673 forum members from around the world here plus others who just read without having registered. So we know exactly what you're going through as we have CH ourselves or support someone with it.

Have you got anything other than imitrex for you CH?

What works well is a combination of a preventive (like verapamil) to limit how many CHs you get plus abortives (oxygen or imitrex) to kill off any CH that get through.

Tell us more about how your CH is being treated and we can help with suggestions that can help.

Ask any questions you can think of too plus read like mad and learn all you can.

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jmccune84

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #4 - Sep 18^th, 2013 at 11:39pm

Thank you all so much! Today I have hope because of this website. Im eternaly grateful to you all. I went to a new Dr yesterday who has never treated anyone with ECH. I was there for two hrs while she researched and finaly came up with a treatment plan. I tried to get 02 but no luck:( She started me on a prednisone taper 30mg-30mg-20mg-10mg and she also gave me buspirone 10mg twice a day I have been pain free today but I feel the BEAST in there its crazy. I asked the Dr for a referal to the cleveland clinic but she wants to atleast attempt to break my cluster period before she refers me. I have a whole pot of cold black coffee ready just in case it hits tonight. Im researching and soaking up all the info i can on here. I have a life today and this damn desease isnt gonna take it from me. Im fighting! Once again thank you all... I feel at home here.

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Mike NZ

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Oxygen rocks! D3 too!

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Auckland, New Zealand
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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #5 - Sep 19^th, 2013 at 4:56am

The prednisione taper is a rather low doseage, they normally start about 80mg a day for a few days, dropping by 10mg every day. However there may be other reasons in your medical history for the lower dose.

I've never seen buspirone mentioned as a treatment for CH and pubmed found no hits for buspirone cluster headache, which suggests that there is no published research linking them.

It very much sounds like your doctor is inexperienced and has not done good research.

I'd be very tempted to get a referal to someone who has good experience of treating CH and not let your current one practice on you.

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Guiseppi

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #6 - Sep 19^th, 2013 at 9:09am

I'm with Mike on this one. The headaches are being kept at bay by the prednisone. When it stops, my experience has been the beast comes back with a vengeance. Your doctor has no idea how to treat CH which will make for a long, slow learning curve. If you are up to it, you can try and educate her...
BUT

oxygen IS NOT optional. If she will not prescribe oxygen she is committing medical mal practice as oxygen is the safest, most effective abortive available to CH'ers. Print this out and give it to her. She should have started you on this when she started the prednisone taper:

A widely used protocol. Your doc will recognize the source and author:

Headache. 2004 Nov;44(10):1013-8.

Individualizing treatment with verapamil for cluster headache patients.

Blau JN, Engel HO.

Background.-Verapamil is currently the best available prophylactic drug for patients experiencing cluster headaches (CHs). Published papers usually state 240 to 480 mg taken in three divided doses give good results, ranging from 50% to 80%; others mention higher doses-720, even 1200 mg per day. In clinical practice we found we needed to adapt dosage to individual's time of attacks, in particular giving higher doses before going to bed to suppress severe nocturnal episodes. A few only required 120 mg daily. We therefore evolved a scheme for steady and progressive drug increase until satisfactory control had been achieved. Objective.-To find the minimum dose of verapamil required to prevent episodic and chronic cluster headaches by supervising each individual and adjusting the dosage accordingly. Methods.-Consecutive patients with episodic or chronic CH (satisfying International Headache Society (IHS) criteria) were started on verapamil 40 mg in the morning, 80 mg early afternoon, and 80 mg before going to bed. Patients kept a diary of all attacks, recording times of onset, duration, and severity. They were advised, verbally and in writing, to add 40 mg verapamil on alternate days, depending on their attack timing: with nocturnal episodes the first increase was the evening dose and next the afternoon one; when attacks occurred on or soon after waking, we advised setting an alarm clock 2 hours before the usual waking time and then taking the medication. Patients were followed-up at weekly intervals until attacks were controlled. They were also reviewed when a cluster period had ended, and advised to continue on the same dose for a further 2 weeks before starting systematic reduction. Chronic cluster patients were reviewed as often as necessary. Results.-Seventy consecutive patients, 52 with episodic CH during cluster periods and 18 with chronic CH, were all treated with verapamil as above. Complete relief from headaches was obtained in 49 (94%) of 52 with episodic, and 10 (55%) of 18 with chronic CH; the majority needed 200 to 480 mg, but 9 in the episodic, and 3 in the chronic group, needed 520 to 960 mg for control. Ten, 2 in the episodic and 8 in the chronic group, with incomplete relief, required additional therapy-lithium, sumatriptan, or sodium valproate. One patient withdrew because verapamil made her too tired, another developed Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and the drug was withdrawn. Conclusions.-Providing the dosage for each individual is adequate, preventing CH with verapamil is highly effective, taken three (occasionally with higher doses, four) times a day. In the majority (94%) with episodic CH steady dose increase under supervision, totally suppressed attacks. However in the chronic variety only 55% were completely relieved, 69% men, but only 20% women. In both groups, for those with partial attack suppression, additional prophylactic drugs or acute treatment was necessary. (Headache 2004;44:1013-1018).

=======================================
SLOW-RELEASE VERAPAMIL

Dr. Sheftell applauded the protocol for verapamil used by Dr. Goadsby and colleagues, which entailed use of short-acting verapamil in increments of 80 mg. “This method was suggested by Lee Kudrow, MD, 20 years ago as an alternative to slow-release verapamil,” Dr. Sheftell noted.

“I would agree with using short-acting verapamil, rather than the sustained-release formulation, in cluster headache,” he said. “I prefer the short-acting formulation with regard to ability to titrate more accurately and safely. My clinical experience anecdotally demonstrates improved responses when patients are switched from sustained-release verapamil to short-acting verapamil.”

Dr. Goadsby agreed that his clinical experience was similar. “There are no well-controlled, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging studies to direct treatment. This is one of those areas where clinicians who treat cluster headache have to combine what modicum of evidence is available with their own clinical experience,” Dr. Sheftell commented

Joe

"Somebody had to say it" is usually a piss poor excuse to be mean.

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jmccune84

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #7 - Sep 19^th, 2013 at 12:19pm

The beast hit me hard last night around 2:52 am waking me up with a kip 8. I immediately took my last imitrex 50 mg and chugged two cups of cold black coffee. It ddnt phase it so I decided to take one scoop of pre workout. It escalated to kip10 for about 20 mins then dropped down to kip 8 until 3:40 am. Eye and nose both were leaking. It took all i had to stop from going into shock. Hands and teeth were tingling. I do appreciate you all so much. I feel like I have u guys with me in the room. This Dr sucks and i am a little angry with her right. I don't have insurance right now so its hard to find a Dr who will work with me. I wish they new our pain.

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LasVegas

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #8 - Sep 19^th, 2013 at 12:30pm

jmccune84...where do you live?

Have you tried energy drinks like Redbull or Rockstar?

Have you tried Melatonin before bed?

Have you started the anti inflammatory vitamin regimen?

Might consider getting welders o2 since you have no insurance, get a big tank from your local welders supply store and don't tell them you are breathing it, just buy a 4 foot high tank for your house.

You will need a NON-rebreather mask, can be purchased from the ch.com store-see tab on left side of your screen.

Lastly, you will need a high flow regulator that can be purchased from Harbor Freight Tools, this will fit onto your o2 tank and connect your non-rebreather mask so you can abort attacks in less than 5 minutes.

None of the suggestions i've mentioned above require insurance and all have been very helpful to many of us.

Got questions? Use your search button and/or ask!

You are not alone, we truly understand what you are going through and we are here for you!

Hope today is better for you than yesterday Wink

-Gregg in Las Vegas

Wishing everybody at CH.com less pain w/ more productivity in their lives in 2019

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jmccune84 CH.com Newbie Offline I Love CH.com! Posts: 13	Re: Hopeless and Afraid Reply #9 - Sep 19^th, 2013 at 11:02pm Greg, THANK YOU! I have been racking my brain trying to figure out how to get 02. And yes I have tried energy drinks and they do help abort the attack unless I dont get it in time. As im sure u know. Oh and I live in parkersburg WV
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Guiseppi

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #10 - Sep 20^th, 2013 at 9:09am

Many on this board have used welders grade 02 for years. It has to be pure or welds fail and planes fall outta the sky! Wink

For now, get a big old tank of welders oxygen, you rent the tank, pay for refills. You can literally tape a trash bag to the valve on top of the tank, bunch the bag at the top and turn on the 02. Take a breath of 02, close the top of the bag and let it refill with pure 02. Exhale, repeat. You now have a McGiver "Non Re Breather Mask!" For 02 to be effective it requires 100% 02 tot he lungs at a rate to support hyper ventilation. This system will get you through until you can get a more traditional set up.

Joe

"Somebody had to say it" is usually a piss poor excuse to be mean.

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Bob Johnson

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #11 - Sep 20^th, 2013 at 10:14am

Everyone is throwing their favorite treatments at you but you still lack the most important piece of the picture--a doc who knows what they are doing.

If your present doc won't refer you to the Cleveland Clinic NOW, without first trying her inadequate plan, then you call the Clinic and ask--specifically!--to see a headache specialist.

If their is a barrier with Cl Clinic, then:
LOCATING HEADACHE SPECIALIST

1. Yellow Pages phone book: look for "Headache Clinics" in the M.D. section and look under "neurologist" where some docs will list speciality areas of practice.

2. Call your hospital/medical center. They often have an office to assist in finding a physician. You may have to ask for the social worker/patient advocate.

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; On-line screen to find a physician.

4. Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to

Look for "Physician Finder" search box. They will send a list of M.D.s for your state.I suggest using this source for several reasons: first, we have read several messages from people who, even seeing neurologists, are unhappy with the quality of care and ATTITUDES they have encountered; second, the clinical director of the Jefferson (Philadelphia) Headache Clinic said, in late 1999, that upwards of 40%+ of U.S. doctors have poor training in treating headache and/or hold attitudes about headache ("hysterical female disorder") which block them from sympathetic and effective work with the patient; third, it's necessary to find a doctor who has experience, skill, and a set of attitudes which give hope of success. This is the best method I know of to find such a physician.

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NEW certification program for "Headache Medicine" by the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties, an independent, non-profit, professional medical organization.
Since this is a new program, the initial listing is limited and so it should be checked each time you have an interest in locating a headache doctor.
=====
I'm not tellng you what to take but just want to make clear that what you are now doing is not up to the standard of care which is needed for Cluster.

1.O2, by itself, is not adquate treatment.
2. The Pred dose is too low for Cluster.
3. Imitex PILLS are the least effective form of this med for Cluster.

Simply inforcing the need for a skilled doc to guide you. Please don't fall into the trap of self-treatment without sound medical guidance!==
==
Print the PDF file, below. These are the kinds of doses of meds which a good doc will be using.
===
Start to learn about Cluster. Good knowledge is a major protection against dispair/anxiety.

Cluster headache.
From: Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!! You need to

(Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases)
[Easy to read; one of the better overview articles I've seen. Suggest printing the full length article--link, line above--if you are serious about keeping a good medical library on the subject.]

Leroux E, Ducros A.

ABSTRACT: Cluster headache (CH) is a primary headache disease characterized by recurrent short-lasting attacks (15 to 180 minutes) of excruciating unilateral periorbital pain accompanied by ipsilateral autonomic signs (lacrimation, nasal congestion, ptosis, miosis, lid edema, redness of the eye). It affects young adults, predominantly males. Prevalence is estimated at 0.5-1.0/1,000. CH has a circannual and circadian periodicity, attacks being clustered (hence the name) in bouts that can occur during specific months of the year. ALCOHOL IS THE ONLY DIETARY TRIGGER OF CH, STRONG ODORS (MAINLY SOLVENTS AND CIGARETTE SMOKE) AND NAPPING MAY ALSO TRIGGER CH ATTACKS. During bouts, attacks may happen at precise hours, especially during the night. During the attacks, patients tend to be restless. CH may be episodic or chronic, depending on the presence of remission periods. CH IS ASSOCIATED WITH TRIGEMINOVASCULAR ACTIVATION AND NEUROENDOCRINE AND VEGETATIVE DISTURBANCES, HOWEVER, THE PRECISE CAUSATIVE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNKNOWN. Involvement of the hypothalamus (a structure regulating endocrine function and sleep-wake rhythms) has been confirmed, explaining, at least in part, the cyclic aspects of CH. The disease is familial in about 10% of cases. Genetic factors play a role in CH susceptibility, and a causative role has been suggested for the hypocretin receptor gene. Diagnosis is clinical. Differential diagnoses include other primary headache diseases such as migraine, paroxysmal hemicrania and SUNCT syndrome. At present, there is no curative treatment. There are efficient treatments to shorten the painful attacks (acute treatments) and to reduce the number of daily attacks (prophylactic treatments). Acute treatment is based on subcutaneous administration of sumatriptan and high-flow oxygen. Verapamil, lithium, methysergide, prednisone, greater occipital nerve blocks and topiramate may be used for prophylaxis. In refractory cases, deep-brain stimulation of the hypothalamus and greater occipital nerve stimulators have been tried in experimental settings.THE DISEASE COURSE OVER A LIFETIME IS UNPREDICTABLE. Some patients have only one period of attacks, while in others the disease evolves from episodic to chronic form.

PMID: 18651939 [PubMed]
--

Three sites which are worth your attention: medical literature, films, plus the expected information
about CH.

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------

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Search under "cluster headache"
-------
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Full of articles, blogs, book: written by one of the best headache docs in the Chicago area.

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(96 KB | 16 )

Bob Johnson

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Batch

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Control The Beast With
O2 & D3 You Must

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #12 - Sep 20^th, 2013 at 1:40pm

Hey JM,

Pick up a welder's O2 regulator for $35.99 at Harbor Freight Tools.

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Harbor Freight Tools
2649 Grand Central Ave, Vienna, WV ‎
Vienna Shopping Center
(304) 295-5811 ‎ · harborfreight.com

Buy one of the ClusterO2 Kits (great non-rebreathing oxygen mask with 3-liter reservoir bag) for $21.50 at the CH.com store tab at the left in yellow...

Finally, you'll need an oxygen cylinder. If you have a prescription, there are several home oxygen suppliers in your area... I suggest an M-size... or larger. They hold 3995 liters (good for 25 to 30 aborts) and weigh around 70 lbs. If you pay cash you can usually get an M-size cylinder for around $30 to $35... Tell them you have your own regulator and mask.

If you don't have a prescription for oxygen therapy, there are several welding supply outlets in Parkersberg... Again, I suggest an M-size... I'd also suggest a cylinder hand cart to move it around.

Welding supply outlets will charge you around $200 for one of these cylinders. When it's empty you return it to the supplier and they'll charge you around $30 to exchange the original cylinder for a fully charged cylinder.

Do not tell them how you intend to use this oxygen... If they do ask, tell them you've got some cutting to do and already have an acetylene cylinder and cutting torch.

Take care and please keep us posted.

V/R, Batch

You love lots of things if you live around them. But there isn't any woman and there isn't any horse, that’s as lovely as a great airplane. If it's a beautiful fighter, your heart will be ever there

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jmccune84

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #13 - Sep 20^th, 2013 at 11:32pm

The information and support I have received has been amazing. You guys are life savers! I am going to get the welders 02 tomorrow. Last night was another night in hell at the McCune house. My poor wife tries to help but its all in vain. Idk what i would do without her. I showed her all the info about the welders 02 and she was ready to go get it! Unfortunately I ddnt have the $ until this evening. I cant wait... I will keep u all informed. I feel at home here and I look forward to checking these posts everyday. Im eternally grateful for all of you!

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ttnolan CH.com Veteran Offline beats me Posts: 247 Scotts Valley, CA Gender:	Re: Hopeless and Afraid Reply #14 - Sep 21^st, 2013 at 5:46pm Let us know when you get the O2... what equipment you get... we can help with any "fine tuning".
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painfulnoodle

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #15 - Sep 21^st, 2013 at 6:30pm

JM .. I definitely concur with what Bob said .. you need a good Dr. However, those that are familiar with and know how to properly treat CH are hard to find and totally unavailable at 3:00am! Thus, you need a good back up plan to get you through it until you finally get the proper medical treatment.

Search these boards for what others are doing to tame the beast.

I've been a CH'r since 1998. Took me a few years to figure out what they were and then find someone to actually help me. Thankfully, I was blessed with a good primary Dr who actually trusted and listened to me. A few years later I found the best Neuro I've met yet that put me on a real patch to recovery.

Even at that and with all the proper meds (most of the time) I still have my own regiment that I defer to at times when I'm not around an O2 tank or out of injections, etc.

As you stated, I have to catch it pretty quick, but when I do, this routine usually works for me ... or at least keeps it to a manageable pain level.

When awaken from sleeping, I jump up, hit the head, slam a Mt. Dew, Red Bull, anything loaded with Caffiene (which I otherwise avoid like the plague). The I go outside and walk or downstairs and get on the Gazelle or treadmill to get the juices really flowing. Then I get an ice pack (I like the old neck wraps - you can get at WalMart, Walgreens, etc. - like a bean bag that really fits into your eye socket really well) and lay down and talk to God for a while! (However ... since they hurt like hell ... maybe I should be making a deal with the devil! LOL).

That's just my plan ... others have their own and you WILL find one that works for you.

Hang in there my friend ... we're all here with you!

Red

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jmccune84

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #16 - Sep 22^nd, 2013 at 1:42am

Thanks Red, it means a lot to hear you say you talk to GOD during an attack because I do too. Whatever you want to call it I call it GOD for conveinience. I tried to get the 02 today but everywhere I called is closed on saturday and I called everywhere! So I have 3 cans of monster in the fridge just in case. Last night was crazy!!! I had 3 attacks. One @2am then again @7am and again @11am. No rest for the wicked. The pain is so intense that I feel like Im going into shock. Im not talking about a panic attack I used to experience that in the begining but this is different. Its 1am now and Im affraid to go to sleep because I know whats waiting for me Undecided

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ttnolan CH.com Veteran Offline beats me Posts: 247 Scotts Valley, CA Gender:	Re: Hopeless and Afraid Reply #17 - Sep 22^nd, 2013 at 2:22am Do you have a recliner. When I am getting hit like that I go to my rocker recliner, rock until sleepy, then only recline a little. Seems laying down, even a little is a trigger for me (brings on those night hits). Melatonin helps (10+ mg), but I couldn't imagine going through it without O2.
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LasVegas

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Episodic CH since 11 yrs
old, now 50.

Posts: 2020
north of the 60th parallel
Gender: male

Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #18 - Sep 22^nd, 2013 at 2:30am

Look to the left side of your screen and you should see a list of tabs. One of them is titled "Where we live." I recommend clicking on your state name and scrolling through the member names til you find one or several that reside close to you and click on their name/s to email them. Briefly introduce yourself explaining your o2 situation, no insurance, in cycle, etc and ask them if they have an extra o2 tank they could rent to you until you get one of your own. Chances are they will help you if they are not in cycle. I know I would be there in a heartbeat for a fellow CH sufferer in need. Good luck Wink

-Gregg in Las Vegas

Wishing everybody at CH.com less pain w/ more productivity in their lives in 2019

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ttnolan CH.com Veteran Offline beats me Posts: 247 Scotts Valley, CA Gender:	Re: Hopeless and Afraid Reply #19 - Sep 23^rd, 2013 at 8:14pm Great advise Gregg
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jmccune84

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Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #20 - Sep 23^rd, 2013 at 9:42pm

So I found a guy a few miles away and sent him an email but i recieved a message back saying there was a problem with the address . so i checked to make sure a ddnt mis type it . But i ddnt... it was worth a shot though. I did buy a bottle of melatonin and took 10mg before bed and i was pf all night. Today i called the local welding company to see what i can afford and they have a 20 cubic foot tank for $78. How long will this last?

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LasVegas

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Episodic CH since 11 yrs
old, now 50.

Posts: 2020
north of the 60th parallel
Gender: male

Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #21 - Sep 23^rd, 2013 at 9:56pm

jmccune84 wrote on Sep 23^rd, 2013 at 9:42pm:

Common problem I forgot to mention about the possibility of invalid email. It is up to the member who signs up to keep his/her info current. Unfortunately at least 1/3rd of the USA email addresses are not valid. Try again

How much o2 you use will truly depend on how often you use it and at what flow rates and for how long each time.

To maximize your o2 and achieve best results with your aborts, make sure you hyperventilate at onset of attack.

Proper o2 therapy will require a NON-rebreather mask which you can purchase at ch.com store-left side of your screen.

Also, the high flow regulator (25 lpm+) that is needed to hyperventilate will require a proper connection/fitting to your tank. Look at the o2 page on the left side of your screen for connections/fitting of regulator to different size tanks.

Hang in there! Wink

-Gregg in Las Vegas

Wishing everybody at CH.com less pain w/ more productivity in their lives in 2019

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metrolamar CH.com Junior Offline This will get better Posts: 47 Georgia Gender:	Re: Hopeless and Afraid Reply #22 - Sep 23^rd, 2013 at 10:24pm JM84, Where do you live? I bet someone close will help you, find or give you some O2. I know if you were close by me....I would bring it to ya.
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ttnolan

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beats me

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Scotts Valley, CA
Gender: male

Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #23 - Sep 24^th, 2013 at 12:29am

20 cubic feef (cf) is realitively small, the size of a medical E tank... good for 3-5 hits for me (milage may vary). I would go for a tank that is in the 80-90 cf range. It is the largest I can cary, put in car etc. That would bump you up into the 15-20 hit range, a few days for me. The general rule is the bigger the better. Most of us get "M" tanks for home which are 125cf. If I can get it delivered I get an "H" tank 250cf.

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ttnolan

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beats me

Posts: 247
Scotts Valley, CA
Gender: male

Re: Hopeless and Afraid
Reply #24 - Sep 24^th, 2013 at 12:38am

Also, see if you can lease or rent. That way you can get bigger cheaper (in the short run) and if what you choose is too small... you can change it. Even if the 20 is all you can get/afford, it will show you how it works and will be a good portable to keep in your car. I would say most of us have an "E" tank in our cars for when we out and about. (The letter sizes are used by the medical folks and volume is in liters).

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