Posted by Jackie (207.137.176.76) on July 06, 1999 at 12:40:57:
In Reply to: new here posted by Derek on July 06, 1999 at 03:40:43:
Hi, Derek:
San Diego is my home town, though I now live in L.A.
I started having clusters at 14 years old.
There's a very good chance you'll find something
that helps ease the pain. Especially check into
renting an oxygen tank. You can often abort a
headache by inhaling pure oxygen through a face
mask at the first sign of the H/A. You sit, slightly
stooped over, and inhale at 7 to 10 liters, for
up to 15 min. An Imitrex shot is also a great
abortive and works in 10 min. To actually prevent
the H/As, look into Prednisone (short-term use--
60 mg for 3-5 days, then 50, etc.) or Verapamil
(ramp up slowly to 240 mg or so).
Jackie