Better day

Well, today was a much better day.  I only got hit a few times and oxygen killed those in short order.  I've been trying something else on the attacks as well.  You know those energy drinks like Red Bull and Sobe No Fear, yadda, yadda, yadda?  They are high in caffeine and taurine.  The taurine has a sort of amplifying effect on the caffeine and caffeine taken early enough in an attack can sometimes abort the whole thing.  So, these energy drinks can really kill a shadow or even an attack if taken early enough.  They cost between $1.00 and $2.00 per can, but when compared to up to $100 for an Imitrex shot, it's quite the bargain.  Everything that works is just another weapon in the arsenal against the cluster headache attacks.  A nice tip to know when you're out and about without an oxygen tank in tow.

As I said above, it was a better day today.  I actually worked out in the wood shop today.  I'm doing a project using handcut dovetails and I'm not that great at it, yet, but hey! I'll never get good at it if'n I don't ever try.  Hopefully, it will turn out well enough that I can post a pic here.

We finally found a place to stay while we are in New York to see our son, Zack, perform at Carnegie Hall.  It seems there is this clusterhead whose wife travels a lot for business and racks up the hotel points, but they never use them.  They used some of those points to book us into a hotel for two nights.  Needless to say, I was floored when he told me what they had done.  It was all I could do to keep from crying right there on the phone.  Now, it has always been a fact that clusterheads take care of one another, but this...this is so far above and beyond that I'm still fighting the urge to call him and thank them about twice a day.  I've said it before and I'll say it again...If you are a cluster headache sufferer and you have never met another sufferer, you HAVE to do it.  It's like no other feeling in the world - an instant bond.  The OUCH Convention is in Richmond Virginia this year.  If there is any way possible, I'll be there.  There is information about the con on their website at:

http://www.ouch-us.org/gatherings/richcon07/richcon07.htm

Well, I should try to go get some sleep.  Big storm system going to be moving through this morning and it's supposed to hang around for about three days.  Oh joy!  Well, at least I had one good day.  I'll take any that I can get at this point.  PFDAN (Pain Free Days and Nights) to all you clusterheads and to all you who support us, THANK YOU!!!

Comments

[Jim Jones]

I have cluster headaches and recently had oxygen prescribed to be used with Imitrex. I only get cluster headaches about once a year for a month or more at a time and want to know the best way to get oxygen for this period (cylinder, concentrator, etc).

When I call medical supply stores for oxygen they all try to set me up on $400/mo concentrators, but I only want a cylinder around for when the clusters begin. What do other cluster sufferors do to have oxygen ready without having to pay hefty monthly medical bills?

[Mike]

Sorry I haven't responded to this before now, Jim. Concentrators won't help you much as they don't make O2 at a high enough flow rate. I think they max out at like 7 lpm which is just not enough, at least for me. I have heard of people running two or three at a time, but then you are talking big bucks.

Most people I know have insurance and get E and M tanks through a local medical supply house. None of them pay anywhere NEAR what you are talking about.

I don't have insurance right now, so for me it is cheaper to use welder's O2. I lease a big honkin' "K" tank for $54 per year and pay $22.50 for refills. Theoretically, a K tank will give you 26 aborts at 15lpm for 15 minutes each time. With my clustermasx, I easily get twice that and more. With regular Non-Rebreather Masks it would take 10 to 15 minutes to abort and I'd only kill about 75% of the hits. With my clustermasx I can usually kill about 99% of my attacks in like 5 - 7 minutes.

You can shoot me an e-mail at mike at plainboard dot com and we can discuss this further. Also check out the O2 Users Support Team pages in the Treatments and Other Information section of the OUCH website - www.ouch-us.org