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        Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Medications, Treatments, Therapies >> O2 Concentrator for prevention
        
(Message started by: tjnunn on Dec 18^th, 2007, 5:25am)

Title: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by tjnunn on Dec 18^th, 2007, 5:25am

I have used a concentrator for approx one week and have noticed a difference in the frequency of headaches in the night. I set the machine at about 2.5 liters on a nasal but am unsure of how to run this machine safely (I.E. what is a safe rate with no negative side affects for long term exposure while sleeping.) . I have asked the medical professionals but they seem to think that this does not work. I know for certain that it does help, and was even impled to by one doctor that I am probably getting a placebo affect, (while Sleeping< LOL HA HA) ) I know it works for me because I did not use it for one night and the headaches returned. I also had my family Dr. prescribe this so that the insurance would pay. and blue cross covered it. I am hopeful that this will help me to continue to get beneficial sleep. I still continued to have daytime headaches but the nightly headaches ceased. I am now coming out of cycle, it has been a month into my first cycle, I am 38 years old male, and the one thing I have learned the most regarding this condition is there is little known by the majority of health care proffessionals even at the best hospitals, one must be prepared to research and make decisions for ones owns self unless you are lucky enough to get teamed up with a good health care proffessional which I have not, I tried the topomax, , presnidone and verapamil and alot of imitrex, next cycle I will be trying a premtive strike with psilocybin, I will write my own script, I will not go to the proffessional dart throwers in the white suits, best of luck to all and kind regard, Tom

ps, will also be staying on complec b-100 and b-12 and melotonin and magnesium as well as a one a day suppliment to try to deter the next cycle

Tom

Title: Re: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by E-Double on Dec 18^th, 2007, 6:56am

there is research which suggests a higher rate of sleep apnea for CHer's.

I wouldn't recommmend doing what you are doing without proper instruction but it appears that it may help along the lines mentioned above.... decreased oxygenation may set the occasion for an attack.

Who knows...maybe go for a sleep study and have a proper rig set up for sleep.

I couldn't tolerate it so life goes on.

Title: Re: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by tjnunn on Dec 18^th, 2007, 7:31am

Thanks for the reply, allready have the sleep study set up for the first of the year, I plan on trying to go without the o2 tonight to see if any headaches come at night. will post results, I do not believe I have apnea and have had a study before, good day , Tom

Title: Re: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by mcf69 on Dec 18^th, 2007, 11:34pm

Tom,
I'm following the thread with quite a bit of interest, please keep us posted on how it works for you....
Ben

Title: Re: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by tjnunn on Dec 19^th, 2007, 5:24am

Hello, Had my first headeach right before bed last night, 15 liters for 10 minites took care of it, and no headache at night, did wake up with a minor one and had to clear sinus as I had been breathing thru my mouth but went back to sleep, I did read the script from my family doc and it states 2 liters, I am running 50 feet of hose so I have it set at 2.5 liters to make up for friction of the lenght of tubing, dont know for sure if that makes a differense but I believe it does, I talked to my nuroligist yesterday and she works at the Ann Arbor Nurilogical Headache Institute which is supposed to be all of that and a bag of chips,( I was not all that impressed with my visit there) any way she state that she does not recomend using o2 for preventitive and would make no recomendation as to what level to set it at saftly and that I should see a pulmanary expert, and that I most likely not see any benifit from using it anyway, I am allmost done with the presnidone taper and going to taper off the channel blockers and topomax slowly as well and see how things go, she would like me to stay on the last tw for two months but I do not see the risk benifits of staing on the channel blockers with the side effects and just do not like the topomak so am going to focus on daily stress and see how it goes and wiat till the first of the year to go back to work, I will try the psilocybin if the headaches try to come back after leaving the meds but am confident this cycle is nearing an end. Good Day, Tom

Title: Re: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by tjnunn on Dec 19^th, 2007, 5:27am

sorry about all the grammer,in the last post, I should have used My recently installed topomax spellcheck toolbar, LOL

Title: Re: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by Bob_Johnson on Dec 19^th, 2007, 11:29am

So, can use of oxygen cause harm? Yes it can. Oxygen is actually very toxic to the lungs (as strange as that sounds). Concentrations above 21% (room air), cause damage. Small amounts of damage can be repaired. At large levels, though, the damage can cause permanent scarring.

Defining how much the human lung can tolerate without damage is still debated. In fact, some suggest that previous exposure to high dose oxygen can be protective (increases the production of the bodies defense mechanisms against free radicals such as oxygen). There has been good documentation, however, of lung damage done on patients exposed to high dose oxygen for extended periods of time, some as short as 24hours on 100% oxygen.

So, what does this mean? It means that the long term effects of using oxygen for treating CHs are not well known. It is advisable, however, to limit each exposure as much as possible, and not taking in oxygen unnecessarily, such as sleeping with it on.

[From: "new visitors" button --> AskDocGreg page.]

Title: Re: O2 Concentrator for prevention
Post by brewcrew on Dec 19^th, 2007, 3:37pm

on 12/19/07 at 05:24:37, tjnunn wrote:

...so am going to focus on daily stress and see how it goes...

Many people here maintain that staying stressed actually helps keep the beast at bay.