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        New Message Board Archives >> Jul-Sep 2003 >> Going to the Neuro!  What to ask?
        
(Message started by: Brikalovingwife on Jul 30^th, 2003, 8:47am)

Title: Going to the Neuro! What to ask?
Post by Brikalovingwife on Jul 30^th, 2003, 8:47am

We will go to the neuro this afternoon... I wonder what I should talk to him about... here's our situation.

Jason 25 years old... CH for 4 years. He usually has 2 bad weeks every spring... this year it's lasted on and off much longer.

He has taken:
Maxalt (worked WONDERFULLY for him, insurace cut us off of it)

Imitrex pills.. worked OK... took much longer than the maxalt

Imitrex injectable: loves it! Works 10 minutes... hates that he is only SUPPOSED to take it 2 per day... has taken it up to 6 times. Pain forces us to do SOMETHING.
tried doing the 2 mg trick, didn't work, however he did it in his stomach, and I think he was a bit stingy with squirting all 2 mg in, so who knows... we ended up giving the rest of the injectable 25 minutes later, and at a Kip 8.

O2... however, they gave us a tank with a nose inhaler and like half of the flow I have read about here.

Just now started 40 mg of Pred. has taken it two days.. so far first day 3 headaches... today NONE yet.

That's our history.

After doing lots of research and asking questions here... I think I should ask about the following things....

O2 with a rebreather mask, 2 tanks home and portable, with at least 12-15 flow?

Verapamil or Verapamil with Lithium

100 mg. Imitrex perscriptions... we are at 50 right now... either to speed up effect OR for us to cut in half as we only get 3 at a time.

Imitrex in a vial? Try injecting 3 mg at a time?

Supplementing the Imitrex with zomig?

Chances that he may be going chronic.

Free samples!!!!!!

Now, thanks you all of you wonderful people I have developed this list... now I ask you if it is complete, too complete... etc. What is your advice. We have waited long for this appointment and I do not want to blow it!

Thanks so much!

Brinn

Title: Re: Going to the Neuro! What to ask?
Post by catlind on Jul 30^th, 2003, 8:52am

Sounds like you have done your homework well Brik!

Here's what you want to do

O2 with a NON rebreather mask. 10-12 LPMs minimum is what most find the lowest level to work.

Imitrex injections in a vial, by far, the injections seem to work the best. When you use the vial you can use 2mg and I can speak for me and many others when I say that 2mg works very well. You may have to use another 2 mg 20min later if the first 2 don't abort. However, they come in 6mg vials, so that's 3 shots as opposed to just one.

Verapamil or the Verapamil Lithium combo are excellent choices as preventatives.

The pred taper will work for transition until the verap gets into his system.

See if you can get Amerge for night time. Taken at night before bed it is showing alot of good promise as a preventative.

Go to the OUCH site and join OUCH (it's free) and then go to this url and print out the convention report for up to date info on what's happening for CH:

http://www.clusterheadaches.org/members/discus/messages/23/235.html?1059439478

Hope everything goes well! Keep us posted!

And welcome to the family :)

Cat

Title: Re: Going to the Neuro! What to ask?
Post by Big_Dan on Jul 30^th, 2003, 10:14am

Yeah.... what Catlind said.... ;D

Pred works wonders for me, but only while I'm on it. You should be on another preventative so that when you finish the Pred, the other med is in your system...

... and 'trex 'injects work for me too, but I'm pretty pissed that I can only have 2 per day. So I'd suffer through as many as I could until I thought I couldn't take it anymore, and would break down and take one... Hated wasting that stuff...

-Big Dan

Title: Re: Going to the Neuro! What to ask?
Post by stuey on Jul 30^th, 2003, 1:26pm

I can only really add that my headache neuro tapered me from 60 mg down. If 40 helps great, but I definitely needed the 60.

Title: Re: Going to the Neuro! What to ask?
Post by cootie on Jul 30^th, 2003, 4:02pm

Hi Brikalovingwife....print out suma the info offer'd and take it to yer doc plus some of the meds info.....it's good stuff......that's what we did......that ifno probly explains things better for you doc then what they read in text books in medical school !! Good luck.....keep us posted fer sure ! Pam that almost became a nurse but didn't want to bathe onea the other girls in class :P