A fellow sufferer sent me a PM asking the following question, and I don't think I have ever heard of this, in all our discussions about O₂ usage:


Quote:

Chuck the oxygen is burning my tongue up. I can sure live with it but I thought you might know a fix.

Have any of you ever experienced this?  I have chatted with several O₂ "pushers" and none of us have run across this, yet.

Any one ever experienced that?

Chuck

Never heard of it. That person should see their doc.  :D

A little dry maybe but never "burned". Prednisone? That's new to me. Maybe on it far too long, like fell asleep?.  , Don

Chuck,

I've been using oxygen therapy with a mouthpiece for my cluster headaches for nearly 3 years at much higher flow rates than most folks and I've never had that or any other problem except an occasional dry mouth...  I also spent over 3,000 hours breathing 100% oxygen while flying Navy fighters at high flow rates as well...  No problems there either.

At this point, I'm more like Pavlov's dogs.  When I turn on the oxygen, my mouth starts to water...  

His problem sounds more like tongue bite to me...  Is he smoking a pipe?

Take care,

V/R, Batch

It was me that presented this question to Chuck. I no longer smoke at all.I have wonderd if it's maybe the predisone causing it also. It happens every cycle as if my tatse buds are burned. Then clears up when the headaches go away. Don't get me wrong I am not complaining about the oxygen. So far this cycle the oxygen has been a godsend. And as we all know most other shit is really minor when dealing with these beasts.

All I can think is maybe get a bubbler/humidifier if you dont have one. That and keep the doc informed. I hate it for ya.
thebb

It's the Prednisone. Happens to me , you are developing Thrush on your tongue. What will help this is a prescriptions for Nystatin* mouth wash.

Without Nystatin my tastbuds start to come off after long bursts of pred. It can get pretty bad. That is the problem. Call you Dr. and get some, there are no home treatments for Thrush.            Best, Don

Thanks , I will call my Doctor. It is amazing how much a man can learn from collective knowledge.

I notice this a little also.  I think it is extreme dryness.  I don't take pred.

Skyhawk5 wrote on Oct 26^th, 2008 at 7:41pm:

A little dry maybe but never "burned". Prednisone? That's new to me. Maybe on it far too long, like fell asleep?.  , Don

Huh?


Skyhawk5 wrote on Oct 27^th, 2008 at 3:41pm:

It's the Prednisone. Happens to me , you are developing Thrush on your tongue. What will help this is a prescriptions for Nystatin* mouth wash. Without Nystatin my tastbuds start to come off after long bursts of pred. It can get pretty bad. That is the problem. Call you Dr. and get some, there are no home treatments for Thrush.            Best, Don

Thrush is a Fungal infection (Candida). I get it from Prednisone due to an alergic type reaction. I was told by my Dr. there are no home treatments, I just read that rinsing the mouth with yogurt for a minute or so is a home treatment.

When I saw that wewcaj is taking Pred. the flag popped up. Before I knew what was happening I had pieces of skin coming off of my tongue and went to the dentist pronto. Now the Dr. gives a Rx with the pred., but I still have some discomfort.  Best, Don

My Mom and Grandmother always swore "buttermilk" was good for thrush (Yuck!!). Yogart sounds better than "buttermilk"!  :)

Hugs BD

BD, My  My Mother used to drink buttermilk. One day I asked for a glass of milk and she gave me the buttermilk instead, and I puked for days. Yeck!!!!! Awful stuff. I'll stick with the Nystatin. I don't like yogurt either.

Best, Don

Hey Wewcaj,

Hang in there... A dry mouth is a small price to pay for an effective abortive...  Keep some ice water or your favorite cold beverage handy when you're huffing and puffing on oxygen therapy.

As one of the "Oxygen Pushers," I'm confident that oxygen therapy at higher flow rates is still far more effective in aborting cluster headache attacks than some folks think. On top of that, I hear from a lot of cluster headache sufferers who have tried oxygen therapy for the first time or who tried it unsuccessfully in the past, now saying it works and they wish they had started using it sooner. 

Yes,  there will always be a few who are truly caught between a rock and a hard place due to other medical conditions that prevent oxygen therapy from helping them shoot the beast and send it running. Many of them will need the aid of another abortive to end the pain of their attacks. For the rest who use this therapy properly, at a high enough flow rate, and at the first sign of a pending attack when possible, the results are very impressive.

I'm not a doctor, but I'll put oxygen therapy up against the side effects of the other abortive medications any day...  It's important that all of us ask our doctors and neurologists about the risks and rewards associated with any medication prescribed or over the counter.  Ask specifically about the immediate and long term side effects.  

While you're waiting to see your doctor or neurologist... Google it...

Here are the results of two Internet queries where I used the following search terms including quotes for the first query: Oxygen "Cluster Headache" "Side Effects" and then exchanged Imitrex for Oxygen in the second query.

9,920 for [Oxygen "Cluster Headache" "Side Effects"]
11,100 for [Imitrex "Cluster Headache" "Side Effects"]

Granted, a simple Internet query like this should not be used as the basis for choosing one abortive over another, but it is a good starting point for discussions with your doctor.  That said, there is still an order of magnitude more articles on Imitrex side effects than there are on Oxygen.  Food for thought.

Take care,

V/R, Batch