After using several Zomig this week and last to abort my daily 10:30 pm cluster headache, I finally had a nasty reaction and spent the best part of Tuesday in the ER getting checked for heart problems as well as most of today getting other heart stuff done at my GP's office as well as visiting the Neuro to get the meds changed up, got started on prednisone, got him to up the verapamil, and finally got me a prescription for some Oxygen. The Neuro told me the O2 prescription would take weeks to get done, but after talking to the nice lady at TLC Medical Supply in Franklin TN on the phone just before they closed this evening, I'm told this isn't so.....

So I'm happy I have the Oxygen prescription, confused about how to get the damn stuff tomorrow, and upset about facing my 10:30 tonight with nothing to abort it.

As it turns out, my heart looks fine in all respects ( BP 120/80 resting and 150/72 at full exercise during the stress test, resting heart rate 62 beats per minute, etc)...just too much damn Zomig.

 
Quote:

The Neuro told me the O2 prescription would take weeks to get done,

What a load of crap Jason.  He writes a script....you take it to the nearest medical supply place.  (I did not mean you are full of crap)


I have looked at where you are on a map and the nearest Lincare facility is too far away for you.  Look up "Apria" in the phone book for your area.


For tonight....chug an energy drink or make yourself a pot of strong coffee and have it ready.  

hey jason, bill from Cleveland here. cluster suffer for a long time, i used to use zomig too, ate it like it was candy during a hit and it worked like a champ THEN. But all of a sudden one day the golden calf stopped giving me milk, i never worried about the 2000 pound rihno on chest, blowing up my heart seemed like a small price to pay at the time. I used to tell my doctor when he would ask me to try a different meds " no way your taking my zomig "  Untill i threw the empty box at him, he gave me imetrex, preds and 02. then i found clusterbusters.com and all i need now is the 02 sometimes, and even my tank is getting dusty. Good luck friend, Be Well. coach bill

That from a neuro. What a deal.
Check here for local 02
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Hope it helps
all the best
thebb

Gonna go on down to the store and get me some energy drinks forthwith as well as brew some coffee to have ready.

Yeah, I thought it was kind of odd also about the neuro....the lady I talked to at our local hospital supply place sure didn't seem to think it was a big deal but who knows really.....guess I'll find out in the morning....believe me when I say it's the first thing on the list.

Thanks to all and wish me luck for later. It's about two hours to waking time for the beast.

goof luck tonight.  Along with energy drinks and coffee, good last resorts are vigorous exercise and hot/cold showers.

Good luck Jason and please keep us informed.


   Remember this o.k.?   the squeeky wheel gets the most oil.  Being informed puts you in a position of power.   Keep at em.


Linda

be careful using energy drinks if you have heart issues

Yes sir, and yes ma'am, I sure will.

I don't think I have heart issues.....none of the many tests I've had these past couple days would indicate that, including the stress test I had today. What I think I've had is way, way too much Zomig. But thanks just the same for your concern.

I'm a big fellow....5'10" and about 215 lbs, but I also have a big frame and not a lot of extra fat...some, but not a lot. It's hard to be completely out of shape when one farms for a living.

Hey, Jason, last time the Beast visited me I was away from home, working at the TN Renaissance Festival at Triune in your neck of the woods.  I didn't have any meds with me, so I went with only strong coffee.  He gave me a couple good hits, but left after only 3 weeks...
my shortest cycle ever in 26 years.

This time I'm going with only coffee, fresh air, water and RedBull.  He has given me a few nasty hits and has been around for 2 weeks so far.  I'm hoping he will leave soon  like he did in TN, even though I can't smell the spring honeysuckle and listen to the mocking bird serenades up here in MN.

Best wishes for PFDAN and a short cycle.

                      Johnnystar    

Jason, Hope yur doing better. Oxygen works great for at least 70% of us aborting up to 90% of the attacks, which means you won't need the Zomig so often. It must be prescribed and used prperly though. At minimum 10-15lpm though a NON-REBREATHER mask, the nose canula are worthless for CH and many Dr's are not aware of this.

Did the Neuro give a script already? What does it say? You should print the info from this site to educate them if it shows different than what I've stated above. This is very important to the successful use of oxygen (O2) to abort CH attacks.

Nice picture of you and the Mrs.   Best, Don         This size thing here is me trying to make my post text larger. Please forgive me if any misunderstandings  have occured.  Sincereley, Don  Edited: 11/2/08 size[size=14][/size]

Thanks Johnnystar !!

Yeah, you were VERY close if you were at Triune for the Ren. Festival !! I went up to TSC to get some generic parts, and stopped at the Kangaroo on the corner for a cup of coffee on my way home and I wondered out loud what the hell was going on with all the folks dressed in what looked to my untrained eye like "goth" gear !!

A laughing lady and gentlemen in full garb put me right, which is how I came to find out about the festival in my own backyard !! :)

In answer to Skyhawk, yes, I have a tank of Oxygen, and thanks to 30 mg Prednisone, I have a week to find a non-rebreather mask and a 15 L regulator.....the med supply companies around here had neither one......

Jason, Glad to hear you at least have some O2. let me back up to my last post to make sure I didn't upset you. That size thing on the end is because I was trying to enlarge the text of my post but it did not take (see my edit to that post).

In a pinch if you have the tank and the nose canula, you can cut the end off (yes) and put the hose in your mouth, closed around the hose and this can give enough Oxygen to sometimes abort a CH hit. It has worked for others.

There does seem to be some problem these days with O2 suppliers not having NRB's on hand, I had the same problem this summer. They had to order some in. If we can help let us know, we'll sure try cause we know how it is.

Good Luck, Don

Don !!

Many thanks and no worries....not upset at all !! Actually thankful for the advice. I will try to get somebody at the local med supply place to get me one tomorrow sometime.

I agree about the pred....it's good while it lasts, but it ain't over till the singing is done.

Jason,

When I first got O2 about 20 years ago 7lpm was all I could get and yes it did work. Today we just know that the higher lpm's work much faster and so better, to abort. So the 8lpm you have now is quite capable of aborting a CH hit so should not be considered as useless or anything like that. Just a little old and slow.

Best, Don