I was browsing the other day through the posts and read one where when the writer felt one coming on he jumped in his vehicle, turned the A/C up full blast and positioned his face/head in the stream of frigid air.  My husband and I were going to take a nice little drive today and 5 minutes into it I felt a killer headache coming on.  He turned around and I turned the A/C on full blast and let it hit me in the head and face.  I cannot believe it stopped it dead in the demon's tracks.. Too good to be true but it worked.. Wish I could find that post but I wouldn't even know where to start.  Unbelievable and thank you to whomever posted that valuable post...

Yes, In a pinch sitting in front of an AC or a fan on high will do.  I've done it many times before I got my oxygen tank or when I ran out of 02 on a Friday night and couldn't get them refilled til Monday morning.

Better yet though is to get your Dr. to prescribe oxygen Lucy.  With a high-flow regulator and a non-rebreather mask.  Works so much better and faster.  There is a link to the left that will tell you everything you need to know.  You can also print it out to take to your Dr. if he is reluctant to prescribe it.

In a desperate situation with no abortives you can down some strong coffee or one of those energy drinks along with it too.

It won't work every time, but it's a nice stop-gap when it does.

Pray tell, why were you out for a drive without a bottle of O2?

You're welcome LucyBee.  ;D

Yeah I find the car A/C to work every time during the first week of my episode, before the hits start coming on really strong, and when even 10 LPM O2 with a standard mask can also abort a hit.

Kudos to your husband for going along with it and enduring getting himself pretty chilled in the car there too.  :)

I first read about cold air as an abortive online in a predecessor to this forum I believe, it would've been 1997.

I didn't have air conditioning in the car or house at that time though in So Cal, so I didn't really get a good chance to try it out until we were visiting Washington state that March.

I was actually in peak cycle at that time I think. There we were on the ferry from Bainbridge to Seattle, and  the beast starts coming on strong. So I went out to the open air bow of the ship, where the air blows in your face very strong and cold coming of those frigid Puget sound waters.

I was out there with the tear streaming down my cheek, the hit rocketing right up into high kipville, when DANG if deep sniffing of that freezing air didn't just knock the CH right out - I couldn't believe it!

Anyone here ever take that ferry? Wow what a stunningly beautiful view of Downtown Seattle, the Emerald City on the waterfront as the ferry approaches it in Elliot Bay. And I was able to soak it in pain free.

Ok well a few hours later I had to use my last trex injection   in the plane lavatory on the flight back to Cal. as a whopper came a knockin', but hey, the cold air bought me some time.  8-)

Putting your face into a chest freezer will work in a pinch too! If I pinch close the nostril opposite the side of the attack, so cold air goes only up the affected side, it increases the effectiveness a bit.

Oxygen on the other hand, rocks! ;)

Glad you kicked the beasts arse this go round! :)
Joe

And going to the other extreme: several years ago we had a run from folks who got relief from blasting the site of the pain with a hair dryer (temple, etc.)!

Some use packs of frozen veggies (peas conform to our head well!) placed on temple, neck, etc.

Bob Johnson wrote on Oct 5^th, 2009 at 7:13am:

And going to the other extreme: several years ago we had a run from folks who got relief from blasting the site of the pain with a hair dryer (temple, etc.)! Some use packs of frozen veggies (peas conform to our head well!) placed on temple, neck, etc.

Showing, perhaps, that it's not the cold or the heat itself, but the deviation from the norm that more or less "distracts" our nervous system.

Brew wrote on Oct 5^th, 2009 at 7:51am:

[quote author=49646954416463657864650B0 link=1254673759/5#5 date=1254741224] Showing, perhaps, that it's not the cold or the heat itself, but the deviation from the norm that more or less "distracts" our nervous system.

Thank you Brew!...sometimes I feel so clueless I wonder how I made it to 54. Been puzzling for years on why cold for some and hot for others???? It made no sense. That does!

Jon

jon019 wrote on Oct 5^th, 2009 at 12:57pm:

Thank you Brew!...sometimes I feel so clueless I wonder how I made it to 54. Been puzzling for years on why cold for some and hot for others???? It made no sense. That does! Jon

Like I said, Jon, perhaps. I'm just a boy from flyover country. Your guess is as good as mine.

I use frozen gel packs over my temple and eye. ive got three in the freezer. mostly i use them late evenings on the sofy watching a film with the wife. it allways causes my wife to ask " is sharon (the beast)there?" "no" i answer " im just chilling lmao"
mark (sooo a cool guy)

Brew-

Love your quote: 

In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.

--George Orwell

-Joni