Hello all. I am michelle. i have been suffering from migraines since 16...or so i thought. my dr finally caught one while active last month...dianosed with CH while at my home away from home...the hospital(i'm 33 now). I'm hsppy to not be alone. 99% of the people i know barely understand the pain of a regular migraine, much less CH. I wish this was not something others suffered from, i wouldnt wish this on anyone...but glad to have somone who understands

Welcome Michelle

Sorry you need to be here but there's loads of us here who can try to help you through this , even if you just need to vent... come shout and cry at us . If nothing else we can offer a kind word.

All the best

Nigel

Hi Michelle - welcome. Lots to learn here about managing your CH's. Did the new doctor prescribe a treatment program for you to abort and prevent CH's? Let us know.

When you get a chance, give us a rundown of how he's treating you, does he have you on a daily med to cut down the number of attacks? Does he have something like Imitrex for whan you're getting hit? There's so much that's become available in the last 10 years, maybe we can point you to some ideas to take back to your doc.

Welcome home...yeah...we understand!

Joe

Thx everyone for the warm welcome :)

I have been prescribed 02 10lpm, stupid lortabs(grrrrrr i hate those), imitrex injections and verap... unfortunately i live on o2 right now. i have a day or so in between of relief but thats it. i get hit like 2-3x/day. the ones that wake me up really cause me anger issues. sometimes uncontrolable anger or at least thats kinda how i interpret it. i have a heavybag to help relieve stress. not sure what else to do. i figured its better than pounding on my head. i can honestly say that just being on here helps. i almost cried when i found this site. even though i would never wish this on anyone its a relief to have someone out there who relates.
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Hi Michelle,

Many of us luckier ones have gotten our CH so much better under control with the aid of the info and advice to be found at this site - I'm hoping that will be the case for you too.

If you haven't seen the imitrex tip yet, that has helped myself and others tremendously. Here it is:
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Then if you ever find that your O2 isn't working as good as you hoped, the oxygen info link to the left of this page is absolutely mandatory reading.

Ya came to the right place.  :)

02 and trex are great, o2 is the better of the 2. 

Lortab...toss them. 

Verapamil...excellent, immediate release?  dosage?

Welcome to a place open 24/7 that you can always find somebody who truly understands  ;)

vegas, i am on 120mg @ bedtime for the verap.

Also after reading the o2 info i'm going to talk to my dr about inceasing the flow for my o2. i was doing 10lpm as prescribed but i decided to try 15lpm this time...BIG HELP! i feel better already. i also tried redbull. you guys are the best. i could type thank you a thousand times but wouldn't be enough to express how greatful i am.

as for the trex tip, haven't had to do that yet. i really hate meds. if i can avoid the shots and the stupid tabs by using o2 and redbull then YAY, but i will keep it in mind if i hit a road block in my therapy

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120mg is EXTREMELY LOW.  Read up on Verapamil on this board and print some info to share with your doctor. 

Also, you should talk with your dr about a Transitional med such as Prednisone to be taken for the 10 or so days the Prevenative med Verapamil takes to become effective. 

Lots of reading, but everything you need to know to effectively receive proper treatment...Transitional, Preventative and Abortive....all here on this website. 

Good Luck

Sounds like you are really on the right track with the O2. Yay!

Also keep in mind that prednisone can be a lil' risky.

It often shuts attacks off for us for the couple days it can be taken at a high dose, and there has been an occasional report of an entire cycle being shut off. Commonly though, the attacks will return with a vengeance right after tapering down on the pred, and it absolutely can induce bonafide "roid rage" type behavior while on it. Sustained high doses (that no doc is likely to prescribe for CH, but some desperate CH sufferers might be tempted to try on their own), can impart permanent, pretty much life ruining side effects.

Personally, I abort every attack I can with O2, abort every one that O2 can't with imitrex, and now avoid prednisone altogether.

Also, if you should get your doc to increase the dosage of verapamil, watch your intake of the taurine in energy drinks. Too much of the combination of them can cause heart rhythm problems.

bejeeber wrote on Apr 27^th, 2010 at 2:02pm:

Sounds like you are really on the right track with the O2. Yay! Also keep in mind that prednisone can be a lil' risky. It often shuts attacks off for us for the couple days it can be taken at a high dose, and there has been an occasional report of an entire cycle being shut off. Commonly though, the attacks will return with a vengeance right after tapering down on the pred, and it absolutely can induce bonafide "roid rage" type behavior while on it. Sustained high doses (that no doc is likely to prescribe for CH, but some desperate CH sufferers might be tempted to try on their own), can impart permanent, pretty much life ruining side effects. Personally, I abort every attack I can with O2, abort every one that O2 can't with imitrex, and now avoid prednisone altogether.

To each his own I guess about the "roid rage" comment, never heard of that until now and never experienced it the several cycles that I used Prednisone as Transitional treatment. 

I used anabolic steroids for several years in my past bodybuilding life and Prednisone is a completely different type of steroid (it is a corticosteroid) with no common symptoms of "roid rage". 

Again, to each his own.