Hi  I am 59 year old male - had triple bypass in 2006
accountant in private practice - live in Boksburg South Africa
My lifestyle is hectic - smoke cigars and drink beer
Stop the beer during a cycle
Started my CH about 1986 and have had them every 4/6 years for about 3 months - today 2 months down the line
yesterday 4 am to noon -4 monsters 7-10
on Cafergot 3 pd/ Tripiline 25mg 1 pd with Imigran Injection
Started yesterday with 12 Panafcourt 2 pd and Arthrexin 3pd and have not had an attack since - I know it is early days but a day without is worth gold
In 2004 in my second month of hell - having had all the drugs - used oxygen to abort but no relief otherwise - decided out of desperation to have an opertation offered by the Headache Clinic in Johannesburg , they warned me that it may not work - had relief for about 3 days after the op
and then it carried on to complete the cycle of about 3 months
I have found temp relief not sure if it is only in my mind
If I wake up at 1am with my 1st one I have A headache
powder called "Grandpa" with a teaspoon of ground ginger
disolved in hot water within 1st 2 minutes and then proceed to the kitchen and eat ice cold watermelon in big chunks and possibly end up with an ice-cream headache but at that stage I do not care and start my pacing and grunting - have been lucky in some cases to abort or reduce the pain withih 15mins - not always though.I then get my 2nd 2-3 hours later and then have the injection - then I am at the mercy for the next one - not able to do much about it - lasts about 1-2 hours
I would like to hear from other CH slaves

Regards

Pieter

Welcome to the board Pieter! I don't recognize some of the medications listed, are any of them used as a prevent to reduce the number and/or intensity of your headaches? Verapamil, Lithium and Topomax are 3 popular prevents. I use 1200 mg a day of Lithium when I am on cycle, reduces about 60-70% of my hits.

Oxygen has been showing a lot more success of late, as we've been tweaking with HOW people use it. Please take a second and read the oxygen info tab on the left. I can abort an attack in 6-8 minutes using oxygen, it has all but eliminated my use of the imitrex injections.

A few other people have posted that Ginger helps them as an abortive, glad it's giving you some relief.

Glad you found us, hope we can give you some info to take back to your doc, give you a little pain free time!

Joe

Panafcourt has prednisone in it.  Arthrexin has the active ingredient indomethacin.   Tripiline is a member of the amitriptyline family.

Pieter wrote on Oct 31^st, 2010 at 6:01am:

I then get my 2nd 2-3 hours later and then have the injection - then I am at the mercy for the next one - not able to do much about it - lasts about 1-2 hours

HATE it when that happens!  >:(

BUT the imitrex tip has been a lifesaver for me and others, as following it allows a CH'er to get abort 2 or 3 hits with just one injection's worth of imitrex. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

Since cold can help you to abort an attack sometimes, it might be worth trying the old "put your nose up to the blasting car air conditioner vent and breathe the freezng air deeply" trick, maybe even with some ice cubes in your mouth. Works for some of us some of the time.

And what Joe said about the newer method of O2 use - it's a big improvement over the old way that the medical profession still ignorantly adheres to.

Also try drinking a red bull or similar energy drink which contains caffeine and taurine at the start of a CH. Many people, myself included, have found that it helps to reduce the intensity and duration of a CH.

bejeeber wrote on Oct 31^st, 2010 at 12:45pm:

Pieter wrote on Oct 31st, 2010 at 6:01am: I then get my 2nd 2-3 hours later and then have the injection - then I am at the mercy for the next one - not able to do much about it - lasts about 1-2 hours   HATE it when that happens!  >:( BUT the imitrex tip has been a lifesaver for me and others, as following it allows a CH'er to get abort 2 or 3 hits with just one injection's worth of imitrex. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE Since cold can help you to abort an attack sometimes, it might be worth trying the old "put your nose up to the blasting car air conditioner vent and breathe the freezng air deeply" trick, maybe even with some ice cubes in your mouth. Works for some of us some of the time. And what Joe said about the newer method of O2 use - it's a big improvement over the old way that the medical profession still ignorantly adheres to.

  What he said.

       Potter

Modern O2 use rocks. First you need a mask (that includes a mouthpiece) that is made just for CH. One of the best available is here on the CH.com store for around $28 US. I have 3 of them.

The next thing is higher flow regulators. Many of us need at least 25LPM and higher. Believe it or not, it IS one of the best abortives for CH.
Don

Hi Guys  thanks for the response
I am currenty now  2 days free - went to work today not sure if it the Cafergot/panafcort is working or if the cycle is on its way out

About energy drinks like red bull , I have been warned not to drink it after I had the bypass in 2006 - not sure
Thanks again

...then high-flow O2 would be right up your alley.