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Cluster Headache Help and Support >> Getting to Know Ya >> Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago http://www.clusterheadaches.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1290090000 Message started by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 9:20am |
Title: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 9:20am
It all started last saturday, I started having this unbelievable pressure in my head. I put up with it for a week, I missed 4 out of 5 days at my new job. I just started so i have no benefits. I finally couldnt take it anymore and went to the emergency room. It was there I was diagnosed. They prescribed me imitrex which is 40 a pill for me. I could any buy 4. Every night I awake at 4am with the worst pain. The imitrex end the headache pretty quickly but makes me very ill. I am a 29yr old male. I dont think I can live with this for ever. Is there any hope? PS IS it possible to even hold a job with this? Like I said no benefits, so i cant even see a specialist right now, please help with any cheap methods. I am scared and lost. Thank you so much.
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 9:29am
ps sorry for bad spelling and grammar, just coming down from one now. :D
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 4:10pm
Wow, Thank you so much. I just got home from another terrible day of work. I had my first episode at 4am and my second right at 100pm. I thank you so much for this, I stopped at a medical store and asked about oxygen and they just rolled there eyes. I was feeling really hopeless until I got home and read this. This is a major help, the one thing i was told about oxygen was I needed a license if I carried it, do I need one if I keep it next to my bed? Also is there anything I can do to avoid another cycle once this one ends. If not I guess just store a bunch of oxygen. Does anyone use the nasal spray? If so what do you think? Thank you again.
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by vietvet2tours on Nov 18th, 2010 at 4:28pm
What country are you in?
Potter |
Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 4:51pm
United states, I have tried for charity care and meda care(think thats the name) and turned down by both. Said I didnt meet requirements :-/
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by vietvet2tours on Nov 18th, 2010 at 4:55pm samusaran wrote on Nov 18th, 2010 at 4:10pm:
Horseshit. Potter |
Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 5:00pm
Awesome Thanks Potter, They looked at me if I was a druggy trying to find something weird when all I am hoping for is a miracle. I am going to try and see if I can get my benefits asap and once I do go see a specialist and see if they will prescribe it. I am actually scared of sleeping now, and imitrex's side effects scare me even more. Thanks to this site though, I hold my head up.
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by mikstudie on Nov 18th, 2010 at 5:12pm
I use the Imitrex nasal spray ONLY for the real bad hits. There is an art to it.dont take a big snort just a little sniff. You should not taste the med. If you do then it is in your throat not your nose and then needs to go thru your system like a pill. If I use it correctly it will abort a bad hit in 10/15 mins(for me). If your nose starts to run a bit take little sniffs. My nose during a hit DOES NOT get congested so the spray works very well for me.
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by mikstudie on Nov 18th, 2010 at 5:16pm
The only side affect I get from Trex is NO HEADACHE,but I dont use it very often. I have beat my night hits with Melatonin and shadows with Energy drinks and a couple Tylenol. Everybody is different with Imitrex.
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 5:29pm
Thank you Mikstudie, I will try Melatonin. And if you dont mind what are shadows? I keep seeing that? Is it that feeling I get of creeping up on me before the hits?"Like a constant feeling I have in my head" For me imitrex makes my heart go insane and then I get really nauseaus and even extra dizzy on top of what i all ready was. All though it did knock out the headache. The other effects made it pretty rough.
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 18th, 2010 at 5:31pm
Ps if it helps, I took Imitrex orally 25mg. Thanks again
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by samusaran on Nov 19th, 2010 at 11:52am
Update, Took the hit and went and saw doctor finally. I got my oxygen!!! And imitrex nasal spray for the really bad ones. But they gave me the nasal tube type. How do I get the mask? Thank you!
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Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by Guiseppi on Nov 19th, 2010 at 4:57pm
The nasal canulas will not work, but you already figured that out! Any medical supply store should have Non Re Breather Masks. Bring your prescription with you, you should not need it but some of the dorks I have dealt with at supply stores want to see a prescription no matter what you need! ::)
There is an excellent non re breather for sale on the board, look under medications and therapies, up top, optimaskII kits for sale, it;s the cadillac. For now you can actually make your own, use a one gallon ziploc bag, seal it, poke a hole in the bottom, run the tube from your regulator into it and tape it tight. Put a hole in the top, tape the inside of a paper towel or toilet paper roll inside of it. You now own a custom non re breather bag. Cover the roll with your hand while the bag fills, huff abig breath, cover it and let it fill again! Joe |
Title: Re: Just diagnosed 2 weeks ago Post by Chris H on Nov 19th, 2010 at 8:53pm
Sam, Imitrex pills are not really an effective abortive for CH. They take too long. Imitrex is not really a preventative medicine. You need Imitrex injections. They come in a little plastic carrier with two vials and an injector. You keep and reuse the carrier and injector, replace the vials as you use them up. All of that is very expensive though.
O2 can be a good abort. It doesn't work for everyone and different people need different O2 levels for it to be effective. It's definitely a low cast and very helpful therapy. -Chris |
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