Posted by Laurence (193.149.80.36) on August 18, 1999 at 19:24:02:
In Reply to: Prednisolone posted by Tanya on August 18, 1999 at 18:04:59:
Hi Tanya,
I dunno, I guess I must have just struck lucky with my GP, but I had no difficulty in gettting an oxygen prescription in my last cycle last year (I still have a spare tank in the garage just in case it breaks through this year, but it will keep apparently for up to two years or more.
Oxygen is commonly prescribed, of course, for patients with respiratory problems, so it is not a particularly unusual "drug" for most pharmacists in the UK, even if you have to wait 24 hours or so at the smaller outlets.
I guess it may have helped that on my second cycle back in 1995 the neurologist had written to my then GP to say that if the headaches returned then try oxygen as an abortive. My new GP followed that advice when it returned in 1998.
Simon who posts here (see message from him below or perhaps in the recent archives) is also in the UK and he has recently been prescribed oxygen simply because he doesn't want to overdose on Imigran (Imitrex in the US)injections.
My advice, for what it's worth, is to get your neurologist - if you have seen one - to recommend Oxygen to your GP. Failing that, try and convince your GP to talk to a neurologist because certainly the ones I have seen over the years all seem to know about how effective Oxygen can be in the relief of pain of clusters and it's a whole lot safer than most drugs.
Laurence