Posted by iJun (38.31.233.73) on May 03, 2001 at 22:05:02:
In Reply to: Injections to nasel spray posted by Linda Howell on May 03, 2001 at 18:00:46:
Basically, I used to be in the same boat as you: my insurance would only allow the 6-pack of nasal spray per month, so if I was going to use the precious med, I wanted to make sure that the attack was going to be for real and not just a strong shadow lurking that might actually be convinced to go away with vigorous exercise, etc. But delaying the nasal spray in order to judge the intensity of the coming headache is often counterproductive, because by the time you figure out that this one is going to be a killer, it's too late for the spray to take effect. For me, if I don't spray within 10 minutes of the initial warning, I would typically look at minimum 30 minutes of hell, instead of the 5 minutes to take effect had I taken it earlier.
This time, I got around the lame insurance restrictions by stockpiling ahead of time, buying one six-pack a month during my off-cycle. This is a strategy I would recommend for you, btw.
So now, I finally have the luxury of using Imitrex spray very quickly at the onset of the attack, every time, without worrying about using up a precious spray for just shadows. Obviously, I never meant to imply that anyone would ever try to apply the spray before any signs of an actual attack. FYI, I've had CH for 15 years.
What I wanted to ask was, if you take the spray at the slightest hint of shadows lurking (say within 30 seconds of the slightest hint), whether that would be more effective, or as in the nature of this beast, whether it might actually "dodge" that attack and come back sooner and/or more frequently. So far, my experience during this cycle suggests that both frequency and intensity are unaffected by how quickly you are able to "put out the fire", so the sooner you take it, the better, even if it might actually be just shadows lurking. But I hope you understand why I am wondering--from a logical perspective, if you put out the shadows so fast that it doesn't become an attack at all, you have no way of knowing whether the shadow would have progressed into an attack or whether it might have been one of those lucky moments when the shadow subsides on its own. Better safe than sorry, of course, but only those of us with plenty of Imitrex can afford to wipe them out so quickly.
For the first time in my life, I feel that CH is finally under control as long as I have enough Imitrex to kill off the attack at the first sign, and wait the 2 weeks until the Verapamil kicks in to get rid of them altogether for the rest of the cycle.