thank you my son is still miserable with these
Posted by GreenPiggy (Member # 30676) on :
Has he been able to see a neurologist yet (one who specializes in migraines)? As I wrote before, verapamil stopped them in their tracks.
I was getting clusters in 4 day cycles all last year, so bad that I really wanted to be in a coma so I couldn't feel the pain.
Benadryl used to help a little before I was given verapamil...at least 50 mg, sometimes 75mg (although 75 puts me to sleep).
IV benadryl in the hospital was like heaven...
My doc said that benadryl helps with the swelling, thus lessening the chance of irritaing the already dilated blood vessels that cause clusters.
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
thank you
Posted by sk8ter (Member # 8671) on :
I suffered with cluster headaches from age 16 to 28. Then they went away Thank God. I could not use any medication at all because i was traveling and skating. So my neurologist gave me oxygen. Yes oxygen.... Get a oxygen tank ordered by your LLMD ( a large one,,, looks like a torpedo) and put on 5-7 liters for 10-15 minutes straight. It worked everytime....My past neurologist was one of the pioneer physicians with headaches treatment back in the 70s. Hope this helps. He has since retired but his son has taken over the practice. He is the father of the actress Lisa Kudrow. His son's practice is in Encino, Ca. hope this helps.
Posted by GreenPiggy (Member # 30676) on :
They changed the 02 guidelines since then. Now it's 10-15 liters of hyperventilating the high flow 02 for up to 15 minutes, using a non-rebreather mask.
It works for others, didn't work for me. It's quite hard to find the tanks that bid that carry such a high volume and flow.
My pain doctor rented them out for $75/wk. With 2 15 minute sessions, the tank was empty and I'd have to go back and pay another $75 for a refill.
Too expensive for something that wasn't working.
Again, though, many of my cluster buddies online swear it's the best treatment ever.