Low_Budget_Hooker

Good luck guys.

Slomoe- You need to get with a good neurologist. You do show many signs of cluster but it may be something that just looks like cluster. The eyelid thing is also common with other neurological implecations, you should definitely get some professional input. Also, go to the cluster site, there is a quiz you can take to see if you MAY be a cluster sufferer. There are lots of resources there that you can use to do on yourself and bring results with you to neurologist. Tests, diaries, etc. These give the Dr.'s a big head start.

Yes, one of the things I learned on the other board is that many of us "learned to deal with it" over the years. Many sufferers have incredible pain tolerance levels because of this (documented). You'll see on the board that many of us found the same remedies or aids as we learned to cope. Fresh cool air is one of them. It just helps. I think this is in part to the elevated body temp associated with a hit. when it first rolls in at full force, you get very hot and want to take a shirt off, then that subsides. A bag of frozen peas on the back of the neck offers a little relief also. BUT OXYGEN & IMITREX are the new replacements for many of these "aids". Once you are set up with this stuff, you don't need the aids.

No, it eases as the hit passes. within an hour, you'd never know. Also, this does not happen with all of us but is common for many. I do not get it (my hits are in right eye)but the right nostril clogs solid and the right eye tears alot. It is weird, the other nostril remains wide open and the other eye does not tear but the eyelid does not droop with me.

Yea, it's all good discussion. If 1 reader who needs this info finds this, it's worth it. I'm very happy for Cart, today things change for him in a big way.

I think the Colts have earned more respect than they are getting but,.... GO PATS!!

Well, again, I am highly self educated on the subject of ECH (episodic cluster headache) This is a very specific ailment with very definable traits. Womens migraine is totally different and can be caused by many different factors from hormones to environment to menopause to water imbalances to plain old stress. I Do know about Imitrex though. If she is on any other meds, especially a blodd pressure med, this HAS to be communicated with your neurologist before EVER taking Trex. IMO. Contraindications Imitrex Tablets should not be given to patients with history, symptoms, or signs of ischemic cardiac, cerebrovascular, or peripheral vascular syndromes. In addition, patients with other significant underlying cardiovascular diseases should not receive Imitrex Tablets. Ischemic cardiac syndromes include, but are not limited to, angina pectoris of any type (e.g., stable angina of effort and vasospastic forms of angina such as the Prinzmetal variant), all forms of myocardial infarction, and silent myocardial ischemia. Cerebrovascular syndromes include, but are not limited to, strokes of any type as well as transient ischemic attacks. Peripheral vascular disease includes, but is not limited to, ischemic bowel disease (see WARNINGS). Because Imitrex Tablets may increase blood pressure, they should not be given to patients with uncontrolled hypertension. Concurrent administration of MAO-A inhibitors or use within 2 weeks of discontinuation of MAO-A inhibitor therapy is contraindicated (see CLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY: Drug Interactions and PRECAUTIONS: Drug Interactions). Imitrex Tablets should not be administered to patients with hemiplegic or basilar migraine. Imitrex Tablets and any ergotamine-containing or ergot-type medication (like dihydroergotamine or methysergide) should not be used within 24 hours of each other, nor should Imitrex and another 5-HT1 agonist. Imitrex Tablets are contraindicated in patients with hypersensitivity to sumatriptan or any of their components. Imitrex Tablets are contraindicated in patients with severe hepatic impairment.

More good info below. This is something the Dr didn't prep me for. The first time you take a shot, you feel a heat in your circulatory system. It shoots down your legs to the pads of your feet, then up through your torso into your CHEST, neck and finally head. It's a weird sensation of heat. well, when I first took it, I said to my friend Michelle, "keep an eye on me" because I didn't know it was going to be so physical. I wasn't warned and it kind of scared me. NOW, however, that I know the routine, that same heat feeling that scared me is SUCH a welcome feeling. The heat is now automatically associated with relief and I look forward to feeling it. A lot of the stuff you read sounds scary but I cannot toot the horn of this drug enough. Of the side effects below, most mainly just feel a tightening in the chest, and the heat. The chest thing eases in minutes and really isn't drastic at all, just noticeable. Sumatriptan side effects Get emergency medical help if you have any of these signs of an allergic reaction: hives; difficulty breathing; swelling of your face, lips, tongue, or throat. Stop using sumatriptan and call your doctor at once if you have any of these serious side effects: * chest pain or heavy feeling, pain spreading to the arm or shoulder, nausea, sweating, general ill feeling; * sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; * sudden headache, confusion, problems with vision, speech, or balance; * fast heart rate, agitation, muscle stiffness, hallucinations, lack of coordination, with nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea; * sudden and severe stomach pain and bloody diarrhea; * seizure (convulsions); or * numbness or tingling and a pale or blue-colored appearance in your fingers or toes. Continue using sumatriptan and talk with your doctor if you have any of these less serious side effects: * nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; * muscle pain; * warmth or redness under your skin; * pressure or heavy feeling in any part of your body; * sneezing, runny nose, congestion, cough; * burning, numbness, pain or other irritation in your nose or throat after using the nasal spray; * unusual taste in your mouth after using the nasal spray; * dizziness, sleepiness; or * drooling or sweating. Whatever of these things she feels with the pill, it will be the same with the shot. In other words, if the pill didn't make her nauseous, the shot won't either. Again, for most, it's a tight chest, food tastes funny and the heat. But it's only for about 10 minutes. You are much busier noticing the relief

You bet Wayne. On the site I referred Cart to, there is a section of the forum for "supporters". Great info there. Do's and dont's, etc Imitrex warnings: Risk of Myocardial Ischemia and/or Infarction and Other Adverse Cardiac Events Sumatriptan should not be given to patients with documented ischemic or vasospastic coronary artery disease (CAD) (see CONTRAINDICATIONS). It is strongly recommended that sumatriptan not be given to patients in whom unrecognized CAD is predicted by the presence of risk factors (e.g., hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, smoker, obesity, diabetes, strong family history of CAD, female with surgical or physiological menopause, or male over 40 years of age) unless a cardiovascular evaluation provides satisfactory clinical evidence that the patient is reasonably free of coronary artery and ischemic myocardial disease or other significant underlying cardiovascular disease. The sensitivity of cardiac diagnostic procedures to detect cardiovascular disease or predisposition to coronary artery vasospasm is modest, at best. If, during the cardiovascular evaluation, the patient's medical history or electrocardiographic investigations reveal findings indicative of, or consistent with, coronary artery vasospasm or myocardial ischemia, sumatriptan should not be administered (see CONTRAINDICATIONS). For patients with risk factors predictive of CAD, who are determined to have a satisfactory cardiovascular evaluation, it is strongly recommended that administration of the first dose of sumatriptan tablets take place in the setting of a physician's office or similar medically staffed and equipped facility unless the patient has previously received sumatriptan. Because cardiac ischemia can occur in the absence of clinical symptoms, consideration should be given to obtaining on the first occasion of use an electrocardiogram (ECG) during the interval immediately following Imitrex Tablets, in these patients with risk factors. It is recommended that patients who are intermittent long-term users of sumatriptan and who have or acquire risk factors predictive of CAD, as described above, undergo periodic interval cardiovascular evaluation as they continue to use sumatriptan. The systematic approach described above is intended to reduce the likelihood that patients with unrecognized cardiovascular disease will be inadvertently exposed to sumatriptan. Drug-Associated Cardiac Events and Fatalities Serious adverse cardiac events, including acute myocardial infarction, life-threatening disturbances of cardiac rhythm, and death have been reported within a few hours following the administration of Imitrex® (sumatriptan succinate) Injection or Imitrex Tablets. Considering the extent of use of sumatriptan in patients with migraine, the incidence of these events is extremely low. The fact that sumatriptan can cause coronary vasospasm, that some of these events have occurred in patients with no prior cardiac disease history and with documented absence of CAD, and the close proximity of the events to sumatriptan use support the conclusion that some of these cases were caused by the drug. In many cases, however, where there has been known underlying coronary artery disease, the relationship is uncertain.

Wayne- Just something for her to consider. Pill- 100mg 20-45 minutes to work Nasal inhaler- 20mg- 10-30 minutes to work stat-pen-4mg or 6mg - takes 5-7 minutes till full relief With us, every minute is excruciating. Many forms of female migraine are much longer lasting, but much less "specific" in the concentration of pain. (women get more of a hard tension headache, ours feels like an icepick in your eye). With that said, time is of the essence with us so I highly suggest the shots. BUT When considering that Imitrex isn't good for you, I also feel better with only putting 4mg instead of 100mg into my system. If she is ok with a minor shot (seriously, about 1/8 the feeling of a tetanus, and delivered easily with the pen, you don't have to push needle in yourself), I HIGHLY suggest them.

and let's not forget.....a saying I have applied to many things in life, including ski equipment, fishing gear,.... ................................."It's not the car,....it's the driver"......

also, 2 yrs ago, blue cross/blue shield finally approved Oxygen as a pain relief treatment. It is now covered 100% by my insurance. For yrs, cluster sufferers where obtaining it from welding supply shops. They were our saviors. Funny how many welders know all about cluster,lol Imitrex availability is another story. During the peak weeks, I need one, sometimes 2 shots a day. FDA guidelines only allow prescriptions of 8/30 days. If not for folks like Stratosdadri, another migraine sufferer, I would have been lost. We now know to stockpile on the months that you are cluster free so the meds are around when you need them. **I was given many different drug cocktails during the years. Many other sufferers went through the same thing. The oxygen/Imitrex combo gets it done for 90% of the Episodic sufferers. I would ask the Dr if you could START there first instead of working your way to that like many of us did. I've had everything from Prednisone(steroid) tapers to a topomax (DOPEomax) routine. I drove straight thru a stop sign in a UPS truck on Topomax, I will never touch anything like that again. OXYGEN and IMITREX Warning- If you are not chronic, do not read up on chronic. It doesn't apply and is highly aimed more at suicide prevention than finding an answer. FYI- I am not working today because my cycle "peaked" last night. I was hit 6 times in one night, a sure sign (for me) that I will now quickly taper to being back to normal. My cycles have a few different patterns. Tracking your hits in a diary is a huge help to you and your neurologist (if you get the right one, he will look at your diary like it is gold, a bad one won't even glance at it) again, on that site, they teach you all about tracking and patterns. There are pain scales to use (KIP scale) and everything. Alcohol is my biggest trigger. None worse than red wine

The onsetting feeling you describe has a name. "The shadows". When you start to feel the shadows,..turn on the oxygen and breath for about 5 minutes and guess what.....GONE!!! I know, I know, your hand just went across your heart in disbelief. When I found out that something so simple, so NATURAL, and so safe (for you)(very dangerous around an open flame,...like KABOOM dangerous) could cut the "Beast" from coming,...I wanted to go do a dance in the middle of Main st. It absolutely works. If I have Oxy available 24/7 through a cluster, I am safe. The issue for me is that when I got into my late 30's, the body chemistry started changing and I started getting "Hits" at night, in my sleep. Now, this doesn't wake you up until the pain reaches a level that is enough to wake you. By then, it is usually too late for the Oxygen. The Oxy is ONLY an abortive and ONLY works while the beast is still a shadow. That is where the Imitrex comes in. It is a stat pen, a shot you give yourself, no more painful than a ***** in the finger like a blood glucose test and when this stuff creeps through your veins, within 5-7 minutes, you feel the pain residing and within another 2 minutes it is COMPLETELY gone. AMAZING. (but not great stuff for your heart, I use the oxy 90% of the time and save the Trex for emergencies or like when I am working, I cannot carry an Oxy cylinder on UPS truck-hazmat issue) Now one thing with oxygen is a thing called "rebound" headaches. You may get shadows again in an hour or 2. Hit the Oxy again and you are fine. I never really have more than 2 rebounds, 3 max. It is the headache trying to manifest itself again,kill it a few times and it gets the point

Olebiker- I LIKE that!! The "Ringer Comanche Z12" ;D

Cart- my phone number is in your PM box. Absolutely feel free to call me. Your life is going to change for the better concerning this stuff, I promise. I'll be your cluster buddy.

Have a great time fishbear!! Safe travels,.....Enjoy your R&R

It was one of those thingys when you sign onto aol to get your mail! yea right!.....you were their main poster boy in the 2006 ad campaign...

I was diagnosed with ECH (Episodic Cluster headache) 6 yrs ago but have been dealing wit it dor 21 yrs. Since being diagnosed, I have found what works for me. Straight oxygen works as an abortive. Imitrex works if you don't catch it in time with the oxygen. Cart, I feel your pain. I have a board you HAVE to visit. www.clusterheadaches.com my name there is "inyoureye" I'm in a rush right now but I am highly educated on cluster from dealing with it for so long and will be happy to walk you through your process of diagnosis. There IS help and there IS pain relief out there for you. Imitrex is a Godsend. I also posted about this in "broken fins" thread. This one is no joke folks, said to be the most painful afflictions known to the medical community. Described as worse than amputation w/o anesthetics. Cart, get to that site and read. There are also resources there that have helped me out. Things like a form to explain what you have to your employer, etc. Great stuff and great people. If you aren't sure if it is CH, read this below. A typical cluster headache cycle, for an episodic sufferer, most commonly appears during seasonal changes. The attacks generally last 6 - 8 weeks, having anywhere from 2 - 10 intense attacks a day, each one lasting (usually) between 30 minutes and two hours. For many, the first signal of an impending attack is the presence of Horner's Syndrome which is a drooping of the eyelid and dilation of pupil on the affected side of the face. The pain quickly escalates from no pain to unbearable pain in 5 to 10 minutes and then subsides in the same manner it started, unbearable pain to no pain in 5 to 10 minutes. Attacks generally happen at the same time each day like clockwork. Attacks usually escalate from 0 to 6 or 7 (on the Kip scale) for the first day or two of the cycle, then 0 to 8 or 9 for the next few weeks, hitting 10 level pain directly at the peak of the cycle. The number and intensity of attacks increase steadily until the apex of the cycle is reached, bringing the most number of attacks per day with the highest level of pain. The attacks then gradually start to diminish until the cycle is completely gone and the sufferer is in remission until the next cycle. Remission periods are completely unique to each sufferer, but generally range anywhere from six months to five years. For chronic sufferers, however, the cyclical pattern is absent and the attacks persist throughout the year. The intensity of each attack varies randomly. Remission for chronic sufferers for longer than a 14 day period is very rare, more usually, only a few days at a time. During a cluster attack, blood pressure elevates, heart rate increases, the body overheats, a ganglion lump on the back of the neck is quite common which becomes inflamed during an attack and diminishes when the attack subsides. Intolerance to light and sound is much more common with migraine sufferers than cluster sufferers, although some do report the same sensitivity and prefer to be in a quiet dark place to be alone, however, remaining motionless or falling asleep during a cluster attack is NOT POSSIBLE. There is quite often nasal congestion and tearing from the eye on the side of the head that is being attacked. Attacks are usually unilateral (one-sided). Attacks normally occur on the same side of the face each cycle. Attacks very rarely "switch sides" in the middle of a cycle, but have been known to "switch sides" between cycles (right side one cycle, then left side the next cycle). The pain is centered more on the face than on the rest of the head, specifically the eye, cheek, sinuses (which is why they are so often misdiagnosed as sinus infections). The sufferer can not function normally during an attack and quite often prefers to be left alone in order to deal with their pain. The attack commonly and regularly wakes victims from a sound sleep. The pain has been compared to amputation without anesthetic. Many mothers who are cluster sufferers describe it as a pain much worse than natural childbirth. Quite often for a migraine sufferer, the slightest motion during an attack can be nauseating and they cannot tolerate any light or sound. It is rare that a true cluster sufferer can remain motionless during an attack because of the intensity of the pain. Contrary to migraines, kicking, thrashing, pacing, rocking and banging the head are common during an attack. Vomiting is not a common episode for most, unless it is a side affect of medication. Contrary to some beliefs, there has yet to be determined a stereotypical cluster sufferer. The incidence is higher in men than in women but generalities are difficult to establish. There is an excellent sufferer's profile survey on our website available to further demonstrate this point. Question,...which eye do you get hit in?

Mayassa hit it on the head,...lol... BUSTED Incriminating Video Matt- It's not a long way, it's just an ugly way. It's about 10 ft of rip rap on a steep angle up to a road that is narrow. The issue is the parking. It is a public lake with no private access (parking)

No more so than Oscars. Bass are easy to care for, are less messy than Oscars or Pacus, and interesting to watch. In fact due to their lethargic nature, bass are more suitable for Aquarium life than most other predator fish. They don't eat 2/3 of their body weight per day at any temperature (more like 4-5% at optimal temps), and will readily eat dead fish and freeze-dried crickets. It is a blast to hold a piece of food in your fingers and watch a bass come up and suck it down. I have even got them to eat sandwich meat with a little convincing wiggling. I'm going to back out of this one as it will surely get ugly. All I ask is if you are even considering keeping a bass in a tank,please do your research first. This includes your local laws regarding the keeping and releasing of game fish. I'm out.

[move]CHAMP IN THE HOUSE!!![/move] WOW is right!!! Your perseverances has paid off!!

Done deal, heal up Auntie.

It is not about whether or not it will survive, it is about parasite and disease transmission. Tanks and ponds are very different. *Nope, has nothing to do with being a bass board, plain and simple, some fish are more conducive to tank life than others. Due to the FOOD REQUIREMENTS of a bass, the is not one of them. If you own a bass in a tank under 1000 gallons and it is clean,....you are not feeding it properly. Even the smallest BPS tank is almost 10k gallons and the filter systems on them can take up a small room on their own. **Permits are also required to keep a game fish in captivity. It's not just another fish. It is an eating machine.

That was a slam, and a good one too ;D My front seat is always open ladies.........Come on up.............. :

Thanks guys, to see all the vids, click on the "My Fishing Videos" link in my signature below.