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        New Message Board Archives >> 2005 General Board Posts >> Check this out
        
(Message started by: Svenn on Mar 3^rd, 2005, 3:00pm)

Title: Check this out
Post by Svenn on Mar 3^rd, 2005, 3:00pm

http://www.patientlinx.com/MigraineHeadache/thearts.cfm?artid=1165617&specid=43&ok=yes

Title: Re: Check this out
Post by Alien Space Babe on Mar 3^rd, 2005, 3:49pm

That's a great article, Svenn....
thanks for sharing it with us.

Lizzie

Title: Re: Check this out
Post by sandie99 on Mar 3^rd, 2005, 4:07pm

That was a good one indeed. Thanks so much, Svenn! ;;D

Title: Re: Check this out
Post by Langa on Mar 3^rd, 2005, 8:08pm

One for the archives. Thanks Svenn!

Langa

Title: Re: Check this out
Post by Ueli on Mar 4^th, 2005, 12:02am

I can't join in the eulogies of the previous posters.

True, the article is above the average wishy-washy on clusters. But IMHO there are some serious flaws, potentially harmful for a clusterhead if his doctor goes by this article.

I looked up the authors on the website of the UCSD:

Ellen L. Beck, M.D. - My primary interest as a family physician is teaching and practicing a "mind-body" approach to medicine by incorporating counseling, teaching and balancing Western and contemporary approaches.

William J. Sieber, Ph. D. - as a clinical health psychologist has focused his research on quality of life and outcomes assessment, chronic pain, and the impact of psychological well-being on both perceived and actual health status.

Raul Trejo, M.D. - is Clinical Instructors at UCSD (not more to be found at ucsd.edu)

They write: "Verapamil in dosages of 360 to 480 mg daily is one of the few treatments for episodic cluster headache...." (for chronics their limit is 360 mg).
These low dosages are the upper limits recommended for heart / blood pressure treatment. They stick to the same dosage for CH, probably to save their ass from litigations. Experts like Goadsby and Robbins set the upper limits 2 -3 times higher; do we have to assume they are irresponsible drug pushers???

We find the usual misuse of the statistical concept of correlation: Clusterheads smoke and (allegedly) drink more than average. Therefore, tobacco and alcohol must, if not causing CH, at least have a bad influence on the development of CH. Their sentence "Heavy alcohol use is more common in patients who progress to chronic cluster headache compared with those who have episodic headache" must appear to an ardent reader of this message board just as plain bullshit.

"Relaxation training paired with thermal biofeedback" for CH comes just before "take an Aspirin and lay down". >:( But no wonder that a devotee of holistic "medicine" and a shrink try to promote their trade. :-/

Let me once again quote the gurus of the DMKG (German Migraine and Headache Society). Göbel, Diener, Grotemeyer and Pfaffenrath, some gentlemen treating many clusterheads and active in research, write at http://www.dmkg.org/archb/cluster.htm:
Ohne Wirksamkeit sind auch Biofeedback, Akupunktur, Neuraltherapie, Lokalanästhetika, physikalische Therapie, operative Massnahmen und jegliche Form der Psychotherapie.
(Furthermore, without effect are biofeedback, acupuncture, neural therapy, local anesthetics, physical therapy, surgery and any kind of psychotherapy)

If you want to printout something to bring to you doctor, I recommend

Correct management of cluster headaches (http://www.hospital-doctor.co.uk/hd_news/hd_news_article.asp?ID=2498&Section=Feature)

by the cluster experts Prof Peter Goadsby and Dr Manjit Matharu, not this half-assed compilation from people that probably never have (successfully) treated a clusterhead.

PFNADs, Ueli [smiley=smokin.gif]

Title: Re: Check this out
Post by Lizzie2 on Mar 4^th, 2005, 12:08am

If you join MD Consult, there is an EXCELLENT patient education handout on clusters. I believe it even mentions this site. It is very lengthy, but a very good read. I would definitely want to include it as part of patient education when diagnosing a new sufferer.

I think it may be expensive to join. We get free use of it as students/employees of Jefferson. :)

L2

Title: Re: Check this out
Post by Charlie on Mar 4^th, 2005, 2:58pm

It is better than usual Svenn.

Thanks for the headsup on some of the nonsense too, Ueli.

What hospitals are being forced to do over here. Ueli,(because many are bankrupt) is to open up areas for these alternative gurus to practice and places to meditate your troubles away. Many of our biggest and best are on this silly tack. ::)

Still. all in all, the more articles that come close: the better.

Charlie