Posted by Paco (204.111.22.126) on April 08, 2000 at 17:25:30:
In Reply to: Graham is RIGHT - CHMB has gone to pieces posted by the original gary g on April 08, 2000 at 12:27:41:
I didn't see anything in your post about people trying to deal with the MF and finding hope in the support and encouragement of other sufferers. Can't find that kind of help in scientific treatises on circular tracings of the effects of serotonin on melatonin, time of day, month, season, year, maybe even holding your mouth right. I have learned of some new techniques, like Kip's O2 chilling pot, because people share their weapons against the MF. The biggest benefit, IMHO, is that sufferers can come here at any time and find someone who understands and can offer emotional support. I would go so far as to say that this availability to people like Elaine and Drummer and BobP and (reluctantly) even Jack has saved a life or two.
Now. A personal mea culpa: I have fallen from grace and flamed a couple of people, ones who I thought were doing harm to others. A better course would have been for me to send them one of these: :-)
I have also been guilty of posting a poem that expressed my own concept of dealing with CH. Some communicate only with declarative sentences, others with pictures, a few with poetry or song lyrics. I'm not sure what Drummer uses, but it's original.
Anyhow, all of the above is to say that I hope the sharing, caring, humorous, inane, old, adolescent, infantile, and even idiotic people who lean on and prop each other up will stick around. When the MF hits me in a couple of months, I'm gonna need them.
Here's a copy/paste from the page for newbies:
"Familiarize yourself with the message board
It's probably a good idea to watch the Message Board for a bit before you post. Expecting nothing but technical discussions on the board? Ooops! Sorry. We are a family. We talk about everything. Some serious, some silly, some downright ridiculous. Lots of us find that laughter helps ease the emotional difficulties of dealing with a debilitating, permanent disorder that has no cure, no know cause and no truly effective treatments. But others prefer to confine their comments to serious discussions. There is plenty of room here for all. You can read every post or learn to skip over those that don't fit your wants and needs. Frequent posters, and we have many, tend to reveal much about their personalities in their posts. You
are likely to find someone who you can relate to. Some of us are self-proclaimed analytical types, who tend toward serious discussions of a technical or scientific nature. Others are in the "touchy-feely" style, usually staying out of the analytical discussions but always quick to offer support, words of encouragement and a shoulder to cry on."
Frank Harden (Paco)
A sufferer of cluster attacks