My name is Gary (Deathshead) my wife and partner is Garys_Girl. i have been lurking and reading for years on this sight and garys_girl has posted many questions for me and on my behalf and for her own support.  though there have been some ups and downs in regards to how some members have responded to some of her/my/our decisions and how they decided to express it, I must say in all caps THIS HAS BEEN ONE OF THE FEW PLACES/PEOPLE THAT HAVE HELPED TO KEEP ME ALIVE!!!! the information, advice, thoughts, well reasoned arguments, the thought provoking discourse and research have helped to keep me going. i especialy appreciate that so many people who have experimented with new things have shared their successes or failures.  it has almost become second nature to log on when anything new developes and many times i have found comfort in just reading through posts by other members.

Sadly I AM NOT ALONE and this made it that much easier for me to cope. going forward i hope to meet many of you and so sorry for rambling i just needed to thank you all for being here most of all i am thankful for garys_girl finding this oasis

Bout time you quit lurking Gary and jumped in.  Yes it tis a sad malady that we have, but we learn to cope and rise above it.

Welcome home bro.

Helllo Gary, nice to meet you.

:)mel

Yep,
    Nice to have ya check in.

                                  PFD's
                                   JPC

thank you for the welcome.

i forgot to mention i'm chronic since march 2006, i haven't been pain free at all since probably march 2007.  i've seen like 8 neurologists tried 34 drugs, had a couple of hospitalizations.  Treatment has also included several large blunt instruments and pulled my own tooth hoping the pain would leak out the hole.  02 was a blessing and now a curse as i cant "will" it to work but Garys_Girl always immediatly shares new 02 info.  she says to say THANK YOU to batch and she'll tell me about that later.

again thank you

Hi Gary . . . glad you checked in

 It was my wife that found this site for me (2/02) . . . . and saved my life.  Was a basket-case when I got here . . . always afraid of the next one (how soon, how long, how bad will it be?) . .  for over a year afraid to take my grandson to the woods (or anywhere else) for fear of having him be the only witness to my death (CH pain being such that you KNOW it's got to be something . . . tumor or impending  stroke, etc. . . that will prove fatal).

 This place gave me a name-for-the-pain, the info to take to my doc so I could get meds that actually worked (Verapamil & 02).  I finally had some control over this beast of ours.  And like many others I shed many tears reading the stories and descriptions from people who DID know what these damn things feel like . . . and guided me down the road to many PF days.

 This place IS a family of folks who REALLY know your pain. .  . and that alone is something most of us didn't have when we came here.

 Welcome Home,

   Be Safe,   PFDANs

     Richard

Hi Gary....nice to see ya.   :)

Welcome!

Jackie

Welcome Gary  [smiley=wave.gif]  Sorry you're having such a hard time.  I hope that things start looking up for you real soon.

Jen

Welcome Gary and nice to meet you.  This place is a life-saver to so many...glad Laurie found it on your behalf.   :)

Now stop pulling those perfectly healthy teeth and listen to what she has gleaned from here.  O.K.?  

Linda

Hi Gary and welcome aboard. You are lucky to have such a great supporter, makes all the difference in the world to a CH sufferer.

 Barry :)

 Welcome Gary,  My wife also found this site before me and I hesitantly became a member and I'm glad I did its nice just to be able talk to people who understand.  If you ever need to vent feel free to pm me or call I think you have my #.
  Hang in there and welcome to the nut house.
            Phil 8-)

It's about time, headbanger. Feel free to PM or call. You are not alone in this, you have a number one supporter, and us as well. This condition will not get me or you. We shall prevail.
all the best and I look forward to talking with you more.
the bb

How funny, my wife found this site for me too! (God we men can be stubborn asses!)

Glad you've jumped in, your wife's a class act, hang on to that one! ;)

Joe

Gary,

Nice to have you here.

Only advice (and this is strictly regarding your moniker) (and strictly in good humor)..."leave the gun, grab the canoli"

Scott

Hi Gary.   :) [smiley=hug.gif]  I, too, have thanked so many people and DJ and Steph (who own the site) profusely.

I'm so glad you decided to check in.  It couldn't be home here without you.  ...And you've got a lot of people here rooting for you.

One thing you will NOT hear here?  "I've had one of those."  

I know you're not into that - "joining" - thing.  But a lot of the people who hang out here aren't either.  I do think you'll appreciate that this site is not a nazi police state.  

If you're doing this to make me happy?  You're a total love and I already couldn't love you more.   I'm not gonna be surprised if you find a lot of things you like about actually interacting here.  Even if it's just to visit JPC's "crap" thread and write CRAP.    

But I'm warning you right now - we CANNOT take in clusterheads like we've taken in cats.  I don't care if you come to think of all these people as brothers and sisters - they are NOT moving in with us!

((((((((((((((((((((hugs))))))))))))))))))

Your devoted wife,

Laurie

Dang it Laurie, I was just gonna ask you if Phil and I could move in  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

Gary, you have no idea how proud I am of you to see you finally posting and reaching out to the wonderful people here.

HUGS

Jen, quite frankly we'd rather be up in Michigan.  Well - maybe come May, actually.  

Laurie  ;D

Oh really!!!!  Where are you going to be?

Well, we'd LIKE to be fishing!  

Laurie

Well, there's plenty of places to do that here  ;)

Sorry Gary, I totally highjacked your thread  :'(

Hey Gary - welcome to the loony binfamily!  You've got one fantastic supporter.  


Stick around - we kind of grow on folks.

Carol

Garys_Girl wrote on Dec 17^th, 2008 at 10:39pm:

I don't care if you come to think of all these people as brothers and sisters - they are NOT moving in with us!

Are you sure, Laurie??  I'm an easy episodic.  I can cook, bake, grow veggie gardens, and make the healthiest cat food from scratch!  Oh, my husband is well box trained too!

Hi, Gary!!  You got a good one! [smiley=wave.gif]

Very nice to meet you, Gary.  Your wife has been very kind to me and I really appreciate her.

Charlotte

Hi Gary!  It is so nice to "meet" you.  Laurie and I are old friends. LOL!  I hope to meet you both in person someday!

Jeannie

Welcome Gary!

I have also been "saved" by this website!  If not for my "family" on here, I do not know where I would be.

You are also blessed to have a wonderful, caring, wife.

Keep the faith!

debs

Hi Gary, glad you are here. I am also a long time lurker and recent participant....a very helpful place with good people.

Laurie is one sharp girl and a good one to have in your corner.

I heard that you like fishing (unless that was a rumour or inside joke). If you are ever heading up into Ontario, Canada, I would be pleased to lead a fellow clusterhead into a few good Brook Trout hot spots on some of the most beautiful river locations God has made, just a couple hours north east of Toronto where i have a little fishing camp.

I hope you find some pain relief soon.
Paul

Hey Gary, Glad to see you posting. You're already part of the family so welcome to the madhouse. The best thing is everyone here is either a sufferer or a supporter so understanding is what you get.

Don  Skyhawk5

Welcome Gary and it's about time you checked in. You've got a peach of a wife taking care of you.

Like I told Laurie - ya wanna talk - I'm on call 24/7 -- If I don't answer the phone - the nice man that came with it does and I'll call ya back (I think I gave Laurie my number - if not Pm me and I will get it to you). I've been chronic since 97, so I DO know where you're coming from. (I did have one of those ONE TIME! :-*)

Welcome to Clusterville and your new family. And you guys are always welcome to drop in if you're ever in Texas. My house is headache friendly (O2, cold packs, heating pads, Red Bull, whatever....). Ya'll come now ya hear! :-* :-*

Hugs BD

God, I love this place!!!!  You will too, Gary!  It's the ONE good thing about being a Clusterhead!

Jeannie

i am overwhelmed, the level of suport and good wishes is more than i could have hoped for.  garys_girl always says how it's like a family here and i am begining to understand why, thank you all so much for the suport.

i just got back from the hospital yesterday where i had a full on eye swelling tearing ripping event and my neuro was all excited to try lidocaine, he was convinced it would give me some relief.  Needless to say i was depressed when it just kept kicking a 7/8. it is funny i actualy felt bad for him he was choked up and almost in tears when it didnt work and i started banging my head against the wall and just wanted to go home (sorry for the long set up)...

...but when garys_girl logged on last night and I saw how many of you took the time to welcome me (even more this am!), all nine years of master sgt fell away and i cried from the warm good wishes. btw crying doesnt  help the pain any. how nice it is to have a group that understands and can actualy sympathize was almost to much for me. THANK YOU ALL FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART for the welcome. it has been so nice that when i was told this morning by a new trader on our desk that they "had a cluster headache a few years ago" i did not feel like killing him i just said i was sorry to hear that ;)

Alright Master Sgt... Here's the drill...  

Item 1: Give that supporter of your's a great big ole hug.  God knows Laurie certainly deserves one.

Item 2: Give the general public a break.  They just simply have no idea.  Understanding is what this place is for  ;)

Item 3: Get ready for the empowerment this place gives you.  It really does shift your world.  From the sounds of it, you are already beginning to feel the effects.

I am really glad you finally logged on to say hello.  It's good to finally hear from you.

Welcome home brother...

-Dennis-

Hey Gary,
Nice to see you and I hope its leading the way for a lot of other people out of the "closet" as it were.
You've given everyone here a nice Christmas gift. Sort of like finally getting a picture of someone that they've been supporting, sight unseen, for a long time.

As to the lidocaine, its a bit tricky. It has to be used very early. It has to be administered properly. Even then, it takes some practice getting the liquid to pool in just the right place in the back of the sinus cavity. If all you got was a nasal spray......odds are it wasn't going to do much at all.

Merry Christmas,
Bobw

Hang in there Gary, life is like a box of crappie chocolates, and I never seem to get a good one ether!!

Best,

Roland. [smiley=hug.gif]

Hey, Gary!  Glad to see you here!  You have a peach of a supporter and wife!  She is a gem!

BUT, I have to warn you about certain people here ... That Rolo ... OYE VAY!!!  What I could tell you about HIM!  Ya see, he has this sheep that he keeps out back, and every other day, he sneaks out there in the middle of the night and ... ... ... well maybe I won't tell you about THAT story ...  Ok, well, under his bed he keeps this box of ... No wait, I shouldn't tell you about that either .... Hmmmm ....

Let me move to another individual ... That BarbaraD woman ... Now HER you should watch out for!!!  Ya see she lives out in the country, with plenty of land around her, and she has this dozer, that digs a nice deep hole VERY quickly ... See she needs that ... ... to ... ... shall we say "hide" the evidence?  That very sharp axe, that she hides right next to the door, well ... It seems she gets a lot of use out of that ...  Heck, even a few law officers have disappeared after going out to her spread ....

But, enough of spreading truths ... You won't tell anyone that I told you this, will you?

GOOD!

Anyhow, welcome to the insane asylum family!

I will try and watch out for you, as I am the only normal and sane one here ....

Chuck

OK Chuckie. I was busted by the neighbor butt… He had a problem with how I was helping the stray over the fence… ::)

Rolo… ;D

Busted by the neighbour's butt? I didn't come here to learn about someone else's sexlife!

;)

Welcome aboard bro!

Your wife is amazing to support you like she does.  She is very knowledgeable herself and has helped me with some questions in the past couple of months.  This site is a second home to most of us.  My wife isn't an internet junkie so you'll never see her here, however she is a supporter and understands my condition.  She got rushed once to the ER for a migraine and I told her to imagine that pain everyday 1-3x/daily for a month or so with even more intensity.  After that point, she was a super supporter.  

Anyway, I tend to babble a bunch.  Stick around and feel free to chat.  I love learning new things and hearing everybodies stories.

Happy New Year!!!

Chad