I didn't see it but was told there was a House episode on (maybe Sunday?)  dealing with a patient with clusters.  Did anyone see this?

YUP!!!  I have seen it twice now.  VERY unimpressed!  The only GOOD thing about it, is that clusters was mentioned on a popular show.

The treatment and symptoms were sort of lost in his OTHER problems, and poorly represented.

Chuck

Yep, I agree with Chuckles -- the only thing was that it mentioned Clusters. The treatment was wrong (no O2 - no trex - straight to shrooms - not standard treatment) and the kid was a total jerk. (we of course, know this is not the case with US  :))

Hugs BD :-*

Yeah. I remember this thing. For a few minutes, it seems that clusters were among several possible maladies of one of House's patients......not a significant part of the diagnoses, however. On House, patients are usually afflicted with horrible manifestations of contact with fruitflies of the Caribbean or somesuch. START PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGESTART PRINTPAGEMultimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or END PRINTPAGE

Charlie

HaHa!  Well, good, I'm glad I didn't really miss anything.  The very few times I've tried to watch this show I've been more repulsed by the lack of knowledge they display than anything else!  Maybe we can get a REAL show on that educates people a little bit, huh?

sylverstar wrote on May 19^th, 2009 at 10:53am:

HaHa!  Well, good, I'm glad I didn't really miss anything.  The very few times I've tried to watch this show I've been more repulsed by the lack of knowledge they display than anything else!  Maybe we can get a REAL show on that educates people a little bit, huh?

Not a problem - once you can guarantee it will deliver viewers, and thus ad revenue.

BarbaraD wrote on May 19^th, 2009 at 5:31am:

The treatment was wrong (no O2 - no trex - straight to shrooms - not standard treatment)

Why would "straight to shrooms" be the wrong treatment?

Why subject someone to the standard treatment, meaning weeks/months of attacks, 02, and imitrex, when you can possibly end the cycle with one or two treatment of mushrooms?

I can tell you this, if any of my (now grown) kids come down with clusters (God Forebid) their first line, standard treatment will be mushrooms.

The episode was a mess and the kid was a jerk, hence the title of the episode being, The Jerk. They may have muddled the issue of clusters in general but they also did mention that "the latest research shows that psilocybin is an effective treatment for cluster headaches."
Got something right.

Bobw
Just sayin  ;)

Bobw

You know how I feel about CB and the use of psilocybin, and the huge potential
using alternative methods, and potentially in the future as a main stream method!

But real life is not a TV show, and the law, and other factors like working place
prevent some , (or most of us?) from the use of alternative methods – psilocybin!

It would do for us more, as a community if school medicine – O2, triptans,
beta blockers, lithium, and more, things that the health insurance is more likely to pay…..
and we avoid conflict with the law, and working place……. are mentioned as first line of
treatment…..

Yes, the new research and future alternatives should be mentioned, but as a secondary
line of defence…….

I didn’t like the way the character was portrayed……  a jerk…..  I know some of us in this
little world (CH.com) personally, and I don’t think (I know) no one is a jerk, not even remotely, the show stigmatized CH’ers……… in a very wrong way……..
I would rather have no exposure….. then being portrayed in such a negative and wrong way…….  

Michael

House used LSD to abort a migraine in a previous episode, if he (and I know he's fictional, but the research is real) was aware of that research, he would have been aware of psilocybin for clusters. By no small coincidence, the show's writers were contacted by Clusterbusters after the migraine episode, and the cluster episode was written after that.

Clusters were poorly portrayed, but I've never seen an episode I didn't like.

Michael, I live in the real world, and it's certainly my treatment of choice. Since hallucinogens aren't tested for in standard drug tests, it might be an exaggeration to say "most" of us.

wildhaus wrote on May 19^th, 2009 at 8:47pm:

I didn’t like the way the character was portrayed……  a jerk…..  I know some of us in this little world (CH.com) personally, and I don’t think (I know) no one is a jerk, not even remotely, the show stigmatized CH’ers……… in a very wrong way……..

Do you think that ALL of the jerks that have been kicked off this site over the years, were faking their clusters?
I don't think that clusters only affect NICE people. That in and of itself would be rather depressing.
Heck, there are people here that think I am a jerk. ;-)

I understand that alot of people were put off by the connection, as was I, but ......The jerk's clusters were not related to his personality and that was made clear. They stopped his clusters and he was STILL a jerk. I think a lot of people miss some of the finer points of the show because of being immediately put off by the jerk/cluster connection.

They did not just ignore other, more conventional treatments. If I remember correctly, what they said was, they had tried conventional treatments (prednisone for one) and said they didnt' work. House then said, "when conventional treatments fail, you try unconventional treatments." Only then did he go and get permission to use psilocybin.

In my view, ANY publicity for clusters is good. Just like this show for example, it brings about discussion. Even if it ends with us explaining that all cluster people are not jerks. But thats just my opinion and you're certainly welcome to yours.

peace my brother,
Bob

Bob,

Didn't mean my post as a put down to shrooms - just the way they did it on the show. I know that they've been working great and would never put down anything that works.... Sorry it came across like that.

Hugs BD :-*

No problem at all Barb. It is a twisted episode  ;)

Bob

Quote:

Heck, there are people here that think I am a jerk

Tell me who Bob,  and I will  slug it out with them.   [smiley=bash.gif]