I am no longer alone in supporting my husband. And he is no longer alone in his pain.  We are blessed and humbled by DJ's commitment to his fellow clusterheads.

I have met the best friends in the world on this board.  They have become my family.

"Thank you" is not NEARLY enough.

November 99 for me. In the beginning it was Bob P, Kip, Jonny, Todd and Ted that held me up long enough to make me learn.

Words can not describe how important this site is to me and has saved my life countless times since I found it back in late summer 1999.  Following a closed head injury at age 11, my CH's immediately began to ruin my life as an episodic sufferer.  At that time, they gave me a little bluish colored pill that dissolved under my tongue when I felt an attack.  That was the best treatment I received until I joined this site. 

Between the ages of 12 and 30 yrs old I had been to every specialist for every misdiagnosis taking all sorts of meds that never worked and some that created additional medical problems.  I knew my symptoms but no doctor was able to label me with CH's, just migraines caused by....  They blamed it on my closed head injury as organic brain damage, think they said not enough Dopamine in my brain.  They blamed it on smoking pot at age 11 which was laced with PCP/angel dust and I hallucinated and overeacted I guess when I coincidentally got hit by the beast.  They blamed it on a deviated septum in my nose from a fracture that happened at age 8.  They blamed it on the weather, seasonal allergies, teeth cavities/silver fillings, stigmatism in my eye, hormones growing up, etc., etc. 

Been through every CAT Scan, MRI, E?G, etc., been in and out of jail for 'bad temper' toward ER Hospital room doctors, been in/out of countless ER clinics and ER hospitals, lost several jobs, lost several girlfriends, missed out on countless fun occasions, etc...

Never an answer nor a med that worked until I stumbled upon this website that answered my life-long question "What the hell is wrong with me and how do I stop this pain?"....I self diagnosed myself on this website back in 1999 when I first joined.  The Cluster Quiz was right on target and every question was "yes, that is my symptom".  The transitional, preventative and abortive treatments each and all work great for me!  Finally, after all those years of being misdiagnosed and treated like a test rat without positive results...finally, I was pain-free, I found where I am not alone, a true home with a caring supportive knowledgeable family, I found Clusterville 

I am now 41 yrs old and can proudly say after suffering since I was 11 yrs old, that the people who contribute on this site have been my angels.  I read and ask questions, other kind members on this site always seemed to have the right answers.  Then I used this knowledge and began to help support others like me and even to educate neurologists, GP's and headache specialists.  Who would've ever thought I would be teaching them and letting them know what med and how to prescribe for me, lol.  I volunteer on a Facebook Group everyday for the last 4 months as a moderator and help the newbies with the basics, while always referring them here and to OUCH.  I formed several Meet & Greets in my hometown Las Vegas and have been honored with a nice write-up article in the OUCH newsletter for my efforts.  I face the fact that I grew up with the beast and it will be with me for life, so my personal goal is to be supportive of others afflicted.  Never in a million years would I have thought I would be alive today at 41 yrs old because there have been many times every cycle that I have thought the pain is not tolerable and there is an easy way out.  But because of the empathetic members of this site that I am still alive and doing quite well for myself under the circumstances.  The supportive members on this site over the on/off 11 yrs since i joined have saved my life by educating me, being tough with me making me do alot of my own research-yet guiding me in the right direction, which created my desire to learn more, an obsession to understand myself better and this resulted in my 31 yr long battle with the beast that I have been fortunate enough to be in the longest remission ever, almost 5 yrs.   Prepared for the worst, but Praying for the best!

Thank you is only a two word common polite mannerism/phrase, unless you truly are sincere...

DJ, I THANK YOU WITH MUCH SINCERITY FOR STARTING AND MAINTAINING Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or
Happy Anniversary Clusterville   
Sincerely,
Gregg in Las Vegas

i'll say this. all the time i spent out on the road the thing i loved the most was meeting some of you across this country. knowing that i could check in gave the confidence to make it to california and back and have my bases covered as far as getting o2 2000 miles away from home or have to a  shoulder to cry on if i needed one. meeting some of you was the one of the highlights of my career.  i feel enlightened and privileged to be among the likes of all of you. 

                                          
only thing i don't like is the initiation but other than that.....
                                   love you guys
                                                 -johnny-

oh yea!  It's ch.com birfday time again.

Time to click the button below!!

I found ch.com in 2000.  Happy b'day deej,
Mast

Deej, this site was the only find that changed a snowballing terrible suffering. 

Thanks always for your being the best to start helping so many with this.

I think reading those testimonials for the first time did  it for me. To finally realise that I was no longer alone was definitely a life changing event. After 20 years of suffering I finally have the proper medication and character thanks to you good people to fight back against this horrible infliction....



Lefty

Thanks again DJ.  Happy Birthday to CH.com!

As I told you before you saved my life.  I was at the point of trying to find a way that would not impact my family any more than I had to do to end it all when I found the original board through a trial subscription to the internet that I couldn't afford after the 30 days.  That gave me hope.  Then I was able to get on with one of the free services a couple of years later, then with what I learned here I was able to get my life together enough to start digging my way out of the financial hole I was in.  I couldn't afford to go to the OUCH conventions, although I tried every thing I could think of to do it.  I drove 3 hours to go to the first Davcon, met some wonderful people that really cemented what CH.com started, spent 45 minutes and drove home because I had to be there that night.

DJ, I can honestly and gratefully say you are in the top five people who have impacted my life, and I bless you for it.

Jerry

Thanks and more thanks DJ!

I showed up here in late 2000. My hits had been over for many years but I wondered how many others in the universe that had had to deal with it. I was stunned. I had no idea and meeting all of you was wonderful. I spent a decade reading and posting........I'm incapable of stopping as you know.

What a place you created Deej! Multimedia File Viewing and Clickable Links are available for Registered Members only!!  You need to or

Charlie

Words can not describe what this place, and the people who I have met through it, means to me.  Those who are not around here, those that are, and those to come will all have a special place in my life. 

Thank you DJ!

Words can't express how finding this place made me realize - I'm not alone.  Thanks, DJ !

Thank you, DJ for creating a place that has changed countless lives for the better.

Beth