Through this board and OUCH, we have come a long way towards educating both the public, and the medical field. We have 2 tough barriers to work against, it is a relatively rare ailment, and it doesn't kill you. The fact that there are so few of us makes it a less then ideal risk for pharmaceutical companies to work very hard at discovering meds as there is no payoff like there is for a Viagra or Cialis!

On the other hand we've made progress with oxygen supply companies, on a smaller scale, who are now custom designing gear specifically geared towards CH. Not giant steps but lots of little ones! We have people like Doctor Goadsby in the US and Dr. Matharu in London who are actively pursuing treatments for our condition. Both came and spoke at our recent OUCH convention.

32 years ago my treatment plan consisted of 4% lidocaine drops, snorted up the affected sides nostril, oral cafregot, and narcotic pain meds. When you look at what's available to us now, Imitrex, Oxygen, our preventative meds, we've made some great strides.

If you haven't already, check out    clusterbusters.com      some alternative treatemnts pioneered by people on this board, that are turning out some great success stories.

Joe

Great answer, Joe. I was thinking exactly the same thing. And Mike, I agree. I don't think it's cynical at all. Rather, I think until there is a high profile personality involved, progress will continue only while we keep the pressure on "friendly" doctors and companies. lance