Overall, this approach is best left as a last chance, after the usual medical approaches have failed--my judgment.

Medical literature is mixed, overall still cautious  (degree varies with the technique involved).
=== This is interesting article--if it's onthe specific approach is is considering.

Lancet Neurol. 2006 Oct;5(10):873-877.
Deep brain stimulation in headache.

Leone M.

Department of Neurology and Headache Centre, Istituto Nazionale Neurologico 'Carlo Besta', via Celoria 11, 20133 Milano, Italy.

BACKGROUND: The therapeutic use of deep brain stimulation to relieve intractable pain began in the 1950s. In some patients, stimulation of the periaqueductal grey matter induced headache with migrainous features, indicating a pathophysiological link between neuromodulation of certain brain structures and headache. RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: Neuroimaging studies have revealed specific activation patterns in various primary headaches. In the trigeminal autonomic cephalgias, neuroimaging findings support the hypothesis that activation of posterior hypothalamic neurons have a pivotal role in the pathophysiology and prompted the idea that hypothalamic stimulation might inhibit this activation to improve or eliminate the pain in intractable chronic cluster headache and other trigeminal autonomic cephalgias. Over the past 6 years, hypothalamic implants have been used in various centres in patients with intractable chronic cluster headache. The results are encouraging: most patients achieved stable and notable pain reduction and many became pain free. All deep-brain-electrode implantation procedures carry a small risk of mortality due to intracerebral haemorrhage. Before implantation, all patients must undergo complete preoperative neuroimaging to exclude disorders associated with increased haemorrhagic risk. No substantial changes in hypothalamus-controlled functions have been reported during hypothalamic stimulation. Hypothalamic stimulation may also be beneficial in patients with SUNCT (short-lasting, unilateral, neuralgiform headache attacks with conjunctival injection and tearing)-a disorder with close clinical and neuroimaging similarities to the cluster headache. WHERE NEXT?: Neuroimaging findings in patients undergoing posterior hypothalamic stimulation have shown activation of the trigeminal nucleus and ganglion. This evidence supports the hypothesis that hypothalamic stimulation exerts its effect by modulating the activity of the trigeminal nucleus caudalis, which in turn might control the brainstem trigeminofacial reflex-thought to cause cluster headache pain. Future studies might determine whether other areas of the pain matrix are suitable targets for neuromodulation in patients with cluster headache who do not respond to hypothalamic modulation.

PMID: 16987734 [PubMed

34 years chronic intractable CH, 70, yes you read it right, 70 drug trials. ONS candidate, Electronics engineer.

I did 3 hard years research on this device and it's "outcomes" in CH. I've spoken to many specialists in many disciplines and CHers about it. Written many, many hundreds of pages of my opinion. Don't get me started on ONS.

In summary:
It's a "crap shoot", as is said on here often...
Manufacturers say it works with little proof.
The clinical trials are badly conducted and data selectively collated for specific outcomes.
Efficacy is overstated.
(Even a non-responder in clinical trials was reported to have achieved 50% relief, without participating in the survey - neat trick...)
Surgeons stand to make a buck out of putting it in.
The complications, like lead migration and infection are understated.
The Battery life in this application is grossly understated.
Follow-up in recipients is short and in small numbers.
It is not yet correctly engineered for it's end-use application in CH.
It has no better reported efficacy than the allowable margin for placebo response, but all the risks of invasive surgery. (Ask your surgeon just exactly what he has to do for lead placement in and around the nerves in the Cervical spine)
Some trial participants reported immediate CH relief, only to have their stimulators turned on WEEKS after implant surgery...

IMO, the books are cooked on effective outcomes.
I used to manufacture class 3 electronics (like this device), we cooked the books for certain outcomes all the time...
It's "Black Magic" said a leading CH specialist.

Not for me.

I took the Vitamin D regimen and had the pleasure of telling the surgeon (on the way to his Coroner's inquest hearing...) just exactly where he could stick this.

As Neurostimulation techniques go in CH, the SPG implant looks FAR more promising.

Go the D3 before the scalpel, any day!

End rant.

Cheers, Ben.

Imitrex4Breakfast wrote on Nov 11^th, 2013 at 1:44pm:


Are you serious?!

That's just... well quite frankly, I find it quite disturbing and frightening, even. I mean, sometimes clinical trials can be frustrating because they can take a long time... but ultimately it's for safety. This makes me wonder how many clinical trials have truthful results published. Not only is that completely unethical, but it's hazardous! Unbelievable...