An observation... or two...

A D.O., (osteopathic) shrink (neurologist) can be no better or no worse than an M.D. shrink (neurologist) when it comes to diagnosing and treating patients with cluster headache. 

Dr. Todd Rozen's survey of 1134 CH'ers, most of them members of CH.com, found that it still takes an average of 5 years for a CH'er to get properly diagnosed with cluster headache and too many are misdiagnosed on their first visit. 

From his experience working at major headache centers, (MHNI and Geisinger), with some of the top neurologists in the US skilled in treating hundreds of patients with our disorder, he found that unless they specialize in chronic neurological pain and primary headaches, the average neurologist (D.O. or M.D,) has never seen a patient with cluster headache.

Accordingly, getting a diagnosis of cluster headache right out of the box with a first visit to a D.O. is quite good.  The real measure is what did he prescribe?

I first met Dr. Todd Rozen, M.D., in 2007 when he was at Michigan Headache & Neurological Institute (MHNI), Ann Arbor, MI when I was briefing the benefits of the oxygen demand valve method of oxygen therapy as a CH abortive.  He was prescribing higher oxygen flow rates at 15 liters/minute than nearly all the other neurologists treating CH'ers.

He was fascinated with the efficacy of oxygen flow rates that support hyperventilation as a CH abortive.  I worked with him developing the cluster headache survey questionnair, and later analyzing the results.  In 2012, Dr. Rozen started a pilot study of the demand valve method of oxygen inhalation therapy at Geisinger in Wilkes-Barre, PA. 

I've kept him up to date with the latest data from the survey of CH'ers taking the anti-inflammatory regimen with 10,000 IU/day vitamin D3 to prevent their CH.

I was pleasantly surprised to have him show up during my poster presentation of the survey results at the American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA last April.

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What was even more exciting was what he told me...  He indicated that he was treating some of his refractive chronic CH'ers with 20,000 IU/day vitamin D3 and found it effective!

I've also spoken with a few other neurologists who have found vitamin D3 therapies similar to the anti-inflammatory regimen really work.  Dr. Stasha Gominak, M.D., a neurologist in Tyler, TX prescribes a vitamin D3 regimen very similar to the anti-inflammatory regimen for her patients suffering from sleep, chronic pain and headache disorders... 

The only difference is she also tests for vitamin B12 when she tests for 25(OH)D and she prescribes a 3-month course of vitamin B 50 along with the vitamin D3 and cofactors.  You can watch her videos on this topic at the following link:

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There are five men (cousins) in my generation of Batchellers, three of us went into the military, one in the Marine Corps and two of us into Naval aviation.  The other two are physicians.  One a cardiac surgeon and the other, an osteopathic shrink... 

Although he's retired, my cousin the osteopath now understands why it's important to maintain a healthy serum concentration of vitamin D3.

Take care,

V/R, Batch