Posted by kbwood (208.170.139.216) on June 13, 2001 at 12:36:08:
In Reply to: ABC Report posted by KAREN on June 13, 2001 at 08:41:52:
to email ABC at the Good Morning America address,
Here is my email:
Dear GMA,
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! You do not know what it means to cluster headache sufferers and their supporters to have cluster headaches acknowledged on National TV.
Clusterheads (as they are sometimes called) have got to be the least acknowledged headache sufferers on the face of the earth, but just as your report says, the worst headache there is. Now does that make sense?
You do not know how many sufferers go to doctors or emergency rooms, only to be put in a class with drug abusers. Cluster headache people do not want the narcotics, which only mask the pain..they want something to get rid of the pain, RIGHT THEN, not an hour or two later, which is about the time it takes for a narcotic or pain med to kick in. The headache will probably be gone before the meds kick in. But multiply that pain by anywhere from 1-10 attacks a day.....well, you get the picture.
What the cluster headache sufferer wants is an abortive or preventative medication. BUT, WHAT THEY WANT MORE THAN ANYTHING IS MORE RESEARCH TO FIND A CURE, PUBLIC EDUCATION AND MORE RECOGNITION THAT IT IS REAL!!!!!!!
You can not imagine the number of people that have lost families or jobs because of these headaches, because no one believes that that much pain can come from a "headache". You can not imagine the looks they are given by people in the medical field that think they are just plain nuts.
Do you know what it would mean to the millions of people that have to suffer with cluster headaches and their supporters and friends and family if ABC would continue with this mission of making people aware? Do you know what it would mean for ABC to be the hero to these people? I do. It would mean that there is still a media outlet that CARES for humanity, not only money and numbers in a poll. It would mean that ABC cares enough to help its viewers. Boy, wouldn't that feel good???
Please feel free to check out http://www.clusterheadaches.com/wwwboard/index.html . Read some of the post and you will see that this "beast" is real.
Thanks again,