Reflections.......

[Dallas Denny]

.........on one hell of a ride!!!!!

What a year ya'll!!!  As I was reading some recent posts last nite, I thought back to October 2009 when I became a member of clusterbusters........Ron and I joined within a few hours of each other on the 27th.........the next day he put up his epic thread, "If this helps just one sufferer", which resulted in some PM's back and forth (the subject line of one of the first was "Fears and Paranoia" so ya'll can guess what that one was about...lol!! ) ......we discovered that we were both a couple of old hippys, he became my hero,  and a great friendship began!! 

That first 4 or 5 weeks, it seemed like it was just CArl (damn, I miss seein him on the board) , Ron, and myself here most of the time.......but Ron and I were both here A LOT!!!  LOL!!!  Bein an retired old fart does have some privileges!!!

Then in December, Shaggy, Mad6string, and our dear Tingeling came on board and the floodgate opened!!!!  It's amazing how much our "active" community has grown in just over a year!!

I feel so blessed to be a part of this group....to have had the opportunity to meet some of ya'll in person at the meet n greets, at the conference, and during my trip to Ron and Bonkers, and to have witnessed some of the amazing transformations in folks lives, both in person and in the threads on this forum. 

It's been a very good year ya'll and I am soooo looking forward to seeing what the New Year brings!!!  As our good friend Dr J says, "Onward"!!!

Wishing everyone a very PF and Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!!

Dallas Denny

[Guiseppi]

From an old cop to an old hippy.....Have a great one! ;D

Joe

[tingeling]

As i was walking out in the cold air this morning, i got this feeling of the new year. I just know 2011 gonna be a start to something very good, it`s gonna be a very good year, i just know it

I feel so blessed to be a part of this group

Could not agree more!! This is a very special place and so are the people. Lets wish and hope this gonna stay this way.

Merry Christmas and a happy NEW YEAR, it`s gonna be GREAT [smiley=2vrolijk_08.gif]

[shaggyparasol]

Count the Shaggy in for a great 2011 and great cluster-friends!  Darkest day of the year yesterday and they will only grow lighter from here.  

--The Shaggy

[Hipshot]

I, for one, am damn glad you were on the board Denny.

Happy holidays to all. This was by far my best year since 2004

Onward!

Dan

[Bonkers]

Old hippies rule!

Far out and groovy, my friend. Yes, this has been an amazing, wonderful year for this board and for an ever-increasing number of CH sufferers. I feel so proud and grateful to have been a part of it. I know a lot of us spend far too much time here but how can we not when we know that we can ease the suffering of others. That is the most important thing we do on this planet and we get to do a whole lot of it here. The bigger this forum becomes, the more good we can do. My deepest thanks and congratulations to all of you and may you have the best holidays ever!

Love ya Denny.

[TakinitEZ]

You have no idea how much you all are appreciated. I often take a peek at how many just stop by to browse as guest and the numbers are pretty high, usually as many as members. Glad to be here with you. -T

today - 27 guests

[johnny]

damn denny i really dont know how to put into words how i feel about having you on these message boards with us.

you have given me so much  confidence about facing my next cycle. (if there ever is a next cycle) and if nothing else the ability to help out other people with this ailment.

you kick ass dude! 8-)

on a second note. there are very few people that i know of that share the same obscure taste in music that i have. next time i come thru dallas you and i are going to hook up.

its so to pick out a few songs that a man of your caliper would be impressed with but here goes. i put alot of thought into this and i hope you like them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrRJjJkjj8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=codCq4_CPps

[raquelinkansas]

This is a very special place and so are the people.

So true Ting!

[alleyoop]

Good to see you back on the board Rock!

[tingeling]

You said it alleyoop

[Mad6string]

The new year brings with it a fresh start to so many things. You don't know what doors are going to close or open up in our lives. For instance, 2 years ago I was a basket case clusterhead running on fumes and no hope in sight. Now, with the help of all my family here, I have been 99% PAIN FREE for almost 18 months.

I look forward to the many great things I'm going to experience (good or bad) without the fear of an attack ruining or making things worse than they have to be. You just don't know what is going to transpire to make that life altering change.

NEVER GIVE UP

Happy New Year to all.

Mad6string

[Psiloscribe]

It has been a great year for Clusterbusters and this message board as an outlet.

When I began Clusterbusters back in Aug of 2002, we began as an invite only group on Yahoo. A place where people could feel free to post about things they may not have wanted on an open forum. We've definitely come to the point where I think most people can now feel comfortable speaking of these things in public. That alone eases the burden on people looking for help.

This was my first welcoming post on Yahoo....

Hello fellow clusterheads and keepers of the flame!

Welcome and thank you for joining us here.

This message board, email service has been started to join together

people interested in advancing the psilocybin and related therapies,

for cluster headaches.

As an aside, the early research included migraine and other forms of

headache treatment. To this end, we will be including a wide ranging

discussion in "headache" treatment and will therefore include people

that suffer from other types of headache pain. This is not an

exclusive group for cluster sufferers, although they will certainly

make up the largest majority of members. Just as supporters of

cluster sufferers are just as important to keeping *us* alive, so to

will they be important here and hold a special place among us.

Our purpose here is to take a pro-active role in researching the

treatment, spreading the word, and beginning the long road to

acceptance of the treatment as a "legal" way for people to treat

their headaches.

I see this group as an extension to all the work that has gone on

before us and should be viewed more as a tribute to all those that

have spent thousands of hours and untold dollars keeping this

treatment alive. Flash, PinkSharkMark, DJ, and all the rest, this

ones for you.

I envision many things for this group...pushing for research by

legitimate research organizations, contacting governmental

institutions and lawmakers, getting the word out to as many sufferers

as possible,,the list goes on. You're here to help add to the list of

useful actions we can take.

I hope that you're participation here in no way affects or diminishes

your participation in other groups or message boards. This group

should ADD to the ongoing forums.

I feel the need to "rock the boat" more than just a little bit. I

don't want to join the establishment, I want to shake it up a bit.

This may sound inviting to you (or it may not), but hitting the send

button on that letter to your senator about mushrooms is a little

more difficult to do that sending a letter to another sufferer.

Please use this forum to make suggestions, offer advice and spread

the good word. If you have names of people you feel would be

interested, send me their email address.

That said........Let the Games begin!!!

Bob Wold

Moderator

I think you all have done a good job in achieving the goals we set and continue to work toward greater things for all of us.

Long ago when I was first getting involved in message boards, (almost 20 years now) I remember a spouse telling a sufferer that "they are only words on a screen" and online support groups weren't going to help. I knew then, as I know now, that that couldn't be further from the truth.

I think that many times the written word can be far more impacting and important in someones life than the spoken word. I'm not sure why that is but maybe it has to do with how we process information.

Anyone that has been online for any amount of time and using posts, IMs, PMs, email, Tweets, etc etc, knows how the written word can change a person's life, for the better or worse. Obviously some people see an opportunity to be destructive, sitting in their home attacking others and causing pain. (If I could find the guy that hacked my email I'd ......lol)

Sometimes these public boards can become battlegrounds. I've seen some REALLY bad things happen. People losing jobs, relationships, police called, death threats, you name it. Not on this board though.

When we made the transition from the yahoo group to this board, we all hoped we could carry over the closeness of the old group and that people would continue with the notion that this board is here to help people, first and foremost. On these types of boards, it's sometimes difficult to keep everyone on the same page. I've said it before and I'll say it again that I couldn't be prouder of all the people here and how everyone has kept this a safe haven for everyone. We've had a couple instances that could have gone bad and the only problem we had was the traffic jamb on the high road.

Everyone here should feel proud of being a part of something that is so important for so many.

Whether you've posted a thousand times or just once, your words can and have changed lives for the better. One thing I've learned is that you never know who all you are speaking to and what they need to hear. You never know which written word might touch some one's heart or soul that makes an impact on their lives. it just might be a word that makes someone say, "OMG, me too" and help them feel not quite so alone.

"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."  ~Friedrich Nietzsche

Giving someone else their "why" can be all you need to fulfill the same in yourself.

Bob

Happy New Year everyone. Rock the boat!!!!

[TakinitEZ]

Good message, Bob. Kindness matters. -Chris

[Brew]

2010 was a magical year for me. For the first time in a long, long time, the majority of the year was spent pain free. I learned how to effectively bust my cycle and am prepared for the next time I must.

The process of busting holds no allure for me. While I do not enjoy losing any control over how my mind processes its surroundings, I have learned to relax and enjoy the ride because I know it is temporary.

I have learned, too, that Big Medicine and Big Pharma are Big for a reason. Hundreds of thousands of people depend on these institutions for their livelihood, and making me better runs counter to their interests. It reminds me of a parable that I just made up:

When all you have is a shovel, preparing the garden that will feed your family all year can seem like a daunting task. It might even be a never-ending job. But when someone shows you how to use a rototiller, you plow through, get 'er done, and move on to higher pursuits.

In the above metaphor, Big Medicine and Big Pharma are the shovel manufacturers, prescription meds being the shovels they produce. The garden is your body - which needs to be worked and reworked until it becomes an hospitable place to sow the seeds of life. Feeding your family is doing the things we all need to do each day to survive. ClusterBusters is the someone who shows you how to use the rototiller, and the spinning blades of the tiller are the alternative meds we use to replace the shovels.

I'm sure my metaphor breaks down at some point, like all metaphors do, but I think you see my point. No longer are we stuck turning the earth over one shovel full at time, taking one dose of verapamil or lithium or topomax at a time in an effort to prepare our garden. It seems the shovels we're given (or should I say given the privilege to purchase) are only big enough to allow us to turn the earth over at a predetermined rate so that once we're done, we have to start over right away to keep the earth able to produce. Treadmill style.

I, for one, have jumped off the treadmill. I have been able to spend more time doing what I love - working, being a husband and father, maintaining our home, playing the bass, singing, dancing, and most of all, loving the people that mean the most to me - and that includes you, the person reading this.

There is no doubt in my mind that the use of psychoactive meds in the treatment of CH is a gift from the gods. It is my sincere wish that all CH sufferers might one day benefit the way I have. Here's to hoping 2011 brings us closer to that goal.

[Guest]

I know what a difficult decision it was for you Brew. I am so glad it worked. Good job. 8-)

the bb

[Bonkers]

Good metaphor, Brew. Thanks for sharing. All the Pioneers had were shovels. You're one of the farsighted who helped bring in the Technological Revolution. Thanks.

[FunGuy]

Damn Brew, that was well said.

It really is stories like yours that keep us doing what we do.

Thank you.

On a side note, Bob and the other early pioneers are the rototillers.

The rest of us are fertilizer.

Ya know what mushrooms grow best in, right.   :-)

[Brew]

Yeah, just like my main function in life - keep me in the dark and feed me bull$#!+, and I'm happy as a clam. ;D