Prof. Göbel, Ms. Müller and Dr. Müller, President of the CSG

Dr. Harald Müller was awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Federal President Dr. Since its founding, Müller has been the first chairman of the Federal Association of Self-Help Groups for Cluster Headache Sufferers and their Relatives CSG eV and a committed cooperation partner in the German Headache Network. The German Headache Network and the employees of the Kiel Pain Clinic warmly congratulate on this high recognition for its unprecedented commitment to the care of citizens suffering from cluster headaches.

Dr. Harald Müller has made an outstanding contribution to the interests of citizens with severe chronic pain. In particular, he has made great contributions to those affected by cluster headaches. Cluster headaches are one of the most severe pains people have to endure. Cluster headache attacks are accompanied by severe shooting and excruciating pain in the eye area. The pain is devastatingly intense. Watering of the eyes, redness of the eyes, runny nose, and severe restlessness occur in connection with the pain. The attacks last up to 3 hours. Up to eight such severe attacks can occur per day. The German language does not yet have a word for this disease. The result is that no communication about cluster headaches was possible among the population. The English word “cluster” headache describes the frequent occurrence of headache attacks over time. These occur in active temporal periods. Periods can last from a few months to years and decades. For many affected people, it can take 10 or more years until the correct diagnosis is made. According to scientific studies, the average time until a diagnosis is made in Germany is 8 years.

Cluster headache syndrome is not just a pain disorder alone, but it has many facets. The area of ​​tension includes the disease itself and the individual affected. It also includes the socio-economic impact, particularly at work. But the social environment is also particularly involved. This covers the topics of partnership, children and friends. But the situation in medical care and the lack of care landscape for this disease, as well as the lack of information about contemporary treatment options, are also involved. In Germany in the 1990s there was still stagnating research and, in particular, an almost complete lack of contemporary care for this serious pain disorder. The consequences were extraordinary suffering for those individually affected. In many cases this led to suicide as the only supposed way out. This headache disorder was therefore also called “suicidal headache”. Scientific research groups or publications from Germany did not exist. In both further education and science, information has almost completely stagnated.

Dr. Harald Müller is himself affected. He is a chemist by profession and, without being a doctor himself, he has informed himself nationally and internationally about the possibilities for contemporary treatment of this disease. He quickly realized that supply had to be reorganized from scratch in Germany. He initially collected those affected and, for the first time, analyzed the care situation in large field studies in his free time, independently and at his own expense. The immeasurable desperation of those affected and their resignation became clear. Due to the size of the organization, the initial self-help group meetings led to the creation in 2003 of the Federal Association of Cluster Headache Sufferers and their Relatives – Cluster Headache Self-Help Groups-CSG eV . Dr. Harald Müller invested all of his free time and vacation time, as well as his private funds, in voluntary work to set up and organize this association. There are now over 40 self-help groups in Germany. Cluster headaches particularly affect young men. Dr. Müller has also set up a network for active soldiers in the Bundeswehr to provide up-to-date care for those affected. Dr. Harald Müller has established the world's largest self-help organization for cluster headache patients and their relatives. In doing so, he has also designed an exemplary process that actively and responsibly initiates the improvement and further development of our health system by responsible citizens. Dr. Dr. has the enormous wealth of experience gained through his work in the self-help groups. Müller passed this on to those responsible in health policy, health insurance companies and especially in science. Through unprecedented, time-consuming commitment, he has developed networks and helped set up competence centers in clinics to improve care. Through studies and socio-demographic analyses, he has created planning bases and reliable figures that make it possible to make a significant contribution to the further development of our health system.

He has transformed the previous stagnation in care into an exemplary work that shows that even serious illnesses can be better cared for by committed citizens and that their heavy burden can be reduced and remedied in the future. Those affected directly benefit from this, first of all themselves and their relatives, but also the entire community, as well as politics and science. Dr. Müller has worked tirelessly to ensure that those affected receive a quicker diagnosis and earlier, more efficient treatment. He brought those affected together and made sure that they communicated with each other and that information enabled faster and more efficient treatment. In addition to a reduction in severe suffering for the individual, this also leads to a reduction in complications and ultimately to a significant financial relief for the healthcare system.

He has tirelessly carried out training and educational work across the country. He has established nationwide contact points for self-help groups for those affected in need, as well as a medical emergency service, so that efficient help can be obtained quickly when an acute period breaks out. This enables support across the entire area for the first time. What is particularly noteworthy is that research institutions and specialist clinics work closely with those affected and scientific questions can therefore be investigated much more efficiently and effectively. Dr. With his extraordinarily extensive work, Harald Müller has shown that a self-help movement can result in a remarkable, completely new development. Small, unconnected groups can create a nationwide, well-structured organization that has great experience and expertise. Passive, resigned people can become responsible patients and citizens who get involved and actively work to improve the healthcare system and the community. In his work, Dr. Müller is not only about improved care for chronic illnesses and medical issues, but also about the difficulties that those affected have during their life with a severe disability and a chronic illness. These include very specific everyday problems, worries and fears, as well as problems in relationships, at work and in the family. He showed everyone involved that strength, courage and confidence are the result of commitment and that improvements in care that were not thought possible can result.