a candid look at managing and living with headaches & migraines

• Home
• About
• Forum

Biology

Sorting Out My Hormonal/Menstrually Associated Migraines

As the frequency of my migraine episodes has reduced this year, I was finally able to tell that I always get a migraine the first and second or third day of my period. Today once again provided confirmation.
My plan was to try hormonal birth control, like the pill, as a preventive. Researching this post has [...]

Lower Risk of Breast Cancer for Women With Migraine

Finally, some good news for migraineurs. Women with migraine had a 30 percent lower risk of breast cancer than those without, according to a recently released study. Hormonal changes, which commonly trigger migraine, are a potential link.
In particular, migraine history appeared to reduce the risk of the most common subtypes of breast cancer: those that [...]

Clinical Trials for Treating All Sorts of Headache Disorders

ClinicalTrials.gov is the place to go if you’ve considered participating in a clinical trial for your headache disorder, These are just the latest in 142 headache studies recruiting participants or will be recruiting soon.
Nearly every headache disorder is represented: cluster, tension-type, post-traumatic, migraine, cervicogenic, lumbar-puncture, medication overuse (rebound)…. Treatments range from medication and surgery to [...]

Migraine Linked to Blood Clots in Veins

People with migraine may be more likely to develop blood clots in their veins than those without, according to a study published today. Called venous thrombosis or thromboembolism, the blood clots can lead to strokes. Researchers speculate this is why people with migraine have a greater risk of stroke.
Studies of stroke and migraine implicate only [...]

Migraine and Gluten Sensitivity

In a desperate attempt to treat her migraines, herself (gluten-free) blogger Karen Yesowich Schmucker discovered she was sensitive to gluten. Adopting a gluten-free diet has reduced the frequency and severity of her migraines. Karen explains the connection in this guest post.
While there is data to suggest that a certain percentage of migraineurs also suffer from [...]

Eye Exam Findings

Thanks for all the recommendations and information. The appointment went well, but I’m waiting (rather impatiently) for my new contacts and glasses to come in. I have a new prescription, which should correct my vision better more than my current contacts. If my new contacts need fine-tuning, we’ll consider glasses to wear with them.
The optometrist [...]

Headache Only One of Migraine’s Many Symptoms

More than half of people with migraine experience nausea, neck pain, or sensitivity to lights, sounds or smells during a migraine, yet few doctors regularly ask about symptoms other than headache. These findings, from a National Headache Foundation survey, include only a partial list of possible migraine symptoms.
Migraine Goes Beyond Head Pain
(National Headache Foundation press [...]

This week on Free my Brain from Migraine Pain

It has been a quiet week at Free My Brain From Migraine Pain, but I hope you enjoy these posts:

Managing my Migraines: Recent Success: A list and explanation of treatments, supplements and other factors that have been keeping my Migraine frequency down.
Coping with Migraine: Claims of a “Cure”: Does it hurt if someone claims [...]

Placebo Effect: In the Brain, Not the Mind

Many of us learned in high school biology that the placebo effect is when you think that a treatment is effective even though the treatment or medication is an inactive form of treatment. You think you will feel better, so you believe that you are better.
High school biology was wrong. Studies using sophisticated brain scanning [...]

Mini-Medical School from UCSF’s Osher Center for Integrative Medicine

University of California San Francisco faculty members and other experts discuss current issues in health and science. Presentations from the last five years are available online. Some of particular interest include:
Coping With Stress

Staying Sane Through Difficult Times (57 minutes)
Biofeedback: Self-Mastery Beyond Pills (88 minutes)
Imaginative Solutions for Stress Relief (88 minutes)
Minding the Body: Cognitive-Behavioral Stress Reduction [...]