a candid look at managing and living with headaches & migraines

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Extreme Makeover Home Edition Builds New Home for Chiari Advocate

Julie Carter and her three daughters all have Chiari malformation, a rare abnormality at the base of the brain that results in brain tissue extending into the spinal canal, which causes severe headaches. Nearly a half a million dollars in debt from brain surgeries, they lived in a refurbished chicken coop. An advocate for Chiarians [...]

Is Your Doctor in Touch With Current Research?

Being an informed patient sometimes means feeling like you know more than your doctor does. Sometimes this isn’t just a feeling, but a fact.
In Why Doesn’t My Doctor Know This?, Dr. Kent Holtorf explains that “. . . [T]he overwhelming majority (all but a few percent) of physicians (endocrinologists, internists, family practitioners, rheumatologists, etc.) do [...]

Guilt Comorbid With Headaches

“Comorbidity refers to the greater than coincidental association of separate conditions in the same individuals. Historically, a number of conditions have been noted to be comorbid with migraine, notably psychiatric disorders (anxiety, depression, panic disorder), epilepsy, asthma, and some congenital heart defects.”
This quote is from an abstract of an article from the June 2005 issue [...]

Explaining What Chronic Daily Headache and Migraine Are Like

Explaining to my family, friends and employers that my migraines are debilitating has been challenging. There are many misconceptions about headache disorders and migraine, so people don’t understand the difference between an occasional headache and CDH or migraine.
The best way I’ve found to let those around me know the seriousness of this illness is to [...]

Must-Read Time Article on Headache

A 2002 Time cover article on headache describes current migraine research — and the heretofore lack of said research — and what it means for people with headache. As the article says, “What [the research] all adds up is a revolutionary view of extreme headaches that treats them as serious, biologically based disorders on a [...]

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week

National Invisible Chronic Illness Awareness Week, which begins today, lets people know that an illness doesn’t have to be seen to be real. Check out these statistics from Rest Ministries, the sponsor of the week.

Nearly 1 in 2 Americans (133 million) has a chronic condition
96% of them live with an illness that is invisible. These [...]

Call for Nominations: American Pain Foundation’s Patient Advocate Award & the REAL Hot 100

The American Pain Foundation is seeking nominations for it’s first patient advocate award. The award will recognize a patient who has “risen above their personal pain experiences in order to help and advocate for others.” I can think of tons of people who qualify. If you have someone in mind, please nominate them. Submissions are [...]

Sort of on Vacation

I’m going on vacation tomorrow, but will still be posting each weekday. I’ll read and respond to e-mail and comments once a week, otherwise you won’t notice a difference. I’ll be back full time on October 8. See you then!

Rantings on Perfume, Scented Hair Products and Paris

REI employees shouldn’t be allowed to wear perfume. I’d prefer if no one in retail wore perfume, but I’ll complain about REI because I was there this morning. Doesn’t perfume contradicts the values of the nature-oriented store?
I was at REI in the first place for quick-dry travel pants. The perfect pants that I scored at [...]

Depression in Women with Migraine Linked to Childhood Abuse

Researchers have found a fascinating connection between migraine, depression and childhood abuse in women. I didn’t want to miss any important details, so the American Academy of Neurology’s press release follows. (Emphasis added.)
Depression in Women with Migraine Linked to Childhood Abuse
Childhood abuse is more common in women with migraine who suffer depression than in women [...]