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Sleeping Pills & Alcohol

Drugs come with so many warnings missing some is easy. The interaction of sleeping pills like Ambien and Sonata and alcohol is one to be aware of. It can increase the side effects of the drugs significantly — and is potentially fatal. Alcohol is also a common cause of insomnia.

Severe depression
Loss of consciousness
Memory blackout
Lack of [...]

National Headache Awareness Week: Get a Head S.T.A.R.T. on Your Headaches

In recognition of the 15th annual National Headache Awareness Week, the National Headache Foundation (NHF) is announcing a series of events across the country in order to educate the public about types of headache and their impact on daily living, as well as stressing the importance of seeking an accurate diagnosis and appropriate treatments. This [...]

Recent Posts on Help My Hurt

Hi again, this week posts on Help My Hurt include:
Guest article: Spinal stimulation - a guest writer describes what is involved with spinal stimulation Cynthia
The back expert answers questions - a follow up to the post asking visitors for questions for our back expert
Company’s calling: For Grace’s founder, Cynthia Toussaint speaks out - Cynthia has [...]

Recent Posts on Help My Hurt

This week’s posts on Help My Hurt include:

Using Visualization to Manage Your Pain: Can pain be managed through the way you think?
Office Initiative Reduces Headaches, Neck & Shoulder Pain Over 40%: Daily diaries and relaxation exercises reduced workplace upper body pain.
Depression and Chronic Pain: What came first, the chicken or the egg? Or - what [...]

Expert Answers to Your Headache & Migraine Questions

Submit your headache or migraine questions to the National Headache Foundation for answers from experts. Selected questions will be answered during National Headache Awareness Week, June 1-7.
Also, check to see if any headache awareness events will be held in your area.

Test Results Negative, New Neurologist Loses Interest

The neurologist I had such high hopes for lost all her shimmer in my follow-up appointment. The good news is I have no aneurysms, tumors or lesions and all my blood tests, except for one, came back fine. The bad news is the test results made me completely uninteresting to a neurologist who is primarily [...]

Migraine Abortives (Triptans) & Serotonin Syndrome

Migraine abortive drugs called triptans can cause the potentially serious serotonin syndrome in rare cases, according to a study in the May 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Serotonin syndrome is a known risk when combining antidepressants and triptans. The new study shows that triptans alone can cause serotonin syndrome.
Serotonin syndrome is [...]

New Neurologist, New Possibilities

Having focused so long on my headaches without finding a successful treatment, I decided to visit a general neurologist and start from scratch. I brainstormed everything in my body that could possibly be a symptom, even ones I’ve had so long that they seem normal. I also took a list of all the medications and [...]

Type of Magnesium Affects Absorbtion Rate, Reaction

After I stopped taking magnesium, the severe nausea diminished over several days. And the after-eating headaches that had ceased, slowly increased over those few days. Then I learned from a reader that the dose may not have caused nausea, but the type of magnesium. There are many different kinds; turns out I was taking one [...]

Botox Doesn’t Relieve Migraines & Tension-Type Headaches?

A review of all available data on treating migraines and tension-type headaches with Botox indicates it is no better than a placebo, according to a US News & World Report article. The findings are included in guidelines for using Botox published in today’s issue of the journal Neurology.
Botox Works on Muscle Disorders But Not Migraines
[B]otulinum [...]