February Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival: Finding a Headache / Migraine Specialist

Welcome to the February 2012 Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival

The Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival has been created to provide both headache patients and people who blog about headaches with opportunities to share ideas on topics of particular interest and importance to us.

The theme of the February carnival is "Tales from the Trenches: Experiences (good & bad) on the road to finding the right migraine doctor." Please keep reading for the submissions on this topic.

Most people who experience migraine attacks with any frequency learn it takes some work to find a headache or migraine specialist who can help them. Unfortunately, not every doctor or even every neurologist knows enough about our disease to treat us. And not every headache or migraine specialist is the right fit for every migraine patient. This month's carnival submissions reflect the difficulty of the journey to finding the right migraine specialist.

Sarah Hackley shared Tales from the Trenches: The Ever Elusive 'Right' Migraine Doctor posted at The Migraine Chronicles.

Teri Robert shared The Twisted Road to Help for My Migraines posted at Putting Our Heads Together.

Migraine Puppet shared Migraine Doctor Journey posted at Migraine Puppet.

Migrainista shared One Woman's Journey to Find a Good Doc posted at Migrainista.

Nancy Harris Bonk shared February 2012 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival posted at Migraine & Other Headache Disorders.

James Cottrill shared The Case of the Missing Studies: Patients Missing Critical Information posted at Headache & Migraine News Blog.

Thank you for all your submissions and ongoing support of the carnival. If you haven't already done so, please take a moment to sign the Alliance for Headache Disorders petition asking Congress to hold hearings on the burden of migraine disease: AHDA Petition.

Submit your blog post to the March 2012 edition of the Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival by sending your submissions to me by email. (Unfortunately some of us have had problems with the submission form on the blogcarnival.com site from time to time, so I suggest you just avoid it. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience.) 

The theme will be: "How do you build & maintain hope when your life is dominated by migraine disease or another headache disorder?" Submissions are due by midnight (the end of the day) on Friday, March 9. The March carnival will be published right here at Somebody Heal Me on Monday, March 12.


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Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation. 

Last Call: February 2012 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival

Tomorrow (Friday, February 10, 2012) is the deadline for submissions to the February 2012 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival.

Submit your blog post to the February 2012 edition of the Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival by e-mailing your submissions to me directly (somebodyhealme AT dianalee DOT net). The theme is: "Tales from the Trenches: Experiences (good & bad) on the road to finding the right migraine doctor. " As always, posts on any topic related to migraine disease or other headache disorders are also welcome.

Entries are due by midnight (the end of the day), tomorrow, Friday, February 10, and the carnival will be posted at Somebody Heal Me on Monday, February 13.

Additional information about the carnival can be found at this link: http://somebodyhealme.dianalee.net/p/headache-blog-carnival.html.

If you are interested in hosting a future edition, please let me know so we can talk details. It's not only a great way to support the carnival, but also to drive new traffic to your blog! As always, please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, suggestions or ideas for themes.



Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme. 

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Judgement, Paula Deen & Type 2 Diabetes

Much more so than other diseases, type 2 diabetes is one more likely to be thought of as something you brought on yourself. True, there are many important lifestyle factors that make you more susceptible, but there are also incredibly unhealthy, overweight people who eat foods that aren't good for them who never develop it. It's just not that simple. It's actually because of this judgment that I think I can relate to why Paula Deen chose to wait to make her type 2 diabetes diagnosis public.

This is one article about her announcement. I tried to pick one that wasn't especially inflammatory or hateful toward her situation.

Paula Deen Says She Has Type 2 Diabetes

There is usually a period of grief after we learn about our type 2 diabetes diagnosis. It's scary news, and for many of us that fear is compounded by the shame of believing we brought it on ourselves. If this is true for the average joes and janes among us, can you imagine the fear and shame someone in Paula Deen's situation might experience? She's made her career and fortune cooking food that is incompatible with the day-to-day safe management of type 2 diabetes. And if outsiders were quick to blame her for her own diagnosis, you can bet she was the first to blame herself. We're so often harder on ourselves than we are on other people.

It's hard enough to get up to speed on blood glucose testing, A1C testing, what to eat, what to avoid, medications, etc., when you're first diagnosed. Knowing this would likely lead to a necessary change in the recipes that have made you famous and are so closely aligned with your identity must be even harder.

So, yes, it's easy for people who've never been through this process to harshly judge Paula Deen and to blame her for her own problems and her apparent contribution to the American obesity and diabetes epidemics. But let's be real: Paula is probably like the rest of us. She knows what she should be eating, that she's carrying at least a little more weight than she should and that the foods she most enjoys aren't very good for her. Making changes is hard and sometimes it takes a serious wake up call to start to make those changes.

Hopefully she'll get there as she grows more comfortable with her new-ish identity as a type 2 diabetic. How awesome would it be if she was able to use her notoriety to inspire and educate others about how to live a satisfying life as a person who loves rich, buttery, sugary, indulgent food and has to adapt to a new way of living? Pretty great, I think. I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and see what happens.


Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme.

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Simplify Life with Migraines & Chronic Illness: Breakfast

We all know how important it is to eat breakfast, but it's hard enough to get everything going in the morning when you don't have to wonder if you'll be able to get out of bed. It's all about planning ahead and making it easy, while still making healthy choices. If you have food-related migraine triggers, remember to adjust recipes accordingly.

Crustless Mini Quiches

There are a few different recipes floating around the Web for these easy little egg quiches that skip the unnecessary carbs and calories of a crust. They're easy to make easy and freeze extremely well. Feel free to use the main recipe and add what you like and skip what you don't. These are just examples.

Egg & Spinach Quiche Cups

Crustless Mini Quiches


Breakfast Cookies, Muffins & Bars

These are nice for days when you don't even feel well enough to use the microwave. You can be ready to eat immediately and still have something pretty good for you, especially when paired with a banana and some yogurt.

Banana Peanut Butter Breakfast Muffins

Ellie Krieger's Breakfast Cookies

Healthified Oatmeal Peanut Butter Breakfast Cookies

Monkey Bars

Banana Cranberry Oat Bars

Carrot Ginger Muffins

Healthified Blueberry Orange Muffins



Fresh Takes on Oatmeal

Some really creative food bloggers have shared recipes for awesome twists on traditional (sometimes boring) oatmeal. Here are some examples:

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Chocolatey Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Gingerbread Oatmeal

Crisp Apple Pie Oatmeal (in photo)

Salted Caramel Cocoa Oatmeal Bowl


Other options to keep on hand

Anything can be breakfast. It doesn't have to be bacon and eggs. These are good foods to have on hand as healthy options for breakfast or a meal or snack any time of day.

• string cheese
• Greek yogurt
• low fat cottage cheese
• frozen berries
• fresh fruit
• whole grain, fiber rich cereal
• whole grain tortillas
• canned fruit (in it's own juice)
• peanut butter
• egg substitute
• lean ham or turkey
• whole grain english muffins
• multigrain frozen waffles
• nuts

What ideas can you share of healthy, fast, easy breakfasts that you rely on as a person with a chronic condition to cope with?



Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme.

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.

Migraine Warrior Merchandise

This project is in its infancy, but I've designed some Migraine Warrior merchandise that you can purchase through Cafe Press to show your spirit of determination and hope. I think you'll like what I have to offer!

Migraine Warrior Merchandise

Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed: Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail. Follow me on Twitter @somebodyhealme.

Content by Diana E. Lee.

DISCLAIMER: Nothing on this site constitutes medical or legal advice. I am a patient who is engaged and educated and enjoys sharing my experiences and news about migraines, pain and depression. Please consult your own health care providers for advice on your unique situation.