Check Out the Everyday Health Migraines Webcast Series

The Everyday Health website has a fantastic webcast feature comprised of 19 (and counting) unique episodes. You can listen to each episode online or read a transcript if you prefer.

Everyday Health Migraine Webcasts

The webcast series has covered such topics as medication side effects, the connection between migraines and mental illness, pediatric and adolescent migraines, how to track migraine triggers and the emotional pain of migraines. I really appreciated this last one in particular. What an important topic for all of us dealing with these nasty attacks.

Give one or two a listen when you have a chance and let me know what you think. I have been really impressed with the episodes I've listened to or read through so far.

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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.

August Pain Blog Carnival Posted at How to Cope With Pain

The August 2009 Pain Blog Carnival is posted at the How to Cope with Pain blog. Topics covered include advice on how much to reveal about your situation during a job interview, how focusing on improving just 1% can help with the management of chronic illnesses and my post on whether it is a good idea to bring a loved one to doctor's appointment with you. Thank you to How to Cope with Pain for selecting my post!

August 2009 Pain Blog Carnival

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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.

Announcing September 2009 Headache Blog Carnival

Entries for the September 2009 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival are due by the end of the day on Friday, September 11th.

The theme for the September carnival is "Evaluating treatments, medications & procedures - how to gather information & make decisions."

Posts may be submitted through the form on the carnival website or directly to me by e-mail.

The September carnival will be posted on Monday, September 14th at Somebody Heal Me.

For more information about the carnival visit this link: Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival.

Please let me know if you're interested in hosting a future edition, if you have suggestions for future themes or if you'd like to be added to my e-mail list to receive updates about the carnival.

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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.

Patient for a Moment Carnival at Emergiblog

The sixth edition of the still fairly new patient blog carnival, Patients for a Moment, is posted at Emergiblog: The Life & Times of an ER Nurse. This is a fabulous carnival focused entirely on the perspectives of patients. It definitely fills a void in the blogosphere.

Patients for a Moment: The Sixth Edition

Check it out when you get a chance!

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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.

'The Happiness Project' Brings Practical Advice & Tools to the Quest to Live the Life You Dream About

I recently read about a super cool concept called The Happiness Project on Psych Central's World of Psychology blog. In a nutshell, The Happiness Project is an exploration of what does and does not help you create the kind of happiness you seek in your life.

8 Tools for Happiness: Gretchen Rubin's Happiness Project Toolbox

Gretchen Rubin started her career in law. She had graduated from Yale Law and was clerking for retired US Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor when she realized she wanted to be a writer, not a lawyer. After publishing several other books, she started The Happiness Project. She spent a year exploring every single piece of advice and research she could find about fostering happiness in your life. A book, due out in December 2009, grew out of her year-long project.

The Happiness Project: Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

On her website, The Happiness Project Toolbox, she offers the kind of hands-on exercises that get you thinking about how to create the kind of life you want to live. These tools include: Resolutions, Group Resolutions, Personal Commandments, Inspiration Boards, One Sentence Journal and Happiness Hacks, among others.

I absolutely adore her Happiness Manifesto, offering up basic truths that are sometimes hard to access when you're in the middle of a depressive episode or even just a regular old pity party. "You're not happy unless you think you're happy" especially resonates with me.

The Happiness Project: Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

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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.

A Month of Migraines: Medical Appointments in the Works

It feels like I've been waiting around forever for my next appointment with my local neurologist, Dr. C., which will finally happen on Thursday. In the meantime I've been working on getting some other appointments rolling.

I had my physical evaluation at The Lemons Center and a therapy appointment with my regular psychologist on Tuesday. I was even more impressed with The Lemons Center. They so totally get it and some of them have been in my shoes. One was bedridden for 3-1/2 years and did the program, now she works there as a nurse. That blew me away. She also told me Dr. Lemons has dealt with chronic migraines and they were his impetus for developing this program.

I've planned a trip to go back to Dallas to see Dr. Krusz for next week. I have had a migraine every single day for more than 25 days straight. Nothing is helping. I'm able to treat them pretty well, but they keep coming back. It's definitely not medication overuse headache. I've had that and it was nothing like this. These are full blown migraines accompanied by excruciating bouts of occipital neuralgia and neck pain. The occipital neuralgia pain has been just about constant for this period of time. So much worse than ever. Hopefully some IV treatments in a concentrated period will help. My mom is driving me down. We plan to leave on Sunday and come home sometime Wednesday afternoon or evening.

In happier news my very good, dear friend Dulcinea and I are having dinner together tonight. Since she moved away a few years ago we just don't get enough time together. I can't wait!

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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.

RIP Sen. Kennedy: Another Motivation to Fight for Health Care Reform

I'm terribly sad to learn about the passing of the iconic public servant Senator Edward (Ted) Kennedy last night. I suggest there could be no better tribute to the lion of the Senate than meaningful health care reform.

Senator Kennedy was a determined proponent of health care reform efforts. He believed access to health care is a right to which all American citizens are entitled. In an article for Newsweek magazine published in July he shared the ways in which his notoriety and financial resources had ensured him the highest quality of care throughout his life (The Cause of My Life: The Fight for Universal Health Care). He knew he and his family were lucky to have the access to resources others can only dream about. But rather than being satisfied that his and his loved ones' needs were covered, these experiences inspired him to fight for the right of everyone to have this kind of care.

But quality care shouldn't depend on your financial resources, or the type of job you have, or the medical condition you face. Every American should be able to get the same treatment that U.S. senators are entitled to.

This is the cause of my life. It is a key reason that I defied my illness last summer to speak at the Democratic convention in Denver—to support Barack Obama, but also to make sure, as I said, "that we will break the old gridlock and guarantee that every American…will have decent, quality health care as a fundamental right and not just a privilege." For four decades I have carried this cause—from the floor of the United States Senate to every part of this country. It has never been merely a question of policy; it goes to the heart of my belief in a just society.

Let us remember his fiery passion for this cause when we're tempted to back down or concede in this fight.

Rest in peace, Teddy. You will be missed.

Image courtesy of the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum.

Related Posts:
You Know You've Been Curious: My Thoughts on Health Care Reform
Health Insurance Contracts Should Be Written in Plain English

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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.

Health Insurance Contracts Should Be Written in Plain English

It's probably a bad sign about the readability of a health insurance contract when even the insurance company cannot decipher it. A great New York Times article by the executive counsel of the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner describes just such a scenario and makes persuasive arguments about why health insurance contracts need to be written at a more accessible reading level.

Plain English is the Best Policy

It is hard to believe that very many of the 200 million Americans who have private health insurance understand their own coverage. Anyone who has spent time trying to read a health insurance policy would be justified in assuming that it was written by lawyers and technocrats for other lawyers and technocrats — not for the average person. Our analysis of policies in Rhode Island found that most are written at a college to graduate-school reading level. Given that the average Rhode Islander reads at an eighth-grade level, we have decided to require, beginning next year, that all policies in our state be written at that level.

While the Obama administration and Congress are at work reforming the American health care system, they should take the opportunity to make sure that, in the future, all Americans can read their health insurance policies.

I'm a huge proponent of the legal writing in plain English movement. This is perhaps most needed in the writing of health insurance contracts.

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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.

Interview with Invisible Illness Week Founder Lisa Copen

National Invisible Chronic Illness Week 2009, September 14 - 20, is a uniquely wonderful opportunity for people with chronic invisible illnesses to interact with experts on subjects of importance to us and learn a great deal about a variety of topics that uniquely impact our lives.

This year some of the topics to be covered include:

• Can Versus Should: Pregnancy, Children and Chronic Illness by Laurie Edwards, author of Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties & Thirties
  
(On a personal note, I'm looking forward to Laurie's session most of all.)

• Finding Health Insurance Coverage with a Pre-Existing Condition by Jennifer Jaff of Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness, Inc.

• Hearts of Gratitude and Joy by Maureen Pratt, author of Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness
  

• Applying and Winning Disability Assistance When You Are Chronically Ill by Scott Davis

Visit this link for a full list of the schedule: 2009 Seminars & Speakers Invisible Illness Week.


In anticipation of National Invisible Chronic Illness Week 2009 I had the opportunity to ask the event's founder, Lisa Copen, a few questions about her advocacy efforts and life.

Q. How do you balance the physical and emotional challenges of living with chronic illness with all of your advocacy efforts and other obligations? Do you ever feel like you have enough time or energy to get everything done?

A. I never feel like I am all caught up, but it’s more of a bad habit, by creating more work for myself than I can handle. I will acknowledge that I am a control freak and I like to stay busy so as to not get depressed about my illness. Most days that can be a blessing. Is it really “denial” of your illness if you are constructive and not destructive? I love what I do, and I feel very blessed that out of my struggles and weakness God gives me the opportunity to minister to others. At the same time, my family sometimes gets less of my attention because I am busy with ministry stuff. I know that is now how God wants us to break down our priorities. It should be Him first, then family, then ministry. It’s easy to get these mixed up or blur the lines. I think many people deal with this—anyone from pastors to mothers. Anyone have some good advice?

Q. What one thing can people with chronic illness do to enlighten the people around them about their invisible illnesses?

A. I think just by sharing about Invisible Illness Week. It’s about 1 in 2 people in the USA who have a chronic illness. Yesterday at my son’s Taekwondo practice another mom asked me what I did. I mentioned Rest Ministries and Invisible Illness Week and then she shared for fifteen minutes about how she had dealt most of her life with extreme migraines that had landed her in the E.R. She “looked” perfectly healthy and fit. So just by saying, “Hey, Invisible Illness Week is having a virtual conference in September with 20 seminars online for free. Do you know anyone who could benefit? It’s a great resource!"

Q. What one thing would you say to encourage people with invisible chronic illnesses to keep going even when it's hard?

A. One of my favorite scriptures I hope encourages you is “My comfort in my suffering is this: God’s promise preserves my life.” Psalm 119:50

Life Disrupted: Getting Real About Chronic Illness in Your Twenties & Thirties
by Laurie Edwards

Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness by Maureen Pratt

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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.

Should You Bring a Loved One to Your Doctor's Appointments?

Most of the resources I've read about how to prepare for a doctor's appointment recommend bringing a loved one with you so that person can help you remember what the doctor said and make sure you get your questions and concerns addressed. But when I read Paula Kamen's book All in My Head: An Epic Quest to Cure an Unrelenting, Totally Unreasonable and Only Slightly Enlightening Headache I was surprised to learn about the negative conclusions one of her doctors drew about her emotional stability based on her decision to bring her mother with her to her appointments.

On page 87 of her book, Kamen describes the contents of a letter written by one of her former doctors.

It turned out he thought I was behaving erratically and mistakenly believed that I had not even tried the drug he had prescribed. He also interpreted my financial dependence as some kind of motivation for the so-called pain. And he saw the presence of my mother—oh, the poor mother, always an object of blame in psychoanalytic theory—as signaling some kind of warped and stifling relationship, instead of one human helping out another in need.

I think Kamen's experience begs the question of whether you do yourself more harm than good by bringing a close friend or family member with you to your appointments. Obviously, you need to make sure you pick the right kind of person to come with you. Don't choose someone who is known to interrupt people or talk over them. Don't choose someone who might be combative or difficult to deal with. Choose someone who understands his or her role in being there and is willing and able to fulfill that role.

I usually take someone with me to out of town doctor's appointments because I never know if I will feel up to driving myself. Sometimes I also receive treatments that require someone to drive me home. My husband can't easily get away from work because he works for himself and is trying to get established in his field, so either my mom or dad (or both) comes with me. They are the perfect type of people to bring with you. They pay close attention to what is being said, but don't interrupt. They are patient with the sometimes long waits and never act put out when plans change on the fly. I really don't have any qualms about taking my mom, dad or husband with me to appointments regardless of what a doctor might think of me or them. It's a necessity and stressing out about it doesn't change that.

Do you bring a loved one with you to your doctor's appointments? Have the results been good or bad or a little of both?

All in My Head: An Epic Quest to Cure an Unrelenting,
Totally Unreasonable and Only Slightly Enlightening Headache
by Paula Kamen

Related Posts:
Being a 'Difficult Patient' Could Compromise Your Quality of Care

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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.

Explore the Links Page for Great Migraine Blogs & Resources

In case you're new to Somebody Heal Me or haven't looked around the site for a while, please check out the Links page.

Somebody Heal Me: Links

On the Links page I have gathered a list of links to migraine blogs, other health & pain-related blogs, migraine forums, essential migraine articles and many other sites. I'm constantly updating these links as I learn about new resources, especially migraine blogs, so please explore those links and check out some of the other great blogs and sites out there.

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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.

Acupuncture Helps Body Kill Pain

The Los Angeles Times Booster Shots health blog recently reported that acupuncture makes the brain more sensitive to the pain killing effects of pain medications and pain killing chemicals produced naturally by the body.

Acupuncture Boosts Effects of Painkillers, Natural or Prescription

Researchers used PET scans to observe the brains of 20 women with fibromyalgia while they received acupuncture treatments. All 20 women reported experiencing muscle and nerve pain at least 50% of the time before their treatments. The PET scans, which focused on regions of the brain that process and reduce pain signals, showed an increase in the receptivity and number of brain cells to which opioid painkillers bind to reduce a person's pain.

The study may even support the controversial earlier finding that sham acupuncture works as well as real acupuncture to reduce pain, but that the two work in to reduce pain in different ways. In that experiment, patients seemed to gain considerable pain relief merely by a procedure that inserted needles into the body randomly, as oppose to following the paths of energy meridians that guide needle placement in acupuncture.

The random sinking of needles through the skin may prompt the body to increase its production of pain-dampening endorphins and enkephalins, Harris surmised. True acupuncture may work differently: Its painkilling effect may come not from boosting the supply of circulating natural analgesics, but by improving the ability of those chemicals to dock at a brain cell and exert their painkilling effects.

Related Posts:
Latest Headlines on Acupuncture & Chronic Headaches
Alternative Medicine Gaining Popularity Among Unlikely Groups

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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.

Patients for a Moment Blog Carnival Posted at Adventures of a Funky Heart

The fifth edition of the new-ish patient blog carnival, Patients for a Moment, is posted at Adventures of a Funky Heart.

Patients for a Moment: The Fifth Edition

Check it out when you get a chance!

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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.

Learn More about Usefulness of MBSR in Interview with Teacher Bob Stahl

Check out this wonderful interview with mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) teacher Bob Stahl at the Psych Central Mindfulness & Psychotherapy Blog:

Working with Stress, Pain & Illness: An Interview with Bob Stahl, PhD

Question: Bob, what words of wisdom could you give people out there who are currently struggling in life with stress, pain, or illness?
It can indeed be very difficult when we face stress, pain or illness. What helps me is to open to the experience of my suffering rather than putting energy in resisting it. When I acknowledge my feelings rather than suppressing them, I feel more freedom. I believe there are opportunities here to develop deep wisdom if we can work with our suffering from a mindfulness perspective.

Related Posts:
Exploring Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction

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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.

Stop Retreating into Myself: A New Plan for Living My Best Life

I've noticed lately that when my pain becomes unbearably bad or extends for an unthinkably long stretch I find myself retreating into myself and ignoring all the things that help me cope when I feel that way.

I find it difficult to make myself stop and think about what helps me cope. Instead of settling in with an ice pack and some aromatherapy, I tensely sit gritting my teeth and bouncing my foot, desperately hoping for relief. Instead of drinking water I imbibe on soda after soda, hoping the caffeine will give me some kind of energy boost. Instead of meditating and breathing I try anything and everything to distract myself.

Since I've come to the realization that I'm nearly out of medication and therapeutic options, I've been thinking a lot about where to go from here. I've concluded the right move is to be as healthy as I can be given my limitations. My hope is that this will give me a better quality of life and help me cope with the pain I can't avoid. I want to cut the chemicals and fake, processed foods back out of my diet, avoid soda, drink more water, get gentle exercise, stretch, schedule more frequent massage and acupuncture appointments and practice mindfulness regularly.

The comprehensive pain management program at The Lemons Center I told you about last week seems to fit naturally into this game plan. I hope the physical therapy aspect of the program will allow me to get my body moving and teach me some additional stretches I can do to improve my range of motion and reduce my pain. It should also be helpful in establishing my health goals as habits.

Related Posts:
New Things: Occipital Nerve Stimulator and Behavioral Pain Management

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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.

Researcher Develops Better Way to Measure Chronic Pain, Fatigue, Depression

A researcher at Northwestern University is trying to quantify the way we measure pain and other hard to pin down conditions. David Cella and his research team have developed a system that uses a specific scientific vocabulary to measure a patient's pain, fatigue, depression, anxiety and social and physical functioning and provides a standardized rating as to each item.

Too Many Ways to Say "It Hurts"

Cella says these standardized measures will give doctors and patients a common language that will help individuals get better treatment by ensuring their doctors understand how debilitated they are, but will also improve research.

Not only have Cella and his team created a new language and tool for researchers, but the PROMIS project also represents a shift in the way researchers evaluate the benefits of treatments. The goal is not just to help people live longer but also live better.

X-rays, CT scans and lab tests may have minimal relevance to the day-to-day functioning of patients with chronic diseases. "We help measure directly if people are living better by asking them,“ Cella said. “Sometimes it's as simple as asking, 'Do you think this treatment has made your life better?' That question is surprisingly absent from many studies."

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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.

New Things: Occipital Nerve Stimulator & Behavioral Pain Management

Last week I called the pain specialist's office (Dr. G.) to start trying to get my health insurance company to cover the cost of an occipital nerve stimulator to manage my chronic migraines and occipital neuralgia. No news so far, so at least they haven't denied it. Yet.

The other new development is that I'm being evaluated for a comprehensive behavioral pain management program at a place called The Lemons Center. I met with a psychologist for the mental health part of my evaluation and have an appointment for the physical assessment later this month. Ordinarily they would have you do both at the same time, but I had told them I was only interested in the basic program (an hour once a week for 12 weeks), not the comprehensive program. Speaking with the psychologist encouraged me to consider the comprehensive program, which involves 4-1/2 total hours of treatment five days a week for six weeks. Two and a half hours are physical therapy specifically for people with chronic pain and the other two hours are coping strategies for living your best life even though you're in pain.

Before my mental evaluation I had a bad attitude about the idea of this place, but being there really shifted my thinking. They seem very in tune with the needs of chronic pain patients and said all the right things about the pain not being in your head, but that there are things you can do to enjoy your life as much as possible given your limitations. I like that attitude. It's the one I try to cultivate, and I can use all the help I can get with that.

Related Posts:
Another Crossroads: What to Try Next for Migraines & Occipital Neuralgia
The Let Down of Not Having Answers
New Diagnosis: Occipital Neuralgia, Connection to My Migraines

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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.

Chronic Illness & Marriage: Why My Husband is a Keeper

I may be seeing the issue narrowly and through the lens of my experience, but I think whether your relationship/marriage makes it through chronic illness is a function of the kind of partner you have chosen.

My husband is amazing. He works an awful second job so that I can have health insurance, works 80+ hours a week and still bears much of the burden for keeping the household running. Lately I've been able to keep the laundry clean, the kitchen and dishes clean, the bills paid and groceries in the fridge, but that's about it. He does everything else and even found time to build a fence outside for my darling little dog. (With my dad's help. No, Dad, you're not chopped liver!)

He is patient and understanding about everything. All the expenses, the lack of time together (even when he is actually home, but I'm sick), almost never having a chance to be intimate and even my emotions and anger about my situation. When I'm having a good day he celebrates with me. When I'm not he takes care of me or at least lets me know he's thinking of me while he's working.

I truly feel like I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have this man in my life. I don't know how we could have made it for more than 11 years (6-1/2 years of marriage and 6 years of chronic migraines) if he wasn't the amazing, caring, loving, patient man he is. I don't want to make it sound like I haven't tried to work on my faults and be the best partner I can be, because I have, but the reason this relationship works is because we both want to be in it no matter what.

And I have to say I knew he was a special when I had my first migraine since we'd started dating. We barely knew each other, but he got me an ice pack, made me a PB&J sandwich and just sat there quietly to make sure I was okay. I knew then he was definitely a keeper.

This post is my entry in February's Health Activist Blog Carnival. If you're interested in participating too, you can read all about it here.

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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.

Details of Sumatriptan Migraine Patch Study to be Released at IHS Meeting

NuPathe, developer of the Sumatriptan migraine patch Zelrix, plans to release the full details of a late-stage study on this drug at the September meeting of the International Headache Society.

NuPathe Migraine Patch Works in Late-Stage Study

Zelrix treats migraine attacks by delivering the medication Sumatriptan (the same ingredient that is in Imitrex) through a patch applied to the skin. This allows patients to avoid the nausea-related complications often experienced by migraineurs.

Pennsylvania-based NuPathe said in a statement that the patch showed a "statistically significant" improvement after two hours in pain, nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound compared to people who used a placebo.

The trial included 530 patients. The most common side effects were itching, pain and tingling on the skin where the patch was applied. Most of these were mild and passed quickly.

NuPathe plans to apply for FDA approval of the drug in 2010.

Related Posts:
Zelrix Transmits Sumatriptan Through Skin Patch
News: Sumatriptan Migraine Patch Effective

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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.

You Know You've Been Curious: My Thoughts on Health Care Reform

In some twisted way I'm lucky that my illnesses have left me sick enough to qualify for Social Security Disability. Sure, I have to wait two years before I'm eligible for Medicare, but once I get to that point I know I'll have good health coverage that won't rely me or my husband having the kind of job where you get good benefits (or benefits period).

You see, I haven't been able to work since October 2007 and my husband is a barber. Like most barbers he's an independent contractor who rents a chair from the person who owns the shop he works out of. Despite his success in his chosen field he has had to continue working at a demoralizing second job so I can have health insurance. But at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel for us.

I wonder if not necessarily having a dog in this fight anymore has made me less militant about demanding a "public option". Maybe I'm too easily satisfied, but I'm not expecting a public health insurance option to pass Congress anytime soon and I guess I would be okay with that if Congress does just two small things:

First, I want to see Congress require insurance companies to cover everyone.

Second, I want Congress to force insurance companies to charge everyone the same rates so that those of us with chronic and life-threatening illnesses who don't qualify for Medicaid or Medicare can afford the insurance we so desperately need.

That being said I fully support a public option. Private or employer-provided insurance policies do cover a lot, but when you become ill you quickly realize there is road block after road block put up in your way when you try to get the treatments, medications and procedures your doctors suggest you try. If that isn't because of the policies of the insurance companies why does every single one operate that way and why do the vast majority of very sick people face the same challenges regardless of how savvy, educated or intelligent they are?

For a nation that claims to put families first some of our policies and laws hurt families terribly. We have the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortaility rate of all developed nations. This is unacceptable. I'm ashamed that we find ourselves in this postion. I know we can do better.

Here are some excellent articles I've read lately that sum up my concerns about the health care status quo and desire for change. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What's Not to Like? Reform? Why do we need health care reform? Everything is just fine the way it is. - Newsweek

How to Think Constructively About Health Care Reform - Harvard Business blog

What's So Great About Private Health Insurance? - Los Angeles Times

Health Reform: The Cost of Failure - Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

And You Thought a Prescription Was Private - New York Times

Debunking Canadian Health Care Myths - Denver Post

Is the Health Insurance Industry Immoral? - Wall Street Journal

I'm Worried About Health Insurance Reform - Advocacy for Patients with Chronic Illness

Health Care Reform and the 'Public Option' - Medicine & Social Justice blog

In Which I Take a Stand on Health Care - Mommy's Martini blog


Technorati Tags: depression, migraines, chronic illness, health, somebody heal me

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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.

Migraines & Families: August 2009 Headache Blog Carnival

Welcome to the August 2009 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.

There theme of the August 2009 carnival is "Migraines and families - genetics, parenthood, child migraineurs or any other related topic you'd like to address."

Please keep reading for the August 2009 collection of posts.

Stephanie presents a brutally honest, relatable post, Procreative Ponderings, posted at Head Wise.

Betsy Blondin presents Migraines - All in the Family? posted at Migraine Journey: Mindbloggering About Life & Migraines.

Ellen Schnakenberg presents an important and informative post, Topiramate and Birth Defects, posted at WEGO Health.

Teri Robert presents Back to School: Info on Migraines, Headaches and Much More posted at My Migraine Connection.

Chrissy presents an excellent post about dealing with mean-spirited people, Insensitive People, posted at Through the Words of Chronic Pain.

Rosalind Joffe presents a great post about believing in your ability to have a career despite chronic illness, I Think I Can, I Think I Can, posted at Working with Chronic Illness.

Jennifer Dubowsky presents Acupuncture Helps Relieve Migraine Pain posted at Acupuncture Blog Chicago.

Scientific Living presents Drug Company Hypnotizes Viewers at the Scientific Living blog.

Submit your blog post to the September 2009 edition of the Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival using our carnival submission form or by e-mailing your submissions to me directly. The theme will be "Evaluating treatments, medications & procedures - how to gather information & make decisions." Entries are due by midnight on Friday, September 11, and the carnival will be posted right here at Somebody Heal Me on Monday, September 14.

Past posts and more information about the carnival can be found on our Headache Blog Carnival information page.

Technorati Tags: headache and migraine disease blog carnival, carnival, depression, migraines, chronic illness, health, somebody heal me

Subscribe to the Somebody Heal Me feed:
Subscribe in a reader or subscribe by e-mail.

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.