Giveaway Time! LATHER Planting Seeds Gift Set Supporting the NHF

LATHER will donate $5 from every sale of the LATHER Planting Seeds Gift Set to the National Headache Foundation for headache awareness, research and outreach.

LATHER will give one lucky Somebody Heal Me reader the LATHER Planting Seeds Gift Set. For more information about the giveaway, please visit:

LATHER Giveaway: Planting Seeds Gift Set

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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.

Sunday's Managing Life with Migraine Teleconference Featuring Dr. Elizabeth Loder

Megan Oltman of Free My Brain From Migraine Pain hosts a free monthly teleconference on the last Sunday of every month on topics of unique interest to migraine sufferers.

Managing Life with Migraine Teleconference Series

The next teleconference will be this Sunday, October 25, with Dr. Elizabeth Loder of Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston. Megan and Dr. Loder will talk about new advances in migraine treatment.

To participate in the teleconference you need to sign up in advance on Megan's website and dial in to the call at the scheduled time on Sunday. If you end up not being able to call in for a particular teleconference you can access an archive of the call on the Free My Brain From Migraine Pain website. You can also access previous teleconferences on the website, too.

Megan offers other great services for migraineurs, too, such as a coaching group. Please check her website for more information about this and other opportunities.

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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.

How Migraineurs Are Affected By Hangovers

At first blush studying the impact of hangovers on migraineurs might seem frivolous and like a waste of resources. But as you'll learn by reading Teri Robert's excellent article about the study, it is actually teaches us important information about migraines and how they may or may not be influenced by certain factors such as dehydration.

Why Hangovers May Be Worse for Migraine Sufferers

This observation provides insight in to the effects of alcohol on trigeminal pain. This is the first demonstration of an inducible headache in a rat model that uses a trigger that also induces headaches in the humans. Future directions include examining the cellular mechanism behind this phenomenon.

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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.

Depression & Anxiety Less Prevalent Among People Living in Natural Settings

A study of Dutch people published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health established that people who live near natural settings have less complaints of depression and anxiety (and other diseases) than people living in urban settings.

Green Space Helps Reduce Depression and Anxiety

The study's authors said better air quality and greater opportunities for relaxation, socializing and exercising may be responsible for this phenomenon. Other diseases positively influenced by living nearer to nature included cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, respiratory disease, neurological disease, digestive disease and other miscellaneous complaints.

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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.

Patients for a Moment Blog Carnival: Tenth Edition

The new edition of the Patients for a Moment blog carnival is posted at Duncan Cross's blog. This patient-centric blog carnival features tons of thought-provoking content, including posts on hospitalization, how employers handle employees with chronic illnesses and a patient's compelling description of a pain flare, to name a few.

Patients for a Moment: Tenth Edition

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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.

Found: 'Memo to Me' Free E-Mail Reminders

Migraine brain strikes all of us. You knew you had an appointment and completely remember scheduling it, but somehow when D-Day rolls around you miss it and don't realize until you get that embarrassing, "Where were you?!" phone call. Knowing this is a nearly universal problem at some time or another for migraineurs, we must develop strategies for triggering our faulty brains to remember these important events. One free tool I highly recommend is called Memo to Me.

Memo to Me

Using the Memo to Me web-based program you set up reminders to yourself using a highly customizable set of options. You can set a one-time reminder, a daily, weekly or monthly reminder or a reminder that repeats every two, three, four, etc. weeks. Reminders are e-mailed to you leading up to the event at a rate and frequency of your choosing. I often like to remind myself at least a full day before an event and then again two hours before. It really does help.

What strategies do you guys use to make sure you don't accidentally forget important events and appointments?

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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.

Abdominal Migraine in Children Underrecognized

Abdominal migraine is underrecognized in children in the United States, according to a study presented at the International Headache Congress last month. These children receive inadequate treatment for the condition because their doctors are not sure how to approach their symptoms.

US Clinicians Underrecognize Abdominal Migraine in Children

Researchers said up to 15% of children with recurrent gastrointestinal issues could be experiencing abdominal migraine. Since the symptoms are not recognized as being attributable to abdominal migraine these children do not receive adequate treatment and are more likely to experience disability.

Abdominal migraine is characterized by abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. It most often occurs in children, especially children aged 5-9, but can also occur in adults. People who experience abdominal migraine as children usually go on to experience migraine attacks as adults. Many children with abdominal migraine have at least one parent who also has migraines.

Once children are identified as experiencing abdominal migraine they can be given any of a variety of migraine treatment medications to help with their symptoms. This allows the children to become less disabled by their symptoms. Researchers said it might make more sense to refer children with abdominal migraine to pediatric neurologists rather than to gastroenterologists because of their experience with migraine disorders.

To learn more about abdominal migraine, please refer to Teri Robert's article on the subject at My Migraine Connection: Abdominal Migraine.

Sources:
US Clinicians Underrecognize Abdominal Migraine in Children
Abdominal Migraine

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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.

Advice on Finding & Utilizing Patient Advocates

Check out this great New York Times article from last month on how having a patient advocate can help you and how to find the right one. Good stuff here.

After a Diagnosis, Someone to Help Point the Way

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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.

Arkansas Football Player Who Suffered Stroke Had History of Migraines

The news about a collegiate student athlete suffering a stroke thought to be related to a history of migraine attacks is scary stuff for those of us living with this disease. Arkansas football player Joe Adams suffered what his coach called a "mild stroke" sometime last week after a series of unrelenting headaches. According to news reports the stroke was discovered when he was given an MRI at the team's training facility.

If you're not a rabid college football fan like me, and I think it's safe to assume some of your aren't, you may not have heard about Joe's situation. We don't know many details about what happened in this specific case, but we do know that a migraine lasting longer than 72 hours puts migraineurs at increased risk for stroke. This is called status migraine or status migrainous. If you ever experience a migraine that goes past this point, please do not underestimate the importance of asking your physician to intervene to break the cycle. For more information on this topic, I highly recommend Teri Robert's article: What is Status Migrainous?

News reports indicate Joe is doing very well. I hope this continues for him and that he doesn't suffer any lasting effects from this situation. Any good fan knows how much players love the game, so I hope he might be able to return to the field this season, too.

Sources:
Headaches Lead to Adams' Stroke
Adams Suffered 'Mild Stroke'

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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.

Marrying for Health Insurance

I loved this Newsweek column about a woman whose boyfriend timed his marriage proposal to coincide with her need for health insurance after her MS diagnosis because I can easily relate to their situation.

On Bended Knee, With a Very Low Copay
My boyfriend's proposal was more about my need for health care than our shared romance.

My husband and I decided to get married when we did because we knew I would no longer be on my parents' health insurance once I turned 25. At that time I still had a little more than a semester of law school and a summer studying for the bar before I would be able to start working and get health insurance through an employer. I certainly wouldn't suggest anyone get married just to get health insurance unless there was a life threatening or otherwise serious illness involved, but the timing worked well for us and relieved a major potential stressor from my life. Unfortunately we're back at the point where I have to rely on him for my health benefits because I'm unable to work and not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare (yet). The situation has kept him at a crappy second job, but I feel very lucky he's willing to do this for 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.

Starting Behavioral Pain Management

I started the six week behavioral pain management program at The Lemons Center yesterday. The program is every weekday morning for six weeks and focuses on physical therapy and coping skills to help manage a life with chronic pain. I can already tell this is going to be a great fit for me. I definitely need the help with physical rehabilitation to be able to regain energy and stamina, and the psychological content is ideal. It is readily apparent that everyone who works at the clinic "gets" chronic pain. They don't challenge you on your perception of the pain you are experiencing. They understand that things like stress make chronic pain harder to cope with, but do not cause the pain. And everyone is so incredibly kind. As I learn new information and coping skills I will do my best to pass that along to all of you.

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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.

Alternative Therapies for Migraine: October 09 Headache Blog Carnival

Welcome to the October 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.

The theme of the October carnival is Alternative therapies - your experiences (good or bad), thoughts about trying them or any other take on the subject.

Please keep reading for the October 2009 collection of posts.

MaxJerz presents Complementary vs Alternative Medicine posted at Rhymes with Migraine.

Kellie presents Stop and Smell the Roses...or the Eucalyptus posted at Women's Life Link.

Teri Robert presents Aromatherapy for Migraine posted at My Migraine Connection.

Rosalind Joffe presents Working With Impairment Without Disability Can Be Possible posted at Working with Chronic Illness.

James Cottrill presents Deeper Into Migraine, Glucose and Insulin posted at Headache and Migraine News.

Submit your blog post to the November 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 "Strategies for identifying & minimizing migraine triggers." Entries are due by midnight on Friday, November 6, and the carnival will be posted right here at Somebody Heal Me on Monday, November 9.

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

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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.

Comparing Health Care Proposals

The New York Times Prescriptions blog wrote Wednesday about a tool developed by the Kaiser Family Foundation for comparing all 12 (yes, 12!) of the major health reform proposals being considered by Congress. If you're like most of the rest of us and feeling confused about which bill contains a particular provision despite paying close attention to the news, give this tool a go and see if it helps you make heads or tails of what is being discussed.

Side-by-Side Comparison of the Major Health Care Proposals

Source:
Comparing the Bills

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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: October 2009 Headache Blog Carnival

Submissions for the October 2009 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival are due by midnight (the end of the day) today, Friday, October 9. Posts may be submitted through the form on the carnival website or directly to me by e-mail.

The theme is "Alternative therapies - your experiences (good or bad), thoughts about trying them or any other take on the subject."

The October carnival will be posted on Monday, October 12th right here at Somebody Heal Me.

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

Technorati Tags: headache & migraine blog carnival, blog carnival, 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.

Driving & Migraines: Real Issue Leads to Unexpected Backlash

Blogger, migraine management coach, lawyer and migrainuer Megan Oltman of Free My Brain from Migraine Pain recently wrote an excellent, well researched article for My Migraine Connection on the possible legal implications of driving when you have a migraine. This was a follow up to her previous article about migraines and driving, which focused on driving after you have taken medication for a migraine (Migraines & Driving Don't Mix). Unfortunately the reaction to her work has not been as positive as I would have expected given the quality of the information and the importance of the topic.

Migraines and Our Driver's License

If you read the article, you'll see it came about because of an e-mail Megan received from a migraineur who had her driving privileges reviewed when her state's motor vehicles department learned about her severe migraines. Despite the fact this migraineur emphasized she never has and never will drive with a migraine, leaving no reason to worry about her being a danger on the road, she was forced to submit medical documentation and retake her driving examination.

I only know one other person in real life who has migraines as bad and frequent as I do and that person did lose her driver's license for a time because of her migraines. I hope it's clear this isn't just a speculative, stir things up issue. It is a real concern for migraineurs and something to think about now rather than after something happens and you lose your driver's license.

We have to make good choices or our ability to make those choices for ourselves may be taken away from us in the future. I think we're all well aware that driving after taking a strong pain medication or muscle relaxer is not a safe thing to do and avoid it accordingly. However, how many of us have ever considered whether we may be putting ourselves at risk of losing our driver's licenses simply by driving with a migraine? If we hadn't Megan's article gives us the information we need to realize this is a possible concern and the motivation to work on alternate strategies before we need them.

My husband is the only person I can ask to give me a ride in my town, but he works an hour away from home 5 or 6 days a week. I can take the bus if I have to, but I prefer not to because walking to the stops when I have a migraine is excruciating. I ordinarily take a cab. I even have the phone numbers of a couple of cab companies on speed dial on my cell phone so I can easily reach them when I need them. I also have a brochure listing the routes and schedules for the bus so I can easily find the information I need as an infrequent rider. It's also a good idea to keep cash on hand for these times whether you'll take the bus or a cab.

Sources:
Migraines & Driving & Driving Migraineurs Crazy
Migraines & Driving Don't Mix
Migraines and Our Driver's License

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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 Type C Personality: Another Way to Blame the Victim?

I don't know about you but I just love it when people come up with strange new theories for why sick people are to blame for their conditions.

The Type C Personality: Are You Susceptible to Illness?

Michael Jawer and Marc Micozzi wrote a book called The Spiritual Anatomy of Emotion: How Feelings Link the Brain, the Body, and the Sixth Sense, which apparently posits the idea that people who hold their feelings in and don't assert themselves (Type C personalities) are more likely to experience a whole variety of illnesses and diseases, especially those caused by immune system dysfunction. I especially appreciate that they head right for migraines as a prime example of their wonderful theory. How typical. Take a misunderstood neurological condition and find a way to blame our emotions for it. The notion is almost older than time and actually reminds me of the so-called migraine personality, an idea that migraineurs tend to have certain personality characteristics that make them more likely to have migraines. Too bad the energy it takes to dream up new ways to blame people for their genetic predispositions couldn't be put to work helping make life better for people living with these diseases.

I can only speak for myself, of course, but my emotional, mental and spiritual health are truly better than ever, while my physical health keeps getting worse and worse. I know I'm only one person, but I've encountered a lot of people who have had experiences similar to mine, so I know I'm not a total fluke. I'd like to say I'm willing to read the book to learn more about they have to say, but I'm probably better off ignoring the kind of messages that tend to bring me down. There is so much good reading out there about the mind and body that doesn't blame us for our situations. I'd rather use my energy on that and build up my spiritual reserves.

Sources:
The Spiritual Anatomy of Emotion Website
The Type C Personality: Are You Susceptible to Illness?

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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.

Back to School Pain Blog Carnival Posted

The Back to School edition of the Pain Blog Carnival is posted at the How to Cope with Pain blog. Please check out the great posts when you have a chance.

September 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.

Reminder: October 2009 Headache Blog Carnival

Submissions for the October 2009 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival are due by midnight (the end of the day) on Friday, October 9. Posts may be submitted through the form on the carnival website or directly to me by e-mail.

The theme is "Alternative therapies - your experiences (good or bad), thoughts about trying them or any other take on the subject."

The October carnival will be posted on Monday, October 12th right here at Somebody Heal Me.

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

Please spread the word to any migraine or headache bloggers you know and consider posting an announcement to your own blog if you have one.

Technorati Tags: headache & migraine blog carnival, blog carnival, 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.