Aquaphor Giveaway: Come Enter

Thanks to the fabulous people at Aquaphor I'm giving away two sets of Aquaphor products worth $33 each just in time for winter. To enter or for more information visit this link:

Awesome Aquaphor Giveaway

Good luck and tell your friends!

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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.

AHDA Action Alert: Contact Your Rep

Please contact your Congressional representative ASAP to support adding neurologists, our main specialists, to the list of doctors receiving incentives under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. All you have to do is follow this link and send the form letter, which you can customize, to your representative. Easy peasy and so important.

Access to Headache Care is Limited: Contact Your US Representative Now

Pass it along to your friends and family members, too.

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.

Migraines & Hyperexcitable Brains

Migraine brains are more active and less able to regulate themselves according to Dr. Peter Goadsby, director of the University of California - San Francisco Headache Center, who spoke recently at the American Neurological Association meeting. Researchers have always wondered why migraine brains were so sensitive and this information helps them understand more about what happens in the brain that causes the reactions experienced by migraine patients.

Migraines May be Explained by Hyperexcitability of Brain Networks

Those of us who have experienced migraine attacks intuitively understand this finding. It reflects what we tend to experience during an attack: sensitivity to some or all of our senses, nausea, dizziness, pain, etc. Goadsby said researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at the brains of 21 migraine patients and 21 non-migraine patients of the same age and sex. The goal was to see whether the brain itself was the center of what happens in a migraine attack. fMRI allows doctors to study the way a patient's brain is working instead of capturing the brain at a single moment in time.

This is an extremely important finding because it confirms that migraine is not primarily a vascular disease. Rather, it is a neurological disease like the migraine community has been saying for the past few years.

The findings from this study will help researchers study the effectiveness of existing prevention medications and also help find new directions in medication research. The finding provides further support for the idea that the drug Namenda (mementine HCL) might be effective as a migraine preventive. It is currently FDA approved for Alzheimer's Disease patients, but doctors have had some luck using it as a migraine preventive. It is thought the drug might work on the hypersensitivity of the migraine brain.

You may recall that I took Namenda for a time to see if it would be an effective migraine preventive for me. It was not, but that certainly doesn't say anything about whether it might help other patients.

Sources:
Migraines May be Explained by Hyperexcitability of Brain Networks
Functional MRI - Brain


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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.

September 28: Recommended Reading

Good articles from the past week.

Migraine 'Cause' Identified as Genetic Defect - BBC

Migraines May Be Explained by Excitability of Brain Networks - Medscape Medical News

The Healing Power of Mindfulness - The Huffington Post

Percy Harvin Gets Another Migraine, Not on Field as Vikings Resume Practice - ESPN

Chronic Babe Blog Carnival #13: How Do You Handle a Crisis? - ChronicBabe Blog

Allergan's Botox Fine: Good Marketing? - CNN / Money


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.

After Migraine Diagnosis: 5 Things You Should Do

If you've recently been diagnosed with migraine disease you're probably wondering what few things you should focus on while you're starting to sift through volumes of information about coping with and preventing migraines and other headaches. Keep reading for my five essential steps.

1. Get a recommendation for an excellent headache specialist.

When you're new to the process of getting treatment for your migraines you might make the mistake of thinking any neurologist can help you. Unfortunately, this is simply not the case. Some are woefully uninformed about treating migraines, while others don't want to treat headache patients but don't have the guts to tell you that. The worst offenders encompass both traits.

The good news is that there are wonderful specialists spread all across the U.S. who are both brilliant and compassionate. It just takes a little research to find the right ones.

Here is a link to a list of patient recommended specialists compiled by migraine advocate Teri Robert: Patient Recommended Migraine & Headache Specialists.

I also suggest spending some time on one of these migraine forums to get other recommendations for good specialists:

My Migraine Connection Forums
Migraines Live Journal Community
Daily Migraine Live Journal Community
Chronic Babe: Migraineurs

 
2. Build a support system.

Your friends and family probably won't understand the true nature of migraines (i.e. that migraine is a neurological disease, not just a bad headache) and will not know the full impact of the disease on your life. You must do your best to share what you learn about your condition with them and tell them what they can do to help you. Be as specific as you can so there is less room for misunderstanding.

Becoming part of the online community of migraine patients is a wonderful way to feel less isolated. Other migraineurs have had similar experiences and can easily relate to what you're going through. You can connect on the aforementioned message boards, blogs, Facebook and Twitter. If you go to my Facebook fan page you'll find that I've linked to many pages of other migraine blogs and communities. I also follow many other migraineurs on Twitter and have all of them in a list called migrainista. Finally, check out the my links page for a list of migraine blogs and communities.

I don't say this to insinuate you're unstable or that mental illness is the cause of your migraines, but I also recommend you find a good therapist. Speaking from my experience, the longer your life is impacted by migraines, the more you need the skills of a professional at your disposal to help you cope with all the upheaval in your life.


3. Familiarize yourself with the AHS Headache Hygiene guidelines.

The American Headache Society (AHS) Headache Hygiene guidelines are a list of seven important good practices for migraineurs. They're all grounded in common sense and provide a good place to start making simple lifestyle changes.

AHS on 'Headache Hygiene'


4. Find or continue to focus on a relaxing, enjoyable hobby.

Preferably your hobby would be something low key that you can do just about any time, but the important thing is to make a commitment to yourself to keep doing some of the things that make you, well, you.

For me it has been blogging, reading and knitting. I can't usually do any of these when I'm feeling incredibly awful, but on an average day I can engage in these activities and feel a bit more like myself. I know knitting is stressful for some people, but I find it very calming. It is important that I focus on proper posture so I don't make my pain worse, but nothing beats the satisfaction of making a real finished object.


5. Explore mindfulness and relaxation.

One of the best ways to cope with pain is by developing meditation and relaxation skills. Contrary to popular belief these are not religiously-based techniques that might interfere with your own belief system. Meditation is simply a way of calming the mind and being present in this moment rather than focusing on the past or the future. This is important because when you are experiencing the often excruciating pain of a migraine attack it is natural for your mind to wonder if the pain will ever go away and whether you'll be able to take it if it doesn't. This is not helpful and increases your suffering. We may have to live with pain, but suffering is optional.


As an additional ongoing step these are some books I highly recommend you read as you're able to do so:

• Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You...That You Need to Know by Teri Robert

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

• Know Your Rights: A Handbook for Patients with Chronic Illness by Jennifer Jaff

• The Body Broken by Lynne Greenberg

• Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness by Jon Kabat-Zinn

• Break Through Pain: A Step-by-Step Mindfulness Meditation Program for Transforming Chronic and Acute Pain by Shinzen Young

• Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion by Pema Chodron

• How to be Sick: A Buddhist-Inspired Guide for the Chronically Ill and Their Caregivers by Toni Bernhard

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

• You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes: How to Fix Them to Get the Healthcare You Deserve by Trisha Torrey

Do you have other important tips to share? Are you a recently diagnosed patient with questions? Please post them in the comments.

This post is my September entry in the Health Activist Blog Carnival. If you're interested in participating you can read all about here: http://blog.wegohealth.com/2010/09/new-health-activist-blog-carnival-back.htm.


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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.

Zofran Inequities: Migraineurs Use It & Need It Too

Why will my insurance only pay for Zofran for pregnant women?

Phenergan and Reglan do not work for me. Additionally, Reglan gives me the creepy crawlies and jimmy legs. Furthermore, Zofran is a godsend for my nausea and vomiting. It doesn't always do the trick, but more than half the time it does. Those odds are important considering how painful it is to throw up when you have a migraine and how unpleasant throwing up is in its own right.

I just can't understand how morning sickness is really any different than the nausea and vomiting associated with migraines. These symptoms are recognized as some of the most common for people who get migraines. Why in the world should they make it impossible for someone who has been diagnosed with the condition to get the medication that helps? This is especially confusing considering that the price of Zofran has dropped dramatically in the last few months. Since I pay for it out of pocket I know that it costs about $40 for 60 pills. It makes absolutely no sense.


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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.

September 21: Recommended Reading

Check out these links to great articles I've come across recently. I'm coming off a great weekend of football in which both my college (K-State beat Iowa State) and NFL (Chiefs beat Browns) teams won and an oral surgery that hurt much less than expected. Can't beat that! How have you been? Hope you have been as well as possible.


Study Suggests Occipital Nerve Stimulation Can Ease Migraine Pain - Los Angeles Times

IV Aspirin May Help in Migraine Medication Withdrawal - MedPage Today

All Pain is Not the Same: Psychologist Discusses Gender Differences in Chronic Pain - American Psychological Association

Take Charge of Your Illness with These 5 Steps - New Life Christian Coaching

5 Things You Can Do to Support Employees with Chronic Illness - Working with Chronic Illness

Mindfulness for Dummies - PsychCentral

3 Tips for Picking a Slightly Better Doctor - NPR

Healthy Tech: E-prescribing Reduces Prescription Errors - Just Means

Photo courtesy of Medtronic, manufacturer of an occipital nerve stimulation device.

Do you have a suggestion for an upcoming edition of Recommended Reading? Would you like me to consider your article? Please shoot me an e-mail.


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.

Oral Surgery: Two Thumbs Down

Today I'm having oral surgery to have six teeth removed: four regular teeth in the back of my mouth and two wisdom teeth that never came in. Needless to say, I'm freaked out about it. I'll be completely under anesthesia and since Cliff doesn't work on Mondays he won't have to take off work to come with me and be around the rest of the day. I probably won't be around much today and tomorrow, but it really depends on how I feel. I could use your good thoughts that everything goes as planned. Thanks!

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.

5 Ways to Cope in Times of Crisis

The upcoming Chronic Babe carnival is on the topic of how you handle a crisis. This list comprises the things I've learned about how to cope when life throws you a curve ball. As I've matured and had to learn how to deal with changes brought about by chronic illness, it has become easier and easier to cope with things I never thought I could handle.

(1) Breathe - By focusing on breathing I can keep myself in the moment and stop my brain from running wild with all the "what ifs". It's always the best place to start when something goes wrong.

(2) Focus on being rational and maintaining perspective - It's in my nature to start flipping out during a crisis. It takes a concerted effort to keep myself thinking rationally. I do my best to keep reminding myself that I can handle whatever has been thrown my way and that freaking out does nothing but make me upset. The older I get the easier I find it to do this. I used to completely lose it and go into hysterical crying with any crisis. I still do that sometimes, but much less often.

(3) Lean on family and friends - In addition to my husband, parents and closest friends, I'm part of a fantastic, close knit message board of women who provide the most amazing support both day to day and in a crisis. It's like our own little Internet family. I don't know what I would do without them. The online migraine and chronic illness community is an incredible source of support, too. Discussing your situation with people who truly understand because they are living the same thing is amazing. Turning to other people also often helps me discover options and solutions I would never have thought of on my own.

(4) Ask for help - This is hard for me. I don't like to need to ask for help. I want to be independent. But when push comes to shove sometimes it would be downright stupid to suffer silently when someone who loves you could do something to make things easier for you. Plus, not everyone is lucky enough to have a supportive family or group of friends. Since I do I should let them help me. After all, they want to.

(5) Be kind to myself - I have a scary tendency to chastise myself for any part I think I might have had in bringing about a crisis. For instance, if I'd only tried harder I wouldn't have lost my job. Never mind that I was dealing with three years of constant migraines when I quit working. It's much easier to deal with a crisis if I can have compassion toward myself and remember that most crises are just a fluke rather than something I deserve for being a bad person.

Coping with a crisis is and probably always will be hard. But with a better idea of what helps me push through I have more confidence in my ability to survive just about anything.


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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 & iPhone Apps: Reviews & Recommendations

Some are free, others are not, but there are some great, off the beaten path apps on this list that are well worth downloading to your iPhone.

(1) iHeadache - free version (with ads) - This app isn't bad, but I did find some features less than ideal. You're limited to their list of symptoms, which may not include all of your symptoms. It didn't include all of mine, such as dizziness, overheating and sensitivity to touch and smell. It also has a set list of possible triggers. It covers most of the most popular triggers, but if your migraine was triggered by tomatoes, soy or nuts, for example, there is no way to make note of this. One feature I love is that the app allows you to put in the list of all the medications you take for treatment so you can easily choose from that list in recording what you used to treat that particular attack.

(2) Headache Relief Diary - free - This app is great for logging acute migraine episodes and including all the pertinent information. It is my favorite of the headache & migraine apps I've come across so far. It's highly flexible. Like the iHeadache app it has a set list of symptoms, but it also has an "other" option, which allows you to type in symptoms that aren't listed. I also like that it allows you to record the level of effectiveness and side effects of treatment medications you took for your attack. Finally the app gives you a place to record the daily medications you take. It is nice to have this information in the same place as the other information you record.

(3) iManage Migraine - free - I don't want to be mean, but I find this application cheesy and rather juvenile. It's designed to be like a town square with each street representing a different migraine-related topic, i.e. Management Lane, Treatment Alley, Migraine Street, etc. It really annoys me, thus I cannot ever imagine using it. If it sounds like something you might like feel free to give it a try and let me know what you think. It is offered by the pharmaceutical company Merck, but I promise my dislike has nothing to do with this association. There are some pharmaceutical company websites for patients that do a very nice job of presenting relevant information in a respectful way. Unfortunately this app doesn't.

(3) Epocrates - free - This app is an extremely useful resource for any patient. It provides photos of pills for easy identification, lists of drug interactions and medical news with expert commentary. Having this with you at the doctor or pharmacy puts a ton of relevant information into the palm of your hand. There are many times it would be useful at home, too. I mean, who has a Physician's Desk Reference around? With this app there is no need.

(4) Medical Encyclopedia - free - This fantastic app provides lists of symptoms, diseases, surgeries, tests, etc. to allow you to look up a particular topic and learn more about it wherever you are. When a doctor is throwing out a term you don't quite understand you can look it up here and get the information you need as a lay person.

(5) Chronic Pain Tracker - lite version is free - This is the perfect app for people living with chronic pain. Rather than limiting you to entering acute migraine or pain episodes it assumes you have pain every day or almost every day and lets you enter information accordingly. I'm a big fan of this one. I'm using the lite version and finding it completely adequate. Definitely start with the lite version before you pay for it and see if it suits your needs.

(6) Health Through Breath: Pranayama - $4.99 - This is a really cool meditation app that would be awesome to have on your iPhone when you are in pain and need to breathe and practice mindfulness. I highly recommend it.


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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.

Undertreatment of Pain at Blogher.com

I have a post up on Blogher.com: Addressing the Epidemic of Undertreated Pain. Go give it a read!


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.

Winners: All in My Head Book Giveaway

Thank you to all of you who entered the All in My Head book giveaway. We had 45 entries. I used random.org to pick eight numbers between 1 and 45. These are the eight winners:

(1) Lori Anderson (entry #17)
(2) Angela Curtiss (entry #23)
(3) NTE (bbckprl@gmail.com) (entry #19)
(4) Betsy Blondin (entry #27)
(5) Aik (aikychien@yahoo.com) (entry #40)
(6) Anna (oatsnboatsblog@gmail.com) (entry #22)
(7) Sara (@sara408) (entry #31)
(8) Laurie Epting (entry #8)

Laurie, can you please e-mail me or tweet me with a way to contact you? NTE/bbckprl@gmail.com, I have not been able to get an email to go through to this email address. Can you contact me? I have an e-mail address or Twitter handle for everyone else, so I will contact you individually to get your mailing information.

I'll be doing more giveaways of books and other items in the future, so please stay tuned.

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.

Somebody Heal Me Calendar

To make it easier for my awesome readers to keep track of our recurring events (mainly the Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival and Twitter Migraine Chat) I have started public calendars that anyone can follow or reference at any time. You can follow the Somebody Heal Me calendar, which is a list of events I think will be of interest to my readers, (2) the Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival calendar, which gives you all the relevant details of deadlines & themes, and/or (3) the Twitter Migraine Chat calendar, which also gives you dates, times and themes.

Another important announcement is that I've decided to scale the Twitter Migraine Chat back to once a month rather than weekly because I think the weekly schedule was probably a little too burdensome for all of us. We'll chat each second Thursday of the month at 8 pm CT from now on.



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.

Sept 2010 Headache & Migraine Carnival: Back to School

Welcome to the September 2010 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 September carnival is "Students and headache disorders - How have migraines & headaches affected your schooling? How has a headache disorder affected your school age child? How did you cope with balancing school and headaches or migraines?" 

I've often reflected on the timing of my increase in migraine attacks and felt lucky I was able to completely finish my schooling before they became disabling.  I have had migraines since I was about six years old, but they were manageable until I found myself increasingly impacted by them in the final semester of law school. I was able to graduate, study for and pass the bar exam and work in my dream job for about three years before migraine disease took that away from me. Obviously I wish I could still do what I loved so much and I miss it in many ways, but this life is pretty okay, too. Some people never get to achieve the dreams I did because of the timing of their illnesses and symptoms. I truly do feel lucky.

I have a few tips to share of things that helped me when migraines took me out of my school/study routine:

(1) Be upfront. I had good results when I confided in professors that I was having a slow day because of a migraine attack. This was a key in smaller classes where you could expect to be called on and asked to intelligently, eloquently respond every single session. Sometimes that isn't possible when you have a migraine.

(2) Be the kind of classmate others will help. Because I'd cultivated good relationships with classmates and expressed a willingness to help them out with notes and outlines, many of them were willing to do the same for me in return. It helped a lot when I had to miss class. Being a constant taker or competitive beast is not a good way to cultivate these relationships and will probably bite you in the end. 

(3) Work your ass off, but work smart. Bottom line, having more migraines left me less time for messing around. I had to put every moment to good use to make up for time spent incapacitated. So this required not only discipline, but a good sense of how best to spend my time to get as much as possible done. Having good study skills and knowing the best way to approach your study of a particular subject is essential. It's not just about how much time you put in.

Please read on for this month's collection of posts.

Kathy offered Losing Points on My IQ about finding herself unable to learn the way she once could posted at TMJ and Me. 

Jamie submitted Pursuing a Degree with Migraine Agony posted at Chronic Migraine Warrior. She shares helpful suggestions for others trying to go to college while dealing with migraines. 

Teri Robert shared Back to School with Headaches and Migraines detailing all the things you need to consider and plan for if your child has migraines from Putting Our Heads Together. 

James Cottrill submitted Found: Genetic Link to 'Basic' Migraine posted at Headache & Migraine News. His post offers some context about the exciting new research finding we've all been hearing so much about.

Thank you all for being part of the carnival!

By the way, the New York Times had a nice article about children, going back to school and migraines a few weeks ago: Migraines in Children are Often Overlooked.

Submit your blog post to the October 2010 edition of the Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival using our carnival submission form or by e-mailing your submissions to me by e-mail. The theme will be "How do your hobbies help you cope with your headache disorder?" Submissions are due by midnight on Friday, October 8. The October carnival will be published right here at Somebody Heal Me on Monday, October 11.


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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.

Percy Harvin's Migraines Respond to Sleep Apnea Treatment

It sounds like NFL Wide Receiver Percy Harvin (Minnesota Vikings) is one of the luckier chronic migraine patients out there. He was actually able to identify a specific reason for his drastically increased number of migraine attacks (sleep apnea) and implement a treatment that seems to be helping (CPAP). He is performing solidly and confidently and taking contact without any issues.

I know a lot of people are going to think, "Well of course they found the issue for him. He had access to the best of the best in medicine." It's true, he did. But many of us out here living with chronic migraines have had access to the same level of knowledge. Sometimes at the end of a very long, hard fought journey to find good doctors with headache expertise, but still, we've looked at our bodies and these migraine attacks from every possible angle medicine can remotely suggest. Nothing has made a significant difference. We will have to keep looking. Something as relatively simple as a sleep study isn't going to lead to our big answer. Anybody want to start placing bets on how many times we'll be sent the link to this news by a well meaning acquaintance? (Kidding, I swear. Have any of you already had this happen? Do tell!)

What has been lost in these headlines is that Harvin said his heart stopped beating for 10 seconds in the hospital the day he collapsed at practice. Was this a side effect of his migraine prevention medication? A reaction from a treatment medication? Totally unrelated to medication? We don't know. We just know he shares that common bond of living through the bizarre things we deal with as people with chronic illnesses. His heart stopped beating. Scary stuff and a reminder of how serious these medications we are so used to dealing with can be for a small number of people using them.

Of course, it is incorrect and dare I say naive for the media to proclaim Harvin cured. Chances are he will rarely be bothered by a migraine attack for the rest of his life. But the odds tell us he may have an attack once in a while. That's how the migraine brain works. I know we harp on it, but it is a big point of misunderstanding. Furthermore, the so-called "cure" in question is an expensive, burdensome set up that involves wearing a mask to sleep every single night for the rest of his life. Not exactly a dream come true for a a young, handsome, eligible twenty-something, am I right? Though welcome, I'm sure, it will be a daily reminder of his fight against this disease.

To read about sleep apnea, including symptoms, diagnosis and treatments, please visit:  Sleep Apnea: National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute.

Sources:
Percy Harvin Says His Heart Stopped Beating
Percy Harvin Says Sleep Apnea Cause Migraines
Chronic Daily Headaches and Snoring
Vikings WR Harvin's Heart Stopped Beating


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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.

World Suicide Prevention Day

Suicide is a significant issue for all people, everywhere. But it's an especially important topic to discuss in the pain community. Living with severe and unrelenting pain and the depression that often accompanies it can lead to a downward spiral we're powerless to stop ourselves. We need each other for support and to help us get our feet back under us when our situations threaten to become too much.

In light of this, I want you to know that today is World Suicide Prevention Day. The theme Take 5 to Save Lives for the 2010 campaign stands for 5 simple points for increasing suicide risk awareness.

(1) Learn the warning signs of suicide risk: Warning Signs for Suicide.

(2) Join the movement to save lives by using your Facebook status and Twitter account to spread this message. You can also join the virtual event on Facebook: World Suicide Prevention Day Event.

(3) Spread the word. Commit to telling at least 5 people what you have learned today.

(4) Support a friend. If you know someone who is struggling (online or offline) extend a helping hand. You have the power to save a life.

(5) Reach out for help. If you or a friend have concerns call the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for help.


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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: Sept 2010 Headache Blog Carnival

Please don't forget today is the last day for submissions to the September 2010 Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival.

Submit your blog article using our carnival submission form or by e-mailing your submissions directly to me. The theme is: "Students and headache disorders - How have migraines & headaches affected your schooling? How has a headache disorder affected your school age child? How did you cope with balancing school and headaches or migraines?"

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

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

Please let me know if you are interested in hosting a future edition. Contact me any time with questions, suggestions or ideas for themes. I'm always looking for help with 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.

Book Giveaway Last Chance

Today is the last day to enter to win a copy of Paula Kamen's fantastic memoir All in My Head. Although we've had a good number of entries, Paula has made it possible for me to give away eight copies of her book, so your odds of winning one are excellent.

Book Giveaway: All in My Head

The contest ends on tonight at midnight CT. Please don't forget to leave me a way to contact you in your comment(s).


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.

Invisible Illness Week 2010: Each One Reach One

Next week is the 2010 edition of the annual Invisible Illness Week virtual/online conference. This conference is for people living with chronic invisible illnesses and designed specifically to meet the needs of our audience by bringing seminars on important topics right to our computers. It's a great way to learn about resources, get support and feel good about who we are and what we have to offer the world.


Here are the things you should do before Monday to support this great event:

• Sign up for email updates at Invisible Illness Week so you can get updates and a great ebook with ideas for living a great life despite your chronic illness: Invisible Illness Week.

• Register to attend the virtual event: Invisible Illness Week: Register. 

• Sign up to attend the event at the Facebook page (sounds redundant, but helps spread the word): Invisible Illness Week 2010 Facebook Event Page.

• Follow Invisible Illness Week on Twitter: @invisibleillwk & tweet about the conference (use the hashtag #iiwk10).

• Tell other people about what your life is like by doing the 30 things meme: 30 Things About My Invisible Illness You May Not Know. Post it on your blog or Facebook page or anywhere you can reach people to create awareness. You can read mine from last year here: 30 Things You May Not Know About My Invisible Illnesses.

• Become a fan of Invisible Illness Week on Facebook: Invisible Illness Week.

• Join the Facebook Group: Invisible Illness Week Facebook Group.

• Add Invisible Illness Week as a friend on MySpace: National Chronic Invisible Illness Week.

Finally, and most importantly, on Monday at 10:30 am Pacific Time (12:30 pm Central Time, 1:30 pm Eastern Time) go to the Blog Talk Radio Invisible Illness Week link to listen to the first seminar: Invisible Illness Week Conferece: Blog Talk Radio. An awesome group of speakers will be participating, so don't miss out! 2010 Invisible Illness Week Speakers.

To learn more about Invisible Illness Week and the founder Lisa Copen, read my interview with her from last year at this time: Interview with Invisible Illness Week Founder Lisa Copen. She's a remarkably generous, kind and spirited person.


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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.

Addressing Epidemic of Pain Undertreatment

We hear a lot about prescription pain killer abuse. Too much as far as I'm concerned. The fixation on pain killer abuse has worsened an already bad problem: undertreatment of pain among chronic pain patients. It's not only a problem because of the misperception among some doctors (not to mention the public at large) that pain really isn't a big deal, but also because harsh legal policies have made doctors fearful of following their instincts in treating their patients' pain.


Mainstream medicine could go a long way toward providing more relief and eliminating much of the undertreatment of pain by providing opportunities for patients to learn about and practice behavioral pain management. At this point it's not an especially well known approach, but with time I hope more doctors will buy in and expose their patients.


Behavioral Pain Management uses cognitive behavioral therapy to address the factors that play a role in chronic pain. Patients learn how to cope with the disease of chronic pain rather than fighting against it. This type of program addresses both the mental and physical aspects of living with chronic pain. Patients learn how to: (1) Manage stress; (2) Use relaxation and mindfulness-based techniques to cope; (3) Respect their limits and find an appropriate level physical activity; and (4) Use proper body mechanics. For some patients medication can be an integral part of this type of program, but unlike with medication alone patients are not limited to just one option for handling their pain.


I will be writing more in depth articles about behavioral pain management-related topics, but here is a list of articles I've previously written about behavioral pain management techniques to get you started:


Pacing: An Important Tool for Coping with Chronic Pain
Pain Tolerance: How Your Behavior Affects Increases or Decreases It
How are Chronic Pain and Acute Pain Different?
Behavioral Pain Management Dashboard
Why You Should Try Mindfulness to Cope with Chronic Pain

Last winter I completed the behavioral pain management program at the Lemons Center for Behavioral Pain Management. This program gave me valuable skills to turn to when I find myself becoming overwhelmed by the strain of unrelenting pain. The difference for me has been striking, and I'm thankful to have had the chance to learn these skills. Earlier this year a local news station did a piece on the center, which you can watch here: Behavioral Pain Management Program Featured on KC News.

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.

September 7: Recommended Reading

I hope all of my American readers had a lovely three-day weekend for Labor Day. Mine was relaxing and fun. A K-State football win didn't hurt, either! Here are some must-read articles I came across in the past week. Enjoy!

Botox Maker Agrees to Pay $600 Million and Pleads Guilty to Misdemeanor - Allergan was investigated by the FDA for the way it marketed Botox for off-label uses such as migraine prevention.

Ten Things You Can Do to Manage Depression - This is a great list of common sense ideas for managing depression.

Pain Relief Sought as a Human Right - Pain experts at the World Congress on Pain in Montreal call for recognition of the burden of chronic pain and the epidemic of undertreatment of pain.

How to Be Sick: An Interview with Toni Bernhard - An interview with my pal Toni Bernhard to coincide with the release of her new book, How to Be Sick: A Buddhist Guide for the Chronically Ill & their Caregivers.

Mental Health Parity Act May Affect Your Benefits

More Empowered Patients Question Doctors' Orders - Although some doctors resent it, many doctors encourage the move toward shared decision making between doctors and patients.

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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.

One Lovely Blog Award

I was thrilled when I received the One Lovely Blog award from Phylor's Blog, a wonderful blog about life with chronic pain. This is how the award works:

- Accept the award and post it on your blog with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

- Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. (if possible)

- Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.


Please make a visit to the blogs I've chosen to pass the award on to. They're all great! 

(1) Chronic Healing 

(2) It's Time to Get Over How Fragile You Are 

(3) War on Headaches 

(4) Migraine-Free Cooking 

(5) No Extended Warranty 

(6) Against the 'Graine 

(7) Dancing with Pain 

(8) Migraine Journey 

(9) Brainless Blogger 

(10) Help for Headaches

(11) Going Down Swinging: An RSD/CPRS Blog 

(12) Graceful Agony 

(13) Shauna's Life in Pain & Other Fun Things 

(14) Redefining "Good" 

(15) Master of Irony


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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.

Reason 1,839 Why My Parents Rock

I'd like to share yet another reason my parents rock. Ever since I heard there would be a one day health track associated with the Blog World / New Media Expo 2010 in Las Vegas I desperately wanted to go. I started brainstorming ways I could go on the smallest budget possible. Perhaps I could fly in Wednesday evening, go to the session on Thursday and fly home late Thursday night. Or even fly in and out on Thursday to save the cost of a hotel room completely.

When I was at their house recently we started talking about it and my parents asked me some general questions. Then my mom said, "Can I go with you?" I was like, "I can't even afford to go!" All of the sudden we were both going and staying for a few days. How awesome is that?! I'm a very, very luck person even when it doesn't always feel that way.

Of course this is something I consider sort of work related even though I don't make a living from this blog or my advocacy work, but it's also something I love. Add in the extra days to play around and spend time with my mom and you have the recipe for an awesome trip. I'll get to listen to ePatient Dave present a keynote address and attend a breakout session just for patient bloggers and get fliers for prostitutes on the strip. Who could ask for more?

PS: Don't worry, you won't catch me saying anything resembling what happens here stays here. It's so overused and annoying I want to rip my hair out.

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.

All in My Head Book Giveaway

Don't forget to come enter the All in My Head book giveaway. All in My Head is Paula Kamen's memoir about living with a seemingly never ending headache. It's excellent and a must read for all headache and migraine patients. There are many ways to get a chance to win. You can do as many as you like, which will increase your odds.

Book Giveaway: All in My Head

The contest ends on Friday, September 10 at midnight CT. Please don't forget to leave me a way to contact you in your comment(s).

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.

Twitter Migraine Chat Tonight: Be There

Join us for the Twitter Migraine Chat tonight and every Thursday night at 8 pm CT. Anyone and everyone living with or affected by migraine disease is welcome and encouraged to log on. Tonight's topic will be your favorite resources (books, blogs, websites, etc.) Hope to see you tonight. Let me know if you have any questions. Reply here, e-mail me or hit me up at Twitter.

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.

Pain Awareness Month

Today is the first day of September, which marks the beginning of the 2010 Pain Awareness Month, "Uniting Our Voices, Conquering Pain Together." The American Pain Foundation works hard all year long to improve policies that impact pain patients and improve awareness about the obstacles pain patients encounter. During this special month there are many easy, fast ways for you to get involved and help increase public awareness.

They suggest these ideas to get involved:

• Sign up to participate in the Virtual March. Organizations and groups are invited to endorse the march!

• Contribute your voice by submitting your story to the 10,000 Voices Campaign.

• Spread the word! If you’re on Facebook or use another social networking platform, use your status to update people on Pain Awareness Month and the Virtual March. Encourage them to do the same!

• Think of five organizations or community partners in your area. Tell them about Pain Awareness Month and ask them to visit this website to endorse the march and share it with their members. Pain Awareness Month

• Support our efforts by donating to the cause. Donate Now.

Visit the American Pain Foundation Pain Awareness Month page for more information: Pain Awareness Month Toolkit. The American Pain Foundation also has a wealth of information for pain patients on its website: For Pain Patients.


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.