Dealing With Headaches

You can more than one kind of headache. You can even get migraines and different kinds of headaches, although they usually don’t hit simultaneously. You either get one or the other. One of the kinds of headaches I get is when the barometer pressure drops. For some reason, I get a “weather headache”, usually referred to as barometric pressure headache. Whenever I get it, I know there will be rain soon.

Folk Sayings

Long ago, when we lived more closely with nature, a rainy day meant a lot more than it does now. To be able to forecast the weather was a tremendous blessing. However, it was not always a blessing for those doing the forecasting. In one old Eglish folk poem, called “Old Betty’s Joints” (sometimes called “Signs of Rain”), Old Betty must’ve hated her job as family weather forcaster:

That’s a pretty accurate description of what my “weather headaches” feel like — even my feet hurt. My Mom’s arthritis acts up and we know that at least a heavy cloud system is on it’s way, if not actual rain.

It makes me wonder if cavemen noticed this. “Ooo –whenever Og has a headache, it rains. We need rain. So, let’s give Og a headache!” Times must’ve been really tough for a headache prone person then.

Recent Studies

In a clinical study done at Jefferson university in Philadelphia, 75% of those prone to migraines also got barometric pressure headache. Individuals with anxiety issues also were more prone to barometric pressure headache.

Another earlier study done in 1981 thought that a variety of weather factors had to be in place before you get a weather headache. Perhaps the barometic pressure drops, but also the humidity is high. Or perhaps the barometric pressure drops and it’s time for a woman to have her period. There does not seem to be a definate cause for barometric pressure headache, despite the name.

But it does seem that those prone to migraines were also more prone to having barometric pressure headaches.

What Can Be Done

Once again, the best advice for those with any kind of headache, let alone barometric pressure headache, is to keep a headache journal. If you’re like me, whenever the clouds gather is when I can expect a headache to form on my immediate horizon. But for many others, they might find that they need other circumstances to happen, such as what temperature it is, what they’ve eaten that day or even how much sleep they’ve gotten the night before. By keeping a headache journal, you can determine quickly when to worry and when to not worry if you see a cloud in the sky.

In my case, for example, when the clouds gather, I know that I have less than a half hour to take an Excedrin. If I can’t get to the Excedrin in time, I’ll have to spend at least two hours lying down in a dark room with my eyes covered. This way, I can mostly cut the headache off at the pass.

And, as always, this article is not meant to substitute for medical advice. If you get any kind of headache or migraine, talk to your doctor.

Hope this helps.

No, you’re not the only one in the world who gets migraines. And migraine headaches are not a recent phenomenon. Although migraines are still very much of a mystery, there is solid evidence that many historical figures suffered with migraines. Here are just some of them who somehow got on with life despite migraines. Hopefully, their stories may be an inspriration to you.

Claude Monet

This amazing painter, who lived from 1840-1926 created works of startling brilliance and light, even when he was nearly blind at the end of his life. It is thought that some of his bright colors were inspired by auras. In Monet’s lifetime, migraines were thought to be a sign of insanity. His works are so admired, they are targeted for theft. In August of 2007, Cliffs Near Dieppe (1897) were stolen with two other painitngs in a brazen daylight robbery in France.

Elvis Presley

You might have heard of this guy. He had a lot of health related problems, and migraines were one of them. Perhaps that’s why he wore dark sunglasses a lot. One 1975 hospital stay was for examining his eyes becuase of pains and auras identical to that of migraines. By taking so much medication, he probably also suffered from rebound headaches. Sometimes he slurred his speech in a way that often happens to migraine sufferers.

Joan of Arc

If Monet kept quiet about his migraines in the 1800’s, then perhaps poor Joan (1412-1431) should have as well. Although now a cannonized Saint and considered a great hero, she was excecuted for witchcraft because she saw visions and heard voices. Visual and audio hallucinations are common with migraine sufferers. Tradition states that she also suffered severe pains in her head, which is another clue that she had migraines.

Terrell Davis

Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos got a migraine…during the Super Bowl! However, he was able to return to the game, help- Denver win and become MVP. He was able to manage this migraine with Imitrex and through keeping a headache journal. More details of Terrel’s story is here.

Zeus

This was the Big God of the Greek Olympic panthenon, later known as Jupiter to the Romans. Greek Gods are especially known for mimicing human foilbles and illnesses. Zeus got one of His lovers, Metis, pregnant, which is a headache in and of itself. But Zues received a prophecy that the baby would one day kill him. So he swallowed the fetus.
Some time afterwards, he got the Mother of All Migraines. His head had to be split open and out jumped a fully grown (and fully armored) Athena.

If you are pregnant or live with someone who is pregnant and they get a headache, you just can’t reach for an aspirin. Most perscription and over the counter drugs have been known to cause birth defects or cause premature birth. But, unfortunately, the body doesn’t care. What to do when the expectant Mommy (or Mummy) has a headache?

Try To Avoid Pills

The first trimester is usually the time of the most headaches during pregnancy, which is fortunate in some ways as this is the time when your baby is pretty firmly anchored in there.

It is still recommended to avoid medications, but if if you really can’t stand it, then acetaminophen is safer than aspirin. Take just one pill — that might be all you need. If you have a history of migraines, you need to talk to your doctor. There might be painkillers with added narcotics to help you. But that is best determined by your doctor.

Other things you can do:

• ice packs on the head
• accupressure
• armoatherapy: massaging your temples with lavender oil blended with a carrier oil and resting can help ease the pain. Lavender is one of the most gentle oils on the market. There is no general consensus among doctors, aromatherapists and pregnant women if lavender oil is safe after the second trimester.
• shoulder massage: you don’t need any particular massage technique. You just need a freindly rub of your neck and shoulders.

Prevention

It’s easier to prevent a headache during pregnancy than to cure one you already have. Here are some suggestions taken from this article:

• Keep active: some gentle doctor approved excericises keep the body in balance and is thought to prevent headaches during pregnancy. Types of gentle excercise include some of the postures in yoga, walking, swimming and tai chi.
• Avoid all alcoholic beverages, which you should be doing anyway. Now you have two reasons for abstinence.
• Keep your posture as good as possible,which helps ease tension-related headaches
• Eat a healthy, balanced diet instead of relying on super fatty foods loaded with preservatives and sugars.

One Last Hint

I’ve talked with some women who recommend plenty of orgasms during pregnancy. This relaxed them totally. Since I’ve never been pregnant, I’ve never personally tried this. You might want to talk to your doctor (in private) before experimenting with this form of pregnancy headache treatment!

Migraines without headache? Isn’t that a bit like salt without sodium? Doesn’t one mean you have to have other? Apparrantly not. Although at first migraines without headache sounds like a great thing to have, people who do experience this rather bizarre phenomenon usually have a long, painful history of migraines with headaches.

So, What Is It?

Migraines without headache is when you have an aura, but then never actually get the head pain. Auras are dicussed in detail here in a previous post. The technical name for heache-free migraines are acephalgic migraine or silent migraines and thought to only affect about 3 - 20% of people with migraines (with and without auras), depending on what doctor or neurologist you talk to.

Is It Serious?

Unfortunately, yes. People with silent migraines often have not only extremely loud migraines, but often problems with vertigo, dizziness and a lot of visual hallucinations. These can sometimes be accompained by confusion and nausea. Since migraine head pain seems to end an aura, without having the horrible head pain, you wind up continuing your horrible aura. The length of time for an aura seems to differ with each person. If you have auras with or without migraines, you need to be checked out by a doctor. You might need tests like an MRI just to be sure the silent migraines aren’t signs of anything more serious, such as eye problems or seizure disorders. You will be asked about the medical history of your family, too, to help in a proper diagnosis.

It’s never easy, is it?

Treatment

Even if you don’t get headache pain, if you get an aura, it it often recommended to take medication anyway, if your doctor approves. May of the medicines available to treat silent migraines are NSAIDs, anti-nausea medications and Midrin, which contains acetaminophen.

Hope this helps.

Perhaps “auras” is a misleading name. When most people hear the word “auras”, they think of various halo-like colors around the head or body, maybe even the images from Kirlian photography. But if you have migraines, “auras” take on a whole new meaning.

What Are They?

Auras usually are a visual hallucination of some sort. This warns the migrane sufferer that a migraine is on the way. The most common auras are flashes or huge wiggly shining shapes. When I had my first aura, it looked as if the lower half of my left eyeball was under water. I had no idea what was going on, until my first migraine hit full force. Then, the aura was gone, but I had a lot more to worry about.

Some people don’t get shining shapes or the illusion that they are partially under water. Some people’s vision blacks out or clouds substantiably. Whatever form it takes, the migraine aura is impossible to ignore.

The aura itself usually isn’t painful — it’s just very strange and even disorienting. It can happen about ten to fifteen minutes before the migraine pain first collides into your consciousness. You can use the aura as a warning that a migraine is coming and can either take preventative medicine or dive for cover.

Very rarely, the aura isn’t visual. It manifests as a loud sudden ringing in the ears. It can also effect your sense of balance, making you very dizzy, even if you don;t have any ringing ears or hallucinations. Some people even have a sudden difficulty speaking or even experience partial facial paralysis (parasthesia).

Why Do Auras Happen?

Auras only happen to about 15% of migraine sufferers. And they do not occur for every migraine of your life. You can have auras before migraines for years, and then they’ll just suddenly stop. You could spend all of the migraines in your life completely aura-free.

It is not known for sure why auras happen. Although it is thought that the eyes are only sometimes effected by chemical changes in the brain going on that fires the brain into migraine pain, why it happens only some of the time is unclear.

One of the theories is that migraine auras are caused by slow wave elctrical impulses that creep across the brain, causing general mayhem in the senses. Then, after being barrages by these impulses, the brain areas then go through a long period of being unusually still. It is thought that the back of the brain controls our vision, so any electrical impulse waves going across the back of the brain will screw up your eyesight. Could the flashing or blurry hallucinations actually be of an electrical impulse? Who knows?

Hope this helps.

Headaches are not a modern phenomenon. Quite possible, the first human being to straighten up immediately regretted it because he or she suddenly clonked into a tree branch. Or perhaps it was the smell of the Mastadons and Wooly Mammoths that brought the headache on. Anyway, here are a few folk remedies for headaches through the ages, collected from various internet sites on modern magick and traditional medicine. And in case you think I may be poking fun at any spirituality or culture, I’m a Pagan, which relies a lot on tradition and mythology for well-being. No matter what you faith, here’s the list. Enjoy.

• Press a cool, smooth amethyst crystal to the throbbing point of your head and pray. Amethyst is credited for helping to calm a person down and to reduce stress overall.
• Put five drops of ammonia in a glass of water or in a cleaning bucket and inhale the fumes. I’m not sure how this is supposed to help the headache, but it will sure temporarily distract you from it!
• Eating raw cabbage is said to help ease a headache. Alos, you could use a warm boiled cabbage leaf as a compress for your head. Be careful that the leaf has cooled off sufficeintly! Too much cabbage can reek havoc on your digestive system, though. Cabbage is not recommended for nursing mothers. Immediately stop if you break out into a rash. No specific type of cabbage has been preferred over others.
• When the headache starts, get yourself a cup of hot peppermint tea, sweetened with honey or sugar. Sip it. Take the tea bag out and let it cool. When it’s cool and NOT dripping, rub over your forehead and let it air dry. (That last part I did once and it helped while waiting for the Excedrin to kick in. It also helped ease my nausea.) This is the only folk remedy I’ve tried on this list that I would recommend.
• If your headaches or migraines center around you eyes, get an eye stone (such as tiger’s eye, cat’s eye, hawk’s eye or dragon’s eye) and make yourself a crystal elixier. You ask the stone (or your god) for help, pop it in your water (make sure it’s big enough so you don’t swallow it!) and drink. Theoretically, this could work for amethyst, too. And then you can take the cold wet amethyst and place it on your head.
• Folk remedies often use “transference”. In this case, a raw egg or potato slices are places over the head of the sufferer. You then imagine the headache leaving you and going into the poor egg or potato. When you feel better, get rid of the egg or potato. For Pete’s sake, do not eat it.
• Take cannibis or opium to relieve a headache. This cure was first written down in Persia during Medeival times. The only thing is the illegality of it may give you an even bigger legal headache than you have now. Oh, and these ancient texts also talk about drinking a tea made from willow bark. Willow bark has a chemical in it called salicin, from which our modern aspirin is derived.

I once asked someone who had cluster headaches how they differed from migraines. My none-too-amused companion replied, “Cluster headaches suck big time.” Years later, I thought I better find a more thorough if less eloquent difenition of cluster headaches.

What Are They

Cluster headaches are extremely painful series of headaches that are akin to torture. They tend to rise and fall in intensity, so when you think it’s over, it’s not. They often concentrate on one side of the head. An attack usually lasts from 15 minutes to three hours. They tend to come at the same time every day over a period of time (usually from 2-12 weeks), then go away for an undetermined length of time (this is called remission). Any onlooker will probably panic seeing you in such pain. You may display very dramatic actions such as pounding your head against the floor in order to ease the pain. Many cluster headache victims prefer to be alone when the clusters come. But, believe it or not, despite their intensity, cluster headaches are not lethal.

What Causes Them

Quite frankly, no one knows. Lucky you. The current theory is that some chemicals like tobacco or alchohol might, which freaks out the trigeminal nerve. Here’s a direct quote from this site:

Biochemical, hormonal, and vascular changes induce cluster headaches, but why these changes occur remains unclear. Episodic cluster headaches seem to be linked to changes in day length, possibly signaling a connection to the so-called biological clock.

In other words, “Your guess is as good as mine, dude”.

Who Gets Them

Cluster headache victims tend to be in their 20s-40s. Very, very rarely, they start when you are in your 80s. They are more men that get them than women (I guess because the women have the migraine market cornered). They can affect any race. So far, there does not seem to be firm evidence to show a genetic cause, but cluster headaches can sometimes run in families. Some throerise that a combonation of factors have to come together to produce cluster headaches. They are one of the rarest kinds of headaches.

What Other Names Are Cluster Headaches Called

They are often called suicide headaches, as you wish you were dead when you have them. WebMD.com estimates that cluster headaches are 100 times more painful than migraines (and that’s saying something!)

Cluster headaches are sometimes called “Night headaches” or “nightmare headaches” becuase they usually strike one or two hours after you go to bed. They often receeed in the daylight.

What Can Be Done

You have to go to the doctor if you have cluster headaches. There are a lot of medications available to ease or even prevent attacks. They usually come in injectable and nasal spray form. You may have to take a comination of medicines. If you can discover a trigger, such as alcholic drinks, avoid them.

The periods of remission are not fully understood. They differ in length from person to person. Sometimes the cluster headache period goes away by themselves.

Only 10 to 15% of cluster headache sufferers are chronic, where there are NO periods of remission. Chronic cluster headache sufferers can also get benefits from modern medicines, and even from inhaling from oxygen machines. There are also anesthetics available on perscription, usually in nasal sprays.

Although there is no cure, there are two experimental surgical procedures. However, surgery is a last resort. The first surgery involves cutting or burning away part of the trimeminal nerve, the other is focusing a beam of radiation onto your head (no cutting is involved). As you might expect, the second procedure is far more controversial than the former.

You might benefit from talking to someone, whether a therapist of a support group. There are many online support groups, including Cluster Headaches Worldwide Support Group.

So, what’s worse — cluster headaches or heart problems? That’s a tough call, but hopefully those on the new cluster headache drug verapamil will ever have to find out. A British study has reported in August 2007 that verapamil can negatively affect your heart. But this did not hurt the hearts of all people on verapmil. It is therefore highly recommended for verapamil users to have periodic EKG (electrocardiagrams) checks of their hearts to be sure that that everything is tickety-boo.

Study Summary

This study was reported in the August 14, 2007 issue of Neurology, an English journal specifically for neurologists and neurosugeons. The report was written by the respected Dr. Peter Goadsby, who works in nuerology on both sides of the Altantic. He has had many cluster headache patients, mostly men.

The study participants were made up of 217 men and 152 women, making 369 in all. All of them suffered from cluster headaches (also called suicide headaches). They were all given verapmil, starting at 140mg a day and increased until the headaches went away or they developed an irregular heartbeat. However, only 108 had regular EKGs done. Twenty had irregular EKGs done, while 80 had no EKGs at all. This is not highly suprising, even though the excuses given ranged from “I forgot” to “My docotor thought too many EKGs were unnecessary”. The study did not mention who paid for the EKGs. Most of the study’s finding centered on the 180 who had regular EKGs. They found that:

21 patients (19 per cent) had arrhythmias (irregular heart beat).
13 patients (12 per cent) had first degree heart block at 240 to 960 mg a day, with one patient needing to have a permanent pacemaker fitted.
4 patients had junctional rhythm.
1 patients had second degree heart block.
4 patients had right bundle heart block.
Bradycardia (heart rate below 60 beats per minute) occurred in 39 (36 per cent) patients, but verapamil was stopped in only 4 patients

He concluded that verapamil was still a relatively new drug and patients on it needed to be closely monitored for any signs of irregular heartbeat. Docotrs needed to be informed about the possible side effects, as the drug is so new that they might not be aware of it. He also noted that the pain of cluster headaches is so excruciating that patients may be tempted to stay on verapmil even if their hearts fail an EKG test.

Hopefully, new studies can be done to back up these findings, as it is going to be very hard for any cluster headache sufferer who finds relief from verapamil not to be discouraged, but empowered to take more action to assure they can help both their hearts and their heads.

Heck, you can pray to these Saints even if you’re not Catholic. You need all the help you can get. At least you’ll have the satisfaction of being listened to by someone who knows exactly what you are going through, well before Excedrin was ever invented. Images of these saints can be found in religious supply stores, online and sometimes in dollar stores or flea markets. You don’t need to make a shrine in your home to them. Just talk to them, whether out loud or in your head. Even if you don’t believe in prayer or saints, it’s good to:

a) complain
b) get your thoughts sorted out to better explain to your doctor just what you are going through

Canon Fodder

These are the major canonized Catholic Saints who can be petitioned to ease any kind of head pain:

• St Teresa of Avila:This famous Spanish nun had a lot going on in her head, which may explain why she suffered from debilitating migraines most of her life. She is considered one of the most original of mystics, detailing in The Interior Castle her visions of the soul, the search for God and a bit about her headaches.
• Acacius of Byzantium:A centurion in the Roman Army who was tortured and beheaded in the second century CE for being a Christian. In the early Catholic church, loosing your head gave you an automatic right to cure headaches.
• Bibiana: Also known as Viviana, she had a particularly grim life where death was a relief. Click on the link for the gory details. However, over her grave grew an herb (Lemon geodorum) that was reputedly good for bad headaches and epliepsy.
• Gerard of Lunel: Born into a noble Frech family in the 1200’s, he and his brother decided to really annoy their parents by living in caves as hermits as a career. They did pretty good for themselves, though — this is a saint who reprtedly cured bad headaches when still alive, let alone when petitioned to after death. The reason for his death? Not a beheading, but to escape the crush of patients, decided to make a pilgrimage to Jersulaem and died on the way, most likely from exhaustion. Which goes to show, when you are a good healer, you should never run out of patience. Technically, he’s not a fully canonized Saint yet, but when you have a migraine, are you gonna quibble about titles?

And, When All Else Fails…

You can pray to St Jude, the patron saint of lost causes. Beleive me, he’s heard it all. He’s a hard-working saint, so give him a laugh by petitioning to him.

Whatever your spirituality, it is good to talk with someone or something that understands your chronic pain. This can give you comfort, help you relax, which can help ease your current headache.

Hope this helps.

It’s hard enough being a kid in today’s world. From 12-17, your body is being subjected to all kinds of hormone surges, growth spurts and zit creams. And getting migraines on top of it just makes you want to scream. And apparantly, adolescents with migraines have done just that, spurring research into effective pain relief.

A popular migraine drug that shows promise for teens is zolmitriptan, found in the brand name nasal spray Zolmig, reports Reuters Health.

The 2007 study was done on 171 adolescents with migraines with a total of 275 migraine attacks spread between them. Some were treated with the nasal spray and some were not, given instead a placebo. Releif in the nasally treated began in 37% in 15 minutes after the spray was given.

The study was conducted by Eastern Virginia Medical School. So far, no side effects have been reported, aside from a lot of sniffing.

Zolmig, made by pharmecuetical giant Astra-Zeneca, is one of a relatively new family of medicines called triptans. It is unknown how Zomig would help anyone over 17. It is thought that because 12-17 year olds are going through such hormonal changes, that might be the cause of their migraines. Perhpas one of the causes of adult migraines are adolescents? (Just a joke, folks…) Zolmig has long been touted as the new migraine treatment, and nasal sprays are thought to be absorbed by the body faster than tablets. You can get Zolmig in tablet form, too.

Before taking any medication, see your doctor and tell him or her all of the medications, herbal treatments and any alternative therapies you may be on. And don’t share your medications. People, even adolescents, have different causes for their migraines, and can react bodly to medications that work just fine for you.

Unless you know the triggers of your migraines, they can strike at unpredictable times. Migraines can ruin highly anticipated vacations, holidays and everyday life. But they also can stike while you’re at work. So now the pressure is on more than ever. If you work behind a cash register, as this writer once did, you often have no choice but to keep on keepin’ on until your regularly scheduled break. Fortunately for then, I ususally began to vomit, which got me kicked back to the break room pretty fast. But a lot of migraines might look to other employees as if you’re faking it. What to do?

In the years since I was stuck behind a cash register, employers have a more tolerant view of employees suffering with migraines. You need to prove with a doctor’s note or written diagnosis that you do have migraines and they are under treatment as to find out the cause. But that’s not all. You also need to prove that you are too valuable to let go. And you are probably already doing the things valuable employees do:

• showing up to work on time
• being polite and knowing when to shut up
• offering to work when you are feeling better to make up for any time lost from a migraine
• be willing to try new equipment, procedures or other brilliant idea from upper management (even if you know the change is a bad idea — just be willing to try it out)
• not badmouthing other employees constantly behind their backs (even if they really deserve it)

Even More Tips

Sometimes, like with me, it took years until the triggers of my migraines were discovered. My retail employer was not too happy with me. So I showed them that I was keeping a headache journal and that I had bought books and magazines trying to learn why I was getting migraines.

Chances are, there will be someone in upper management who gets migraines, too. You could score brownie points by asking him or her how they manage their migraines on the job. You could ask the human resources manager if they have had other employees have migraines how they delt with them. This shows your bosses and the human resources department that you are serious as to managing your migraines to increase your job performance.

If you know what triggers your migraines and have a helpful medicine that eases the pain, keep the medicine with you at all times. Sometimes only ten minutes of sitting with your eyes closed and a cool paper towel on your forehead after taking the medicine will ease the pain to where you can finish your shift. Depending on your job, you might be able to swing a sudden emergency ten minute break if you have already proven yourself to be a good worker and use the breaks only for migraine management.

In the meantime (and it will be a mean time, no doubt about it), if you are stuck having to stay behind a register or behind a terminal and a migraine strikes, plug on as best you can until you can get a break. The work may actually distract you from the pain. Breathe as deeply as you can, for this will relax your body. If you are allowed to have a water bottle or soda can at your workstation, and can keep it out of direct light, roll the cool or even lukewarm can or bottle ablong your forehead, neck and the pulse points of your wrists. The first time a migraine happens on the job will always be the worst one, because you don’t know how bad the migraine will get and how long it will last. At least with any subsequent ones, you have the knowledge that you can survive a migraine at work.

If you are into aromatherapy, keep a small bottle of the essentail oil that relaxes you. There are even roll-on stick products available in the same vein as Head-On. Some of the most pouplar relaxing essential oils are lavender, frankinscence and peppermint. I tend to keep peppermint candy nearby not only because I like the taste, but even during a migraine, the taste and smell of peppermint eased my nausea. Some people find candied ginger can help their nausea.

And, as always, be sure to see a doctor about your migraines for more tips best suited for your situation.

Migraine During The Super Bowl

Talk about job pressure! Imagine you are playing for the Super Bowl — and suddenly get struck down by a migraine! This has actually happened. In Super Bowl XXXII (1998), Denver Broncos runningback Terrell Davis got hammered with a migraine and double vision during the first quarter. He had to go to the locker room for the second quarter. But he had kept a headache journal and new the best methods for him that would help ease the pain. He was able to come back to the field after halftime, and was eventually named MVP of the game. The Broncos beat the Packers 31-24.

Hope this helps.

Well, just about everything you can buy these days has an “organic” label slapped on it somewhere. Did you also know that certain kinds of headaches are called “organic”? These makes up less than 5% of hedaches suffered, thankfully. These kinds of headaches are called “organic” because nothing else except sheer bad luck seems to cuase them.

These headaches include tumors (benign or malignant), menengitis, brain infections, brain abscesses, encephalitis or an aneurysm. Although all of these organic headaches sound pretty bad, perhaps one of the most feared by headache sufferes is the aneurysim. Arguably the most famous person to have an aneurism and live is the first drummer for the great band REM, Bill Berry.

A brain aneurysm is basically when a blood vessel in the brain dialates and, if alone, goes POP. Since the skull is closed off, there’s no place for the leaking blood to go. Death is pretty sudden. Aneurysms can happen in any place in the body that there is a blood vessle, not just the brain. It is not known what causes brain aneurisms, but it is thought to be a cogenital defect. So Bill Berry could blame his parents for this one and get away with it, if he so chose.

Why Am I Banging On About This?

The first sudden migraine I had when I was 24 required medical attention. However, I couldn’t get an appointment until the next day. By then, the pain had actually eased off a bit (my migraines average 12 hours a stretch). When the doctor finally examined me, he actually said, “I wonder if this could be an aneurysm. You should get X-rays.”

When I pointed out that the pain had eased off in 24 hours, he then nixed the x-rays idea.

Now, if a trained medical professional could mistake a migraine for a brain aneurysm, how about the poor person who is going through the migraine? How do you tell the difference between a migraine and an “organic headache”?

First off, if you are scared and do not know what is going on in your head becuase you are in aboatload of pain, go to the hospital. Better to spend the money than take a chance. The first migraines are especially scary because you don’t know what to expect. Don’t drive yourself to the hospital, because the pain will disorient you. Get someone else to drive you or call for an ambulance. “Inorganic” migraines often sink their teeth into you when you are in your mid-twenties to mid-forties, so this unfamiliar pain will freak you out, to put it mildly.

The symptoms of a brain aneurysm are similar to migraines. Both have sudden pain and visual problems. However, the pain not only doesn’t go away after a day, it gets worse. By this time, you can become thoroughly confused. if your EVER get a sudden splitting headache with numbess in any part of your body or trouble coordinating your body, don’t wait — call 911.

For more information, click here.

Remember, I am not a doctor, so I am not the last word in medical issues. If you have any worries or pains you can’t explain, see a medical professional as soon as you can.

In 2005, word got out from Botox users with headaches and migraines that they were having less head pain. At the time, it was thought that getting Botox injections in your head helped to relieve severe headaches or even migraines. All the claims lead to a more clinical study. Well, that study has found that Botox does nothing to help ease the severity or frequency of headaches or migraines. In other words — Botox as a headache cure was just another desperate housewives’ tale.

Some Specifics

Botox is short for botulinum toxin A. If that first word looks familiar, it’s becuse Botox is the more more popular relation in the botulism family. And toxin means exactly what you think it means — toxic. It is infamous for making your skin puff out to smooth wrinkles. It is also about $500 a shot.

When Botox users started claiming a redction in their headaches was happening, there were some clinical trials done in Thomas Jefferson University and the Mayo Clinic. The results were promising. But it definately didn’t work for everyone, as is the case with any treatment or medical therapy.

But the latest study in Croatia makes you wonder if Botox works for anyone. Five hundred migraine sufferers were given Botox injections in their neck or face or a an injection of saline solution (a placebo). There were no significant reduction in migraines for either those given Botox or those given a placebo.

If You Want To Use Needles In Your Head, Anyway

If you just have to have a needle stuck in your neck or head, consider accupuncture instead of Botox. Accupuncture is a science that has been around for thousands of years. Accupuncturists have to have medical liscences in order to perform any accupuncture treatments. The needles are extremely thin and said to be painless. But, of course, not everyone with migraines will respond to accupuncture. But at least you are not sticking anything potentially toxic into your body.

And before starting any treatment, check with your doctor and you health insurance. Sometimes a few accupunture sessions are included in some health care plans if your doctor perscribes them. But check with yours for details.

Women have it rough. Not only do they get more migraines than men, they can be at more risk of getting a stroke. A new study, which reconfirms a 2002 study, finds that women who have auras with their migraines are more susceptable to have a stroke — even more than women who have migraines without auras.

They also note that women who are especially vunerable to stroke don’t only have migraines with auras, but smoke and used oral contraceptives.

Here are some of the numbers, which studied about a thousand women in the United States with and without migraines:

Women with PMVA (that’s shorthand for Probable Migraine With Visible Aura) had a 50 per cent greater risk of ischemic stroke compared to the no migraine group.
The risk was highest among those with no history of high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes or heart attack (myocardial infarction).
Women with PMVA who smoked and used oral contraceptives had a 7-fold increase in ischemic stroke risk compared to women with PMVA who did not smoke or use oral contraceptives.
Also, women who had their first PMVA attack in the preceding year had a 6.9 fold increase in ischemic stroke risk compared to women with no history of migraine.

Reading Auras

Auras are often seen before a migraine, but do not have to be present for a migraine to be diagnosed as a migraine. Often, you see flashes of various shapes or even small bright hallucinations a few minutes before the migraine pain kicks in.

For example, my first killer migraine happened when I was 24 and at my job. In my left eye, the weirdest thing began to happen. If looked as if the lower half of my left eye was under water, although the top half was completely fine. I polished my glasses to no end and even had other employees look to see if something was on or in my eyeball. They couldn’t see anything wrong.

And then about a half hour later the migraine hit. That funny underwater effect was an aura. My Mom, for example, used to see flashing C’s travel across her eyes before a migraine hit.

Usually, am aura happens before the pain. They can be a mixed blessing. Although you know a migraine is coming, if you have any medication around, take it immediately. You might cut the migraine off at the pass ort reduce the severity of an attack.

Back To The Stroke Warning

It does not seem to be clear why women with auras and migraines are more at risk of stroke than others. Perhaps smoking and oral contraceptives in combination make your body more vunerable.

This information is not meant to depress you. It is meant as a warning signal so you can take suitable precaustions that will not only make your heart healthier, but perhaps your overall body. First off, quit smoking. And use low-dose contraceptives…or have him get a vasectomy. And switch to more heart-friendly low-cholesterol diet.

If you have migraines with auras and haven’t had a check up in years, do try and get a check up — or at least keep your blood pressure monitored. Since you are more to a stroke, it is best to prevent one rather than recover from one.

Hope this helps.

Well, isn’t that just like Murphy’s Law (or Sod’s law, for those who live in the UK)? You get migraines which can be too painful for breathing, let alone sex, and yet your sex drive may be more intense, according to the findings of a 2006 Wake Forest University study. This stonger sex drive happens in people with migraines, not tension headaches. The study found that men and women with migraines have a 20% stronger sex drive than those without migraines.

How did they come to this conclusion? The scientists gave out questionnares to 37 women and 31 men and asked them about their migraines and their sex drive. They had to answer whether they thought they had a bigger sex drive than the average person. So, if migraine sufferers don’t actually have a stronger sex drive, they either

• think they do
• or lie really well (no pun intended)

Granted, a mere 68 people is hardly an accurate representation of not only the human population, but of the population of migraine sufferes. Perhaps all of the other people given questionnares were too busy either having a migraine or doing the Wild Thing in order to reply.

As remarked on before in an earlier post on this blog, orgasms are considered good for relieving any kind of body tension. It’s not the sex that’s important here for treatment — it’s the orgasm (no pressure there, fellas).

It has been thought that a person’s serotonin imbalance, thought to affect not only headaches but depression, also triggers a stronger desire for sex. In yet another study (science is suddenly getting more interesting), Dr. James R. Couch, MD PhD (that’s his name — go figure) discovered that nearly 20% of migraine sufferes found relief from an orgasm.

I can tell you right now that neither of these studies ever got in contact with me. And I can tell you right now that I’m one of the 80% who does NOT find any relief from an orgasm…well, I can’t even get in the mood, let alone climax becuase of the pain. So I have no idea who these scientists are studying because they sure don’t seem to be from this side of the rainbow.

Now that this post is done, it’s time I lock myself in my bedroom with my Peter Gabriel album covers. Until next time!