Dealing With Headaches

Although there is a lot of truth in a civilizations mythologies, those are not the kind of myths I’m talking about. Here, I’m using “myth” as in “misconception”. And there are certainly a lot of myths about migraines…as there are with just about everything else inthe universe. Here are three migraine myths that maybe you have had to deal with.

#1: A Migraine Is Just A Headache

If I had a Prozac for every time I heard that one…

Although migraines and really bad headaches happen in the same area (the head), a migraine is considered a disease with head pain as the main symptom, while headaches….are headaches. There usually is a direct or sort-of-easily definable reason why you have a bad headache (with the exception of cluster headaches, which seem to be their own species of pain). It’s usually easier to be able to either prevent or treat a bad headache.

However, with a migraine, the cause is difficult to determine and the pain is usually on only one side of the head. Migraines usually have a whole host of other symptoms along for the ride, such as auras, nausea, dizziness and extremem sensitivity to light, sounds and tastes. Despite what you may read elsewhere about contraction and dilation of blood vessels, we do not know physically what happens to the body during a migraine.

#2: Only Crazy People Get Migraines

Sadly, no. Completely sane people can also get migraines. If migraines were always linked to mental disorders, then they might be easier to treat. But that’s not the case. There is a deeply ingrained stigma in our species of anyone who claims to have ANYTHING wrong with their head. The brain is seen as the seat of sanity — so anything out of kilter can make someone wonder if anything ELSE in the brain is out of kilter.

Migraines are often a sympton of PMS/PMT (Pre Menstrual Tension), epilespsy and clinical depression, so that might be why this myth is still alive in our culture.

#3: You Can’t Die From A Migraine

Although I don’t mean to cause panic in the streets (or the virtual streets of the blogosphere), I would be lying through what’s left of my teeth if I said a migraine couldn’t kill you.

Migraines (RARELY) are symptoms of potentially fatal conditions such as a stroke or a coma. People with migraines are 2.2 times as more likely to get a stroke, according to the British Medical Journal.

If you get migraines, please don’t be afraid to go get help. It can take a long time to find good help, but it’s better than not looking at all.

I’ve been suffering from sticker shock this week, which has stressed me out and made me more headache-prone than usual. Medicaid forgot to send me a crucial form, which of course I neve could fill out because I never got it, and I was dropped. I have to have Prozac (fluoxetine) in order to keep from turning into a stark raving nutter.

“Oh, well.” I thought, “I’ll have to pay $35 this month before this all gets sorted out.” Last year, the price of generic Prozac was $35 for 30 capsules.

This year, it’s jumped to $80 per 30 capsules.

My Point, And I Do Have One

I’ll save the rant against greedy Big Pharma for now and go on to my point.

Medicines are incredibly expensive for any condition. When I was homeless, getting over the counter painkillers to help with my migraines was a big luxury. Since I knew my most severe migraines were from a combination of sleep deprivation and caffeine withdrawal, I chose medicines with caffeine in them. I then took half the recommended dosage. If I still had pain in a half hour, then I took the other half dose. But often I didn’t need to.

I still do that today with over the counter medications. It does help save me some money — so I can afforf Prozac, apparantly. You could try it for over the counter medications and see if it works for you. Remember — I’m not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

I don’t recommend trying this for prescription medications unless you’ve discussed this with your doctor. And, of course, you can’t split capsules like you can pills or tablets.

Hope this helps. Because the way the American economy is going, we’re going to need to save every penny we can so we can start rioting in the streets comfortably.

A “simple” surgical procedure being developed in South Africa is showing some promising signs of helping people to relive migraine pain. No, you don’t go for the surgery every time you have a migraine — this is a preventative. The procedure involves cauterizing selected blood vessels in the scalp. (Cauterizing means they burn it away.)

The Gory Details

The scalp surgery for migraines was developed at The Headache Clinic in South Africa by Dr. Elliot Sevel, a surgeon who specializes in head, face and jaw procedures. The scalp sugery for migraines was performed on 42 women and 13 men. The patients report imporvement of their migraines up to a rather head-scratching 250%.

Obviously, only 55 people do not represent a large part of the migraine-suffering population, so firther studies are going to be done. These studies will be backed by the Italian government (what’s left of it, anyway) and the South African governement. A multi-national team of neurologists will be put together to further pursue buring blood vessels in the scalp.

The good news is that this is a quick procedure that does not usually require an overnight stays. The 55 human guinea-pigs also dod not have a lot of scarring from the scalp surgery for migraines.

Why Am I Not More Enthusiastic About This?

And it’s not just because I haven’t had breakfast yet. Granted, I’m not a neurlogist or even a person who ever got an A in Chemistry, but this surgery does seem to be based on the premise that migraines are caused by the dilation and contraction of blood vessels in the head. This is an older theory that has recently fallen out of favor in the medical community.

Now, the theory is that serotnin levels coupled with a suddenly active hypothalamus are the culprits for migraines and severe headaches. The fact is, no one knows why we get migraines, which is why they are so notoriously difficult to treat.

Now, hopefully, all of the new theories are wrong and the cause of migraines DOES turn out to be dilation and contraction of blood vessels in the head. Otherwise, there are going to be a lot of people who get this surgery and still have migraines.

However, at least 55 people in the world are migraine-free and that alone is worth celebrating and blogging about.

I am letting a not-so secret secret come out of the closet — I am a Cute With Chris fan. This is an internet series where one guy, Chris Leavins, posts pictures of cute pets and does wry commentary. His co-host is a Breyer Proud Arabian Foal name Colty. Lasers come out of guinea pig’s eyes. You have to see it to believe it.

Anyway, after a year or more of doing the shows online, a viewer named Rhonda sent him a letter taunting him and saying his show was “charming, but very amatuer[sic]” and that if she did an internet show, she would not be taken seriously as a stage actor.

Chris’ response was to to a show on stage in the Hudson Theatre in Hollywood. He got it together in 18 days due to his rage at Rhonda.

Meanwhile, I and about 42 million other people online are following all of this closely, especially since Chris promised to put up some footage from the actual live show that only 98 lucky CWC fans got to see. I was promised to go up yesterday. I haven’t looked forweard to something so much since the last Peter Gabriel album was released.

There were so many questions to be answered. Would the free pens arrive? Would Rhonda show up? Would she survive if she did? Would Chris throw up on stage? Would there be dancing? And what about the crucial advice he gives to teen letters?

And, of course, as yesterday dawned, I got a migraine.

What Did I Do?

When you have a migraine, going on the computer and checking a website 147 times a day is not exactly a treatment that King Solomon would recommend.

The pain was paid enough so that I had trouble standing up by myself, but could sit without pitching over to one side or another. Now, if this was anybody else experinecing a migraine, I’d counsel them to forget about some Internet comedy show and just lie down.

However, this was me and the show was Cute With Chris. In waiting for the show to load onto YouTube and then his website, I even managed to get a post up yesterday about an FDA warning on anti-seizure medications, including Topamax.

Being busy did help distract me from the pain.

So finally, about 7:30 pm, some other CWC fan realises that Chris has logged onto YouTube. This means he’s loading the longed for CWC LIVE video on! The comments on the site went flying. People were writhing in agony from all parts of the globe hoping to watch this video. I was laughing so hard, I couldn’t sit up straight because of the pain.

And finally, I got to see it.

Again, I do not really recommend laughing hysterically as a migraine treatment, but when CWC posts a new episode, I had to weigh the pain options. On the one hand, continually watching the computer aggravated my migraine. On the other hand, if I went to bed without seeing the new episode, that would be torment as oppossed to merely painful.

Yes, it was worth the pain.

But don’t you do that to me, again, Chris (Milord!)

Although the FDA is struggling for survival admidst the yawns of Washington, it is still lively enough to put out some press releases. And this time, HealthCanada agrees with the warning and is circulating the news in Canada. This latest warning is about anti-convulsants or epliepsy drugs. Since many migrainuers are perscribed anti-convulsants to help them manage their pain, that is why I’m posting the warning here.

Call Your Doctor If Your Have Suicidal Thoughts

The FDA’s warning for anti-convulsants is pretty much the same as it’s warnings for anti-depressants: they can make make you feel like killing yourself. This doesn’t mean you ophysically feel worse, but you feel hopeless, a lot more so than before you began the meds.

The FDA began looking into the reports that anti-convulsants markedly increased suicidal feelings back in 2005. After 200 studies of 11 anti-seizure drugs, they have come to the conclusion that these drugs can mess with your head.

If you are just about to start a course of antipressants or anti-seizure medication for migraines (or for anything else), then you need to let someone know you are taking them. This could be a friend or relative who calls you or someone living with you. Worse comes to worse, your doctor’s receptionist might call to check up on you. Ask them and they might be able to call you.

When you get really suicidal fast, you might not realize that it’s becaise of the medication. The feelings can be so overwhelming that you think that feeling suicidal is natural and therefore should be acted on. This is why you need the input of another set of eyes and ears to see how you are doing.

The Drug List

Although the FDA warning applies to all anti-convulsant drugs in general, the FDA studies focused on these eleven drugs:

Carbamazepine (marketed as Carbatrol, Equetro, Tegretol, Tegretol XR)
Felbamate (marketed as Felbatol)
Gabapentin (marketed as Neurontin)
Lamotrigine (marketed as Lamictal)
Levetiracetam (marketed as Keppra)
Oxcarbazepine (marketed as Trileptal)
Pregabalin (marketed as Lyrica)
Tiagabine (marketed as Gabitril)
Topiramate (marketed as Topamax)
Valproate (marketed as Depakote, Depakote ER, Depakene, Depacon)
Zonisamide (marketed as Zonegran)

Suicidal Signs

Unfortunately, they don;t come in literal neon color, but sudden peculiar actions by those you know well can act just like a neon sign that they are planning on ending it all. These include:

• Sudden loss of interest in everything they used to love
• Too much sleep or insomnia when they used to sleep OK
• Giving away most of their posessions
• Talking about death or dying a LOT more than usual
• Isolation from even the closest members of friends and family

Just like with anti-depressants, not everyone will be bothered by anti-convusants for migraines. Some people can take it without getting suicidal and without getting migraines.

Hope this helps.

Greetings, Gentle Readers. Although I try to give equal time to both kinds of medical therapies for treating headaches and migraines (conventional and alternative), a ton of recent drug news releases have monopolised most of the posts here on Dealing With Headaches. To try and even up the balance, I will present links to past posts on alternative treatments for headaches and Migraines.

I’m hoping this will make it easier for anyone seeking to compare alternative treatments. Since last week’s FDA investigation before Congress proved that the FDA is on the verge of collapse, it looks like we Americans are going to have to rely on alternative treatments for headaches and migraines more than ever.

Hope this helps.

Seven Folk Remedies For Headaches Includes crystal healing, drinking hot peppermint tea and more.
Animal Magic For Headaches How pets help ease the pain.
Golf Ball FORE Headaches About a simple reflexology technique requiring a golf ball.
Product Review: HeadOn Migraine Homeopathic rememdy that is similar to Ben Gay, according to one reader.
How To Make A Cold Compress One of the best ways of easing pain yourself.
Five Ways To Help Ease Your Headaches
Walking Dog Helps Ease My Head Pains The benefits of regular exercise for the headache-prone.
Feverfew As Migraine Preventative About the herb feverfew.
More Folk Remedies For Headaches Including potato slices, sticking your feet in hot water and accupressure.
Bee Venom Therapy For Migraines One alternative therapy I don’t recommend.
Alternative Medicine vs Conventional Medicine An overview.
Biofeedback Can Help Ease Tension Headaches
White Noise Treatment For Migraines? “Turn up the signal — Wipe out the noise” — Peter Gabriel, “Signal To Noise”
Alternative Treatments For Pediactric Migraines
Colon Cleansing Can’t Cure Migraines
Reduce Headaches With Guided Imagery
Self Help For Tension Headaches
Color Therapy For Migraines
Nutritional Therapy For Migraines In Pregnancy

Have you ever thought this when you get a migraine or another kind of headache? “I have a headache — it’s bad — I must have done something bad in order to deserve this headache.” Well, you are not alone. It’s very common for people to associate any kind of chronic pain with some sort of fault in their own characters. This fear that we are somehow deficient or bad can keep many people from seeking help for their headaches.

Myth: The Migraine Personality

Stewart Tepper, MD, associate clinical professer of neurology at Yale University of Medicine, talks in the latest issue of Better Health & Living about the myth that only wimps or the morally defcient get migraines:

>”The idea that there’s a “migraine personality”-that people who get them are worriers or have some kind of mental or physical weakness — is a myth. Migraines don’t hit just one type of person. And they are truly debilitating: The World Health Organization counts them among the 12 most disabling illnesses for women.”

So, there you have it. Although headaches and migraines might drive a person crazy and make them not too much fun to be around, having head pains does not mean you are mentally ill or somehow a wimp. Yes, technically I have a mental illness (endogenous recurring depression) and am “haedache prone”, but don’t let me scare you from seeking proper medical attention for your chronic head pains.

It’s Not Your Fault

The vast majority of chronic head pains are not from the results of anything done by the patient (or anything not done by the patient). They can happen because of the weather, because of your genes or even from glare of a light making a bright spot on your computer. They also can be signs of other medical conditions that need attention.

Now, if you picked a fight with a gorilla by insulting his mother, and the gorilla punches you in the head, giving you a headache, then in that case you DID do something to deserve that headache. But those cases are usually rare.

Lots of times, you get headaches and migraines for no other reason than life is not fair. That doesn’t mean you have to suffer.

You Have Powers

Although your head may be the cause of a lot of your pain, your head can also be the source of managing the pain. There are many things you can do to help yourself. You also should pair these suggestions with a visit to your doctor.

• Keep a headache journal. Let your doctor read it. This can greatly help identify the triggers for your pain.
• Get regular sleep of about seven hours a night. Lack of sleep can aggravate any pain. Who knows — lack of sleep could be the major trigger for your pain.
• Get regular exercise, which also helps you get regular sleep.
• Learn how to better manage stress, such as with meditation, aromatherapy or massage.
• Cut back on caffeine in both your beverages and your painkillers.
• Learn all you can about headaches, migraines and alternative therapies to help you help yourself.

Remember what the third Dr. Who said: “Where there’s life, there’s hope.”