Dealing With Headaches

If sheep, spectacular scenery and bungee jumping weren’t enough, here’s yet another good reason to move to New Zealand. Maxalt MLT (rizatriptan benzoate) is now being fully funded by the government there through subsidies. The estimated 400,000 migraineurs in New Zealand would cheer, but that would be too painful.

What Is Maxalt MLT?

This is a fast acting triptan that you don’t need to swallow (a plus for those you are prone to sudden extreme nausea during migraines). It’s a 10 mg wafer that dissolves on your tongue. Some clinical studies show that the drug can work as quickly as thirty minutes after taking it, although the average time is about an hour. It came out in 1998 and has been legal in New Zealand for some time — although paying for it made it far out of reach for most. You can legally get it on over 60 countries, including Canada, England and the United States.

What If You Live In America?

It’s a shame this kind of stuff can’t happen in other countries like the US. But then again, health care is not seen as a right in America. The governement health services are apparantly too cash-strapped to help out the millions of migrainuers in America — or any American with just about any sickness, aliment or injury known to mankind.

And heaven forbid the governement tries to take one penny of profit away from Big Pharma. Who would pay them off for turning the other way when they are in office? Although the massive profits and the words “price gauging” is now under investigation from Big Oil, Satan will be skating to work before any Congressperson aims the words “proice gauging” in the direction of Big Pharma.

I can’t be the only one who sees a new Maxalt MLT drug route happening from New Zealand to America. Great — turf wars over triptans. Gives “trippin’” a whole new meaning.

To get you hooked, Merck is offering a 3 pill trial offer, pending a prescription from your doctor. This offer ends on New Year’s Eve, 2008.

In 2005, I came back to America after living in England. Along with having to experience reverse culture shock and a lot of jokes about my accent, I also couldn’t understand the television, magazine and newspaper advertisments. They semed to be not for over the counter medicines — but for prescription medicines. When I asked Mom about them, she sighed and confirmed my suspiscions. At the time, my Mom worked for the legal department of a Big Pharma company (which I would rather not name).

It was an unwritten no-no to blatantly advertise prescription drugs — until the about 1999 or 2000. At the time, it was thought that doctors — who spent at least twelve years in college and medical school, after all — were the only decision makers when it came to what prescription medicine their patients should be taking.

Now, apparently, people without a lick of medical training or common sense can tell a drug is for them merely by watching TV. The ads themselves are not too informative.

Why The Change?

Big Pharma made millions, but now they make billions. This is partially due to the insanely expensive prices on their medications. In order to justifyu their costs, Big Pharma looked into how it could raise it’s advertising budget. Usually, doctors were courted by Big Pharma with lavish prizes,gourmet food and other perks, but this practice was getting cracked down on. So, Big Pharma turned to advertising in the most expensive media possible — television, huge glossy magazines and full-page newspaper ads.

Even Congress Says “Enough, Already!”

Congress, about as fast as a tortoise on Valium, is even looking into the necessity and accuracy of Big Pharma ads. Right now, they are hoping to enforce stricter rules to limit prescription drug claims, but hopefully (I hope, anyway) they will just outlaw the price-gouging practice whatsoever.

The moral of the story: Ignore all prescription ads that you see and eventually they will just go away. And don’t think you know more about prescription drugs than your doctor — unless you ARE a doctor.

Oh, I know what you’re thinking. “She just can’t shut up about how she hates horse racing, can she?” I wouldn’t be doing a “Part 2″ to Friday’s Kentucky Derby Headache if horse racing was banned. So there are now three good reasons to ban horse racing:

• It’s cruel to the horses by encouraging breeding of horses that can’t even support their own weight, let alone that of a rider
• It’s cruel to families of compulsive gamblers
• It makes me go off on rants. Ban horse racng and I’ll shut up

So, in other words, I had a bad headache all weekend. First, I tried to avoid hearing about the Derby, but my Dad atill thinks I’m a horse raving fan. Horse fan, yes — horse racing fan, no. We go out for breakfast every Saturday morning (my parents are divorced). “Who do you like in the Derby?” he asks.

“Dad, I stopped watching horse racing in 1999. I got tired of seeing dead horses.”

“I like Big Brown.”

I rolled my eyes. Oh, hell, what’s the use? “There’s a filly in the Derby named after an N.C. Wyeth painting.” (And I only knew that because my Mom had to inform me of this over breakfast a couple of days ago. I’m starting to think that having breakfast with my either of parents is a cause of headaches.)

Well, that was the kiss of death for that poor filly, now, wasn’t it? I couldn’t get away from the Derby and there it was all over the television national news, the Internet and the Philadelphia Inquirer. I’m sure it’s no surprise by now that a horse died during the race. This is the first time that a horse has died during or immediately after the Kentucky Derby. It’s been the only race major stakes race to not have a casualty until Saturday.

The Pain

The actual headache that happened I’m guessing was due to stress and depression. It lifted very late last night. I handled it badly — basically, numbing myself with junk food, Nyquil and Animal Planet. The pain itself wasn’t so bad, but I felt a crushing weight on my entire body. It was if it suddenly took all the strength I could posess just to walk up the stairs to the bathroom.

I’m trying not to look at anything having to do with race horses, but I do have to work, which requires me going online, which always throws the headlines out at me. I do have clinical depression, and one of the physical symptoms is headaches. However, I’m also blessed with having migraines, which makes me prone to have all kinds of other head pains.

And yes, I know I shouldn’t take things so seriously. Consiously, I don’t. But my subconscious does and rails at the injustice of it all (whatever cause it takes up at the time), which contributes to headaches and not sleeping, which can contribute to more headaches. As U2 sang, “It’s no secret that sometimes a conscious can sometimes be a pest.”

Anyway, how can I do any good for any animal or taking care of my family when I am sick with headaches because of the damn Kentucky Derby?

The Point

If you know somebody who doesn’t understand the pain, depression and downright confusion that can arise when a series of headaches or migraines hit, show them this post. It will give some idea of what you’re going through (although the event that sets you off is most likely not the Kentucky Derby).

Crossing my fingers that I’ll get my heada ches under controll and write a more coherent post tomorrow. God, Goddess and Peter Gabriel bless you for taking the time out of your life for reading this.

The national death toll from methodone is at an all-time high (no pun intended), according to a report compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics, put toether in February but not released to the press until this month. The stastistics only go from 1999 to 2005, but still the trends are alarming. Last year, in New Hampshire, more people were killed by methodone than by car accidents.

And the reason people are taking methodone more than ever is NOT an attempt to get high, but as an attempt to get low cost pain relief. As a migraineur, I know I’ve been tempted to get relief from my pain through methodone. Other people are also selling their prescribed methadone in order to pay bills.

Not A New Phenomenon

The new report is yet another one warning about methodone-related deaths that have been coming out for years. A 2004 NPR report focused on the rising trends in methodone deaths, especially int he states of Nevada and Montana. In that news report, the specific reason people were getting methodone was as a painkiller. They do state that methodone used alone was probably not as responsible for deaths as was mixing other drugs (even over the counter drugs) with methodone.

The situation was still grim in June of 2007, when Helping America Reduce Methadone Deaths, Inc (HARM) sent out urgent press releases about the apathy towards methodone deaths.

No Coincidence

We shouldn’t be at all surprised that the death toll from methodone has been steadily rising in the last few years. Look at the costs of health care in America. When prices are rising on everything and your wages are not, people are going to try and cut corners financially wherever they can. For many people, self-medication with a dangerous drug seems the lesser of two evils.

It’s difficult to figure out the right dosage of methodone, even when it’s prescribed. People prescribed methodone always have their doctors tinkering with the dosage. The goal is to give as little as possible — I’ve even known someone in England who’s dosage was one TENTH of a miligram per day — but when you are in pain and can’t afford a doctor, you’re going to think “more is better.”

Unless the cost of everything is sky-high, expect more deaths due to self-medication.

I’ve never been a big fan of botox (”Don’t Believe the Botox Hype”.) The “bo” part of the name stands for botulinium toxin A. That means it’s in the botulism family. I’m an even less of a fan of botulism. Why would you risk sticking botulism in your face? Hey, I’ve never understood why “American Idol” is so popular, and that’s popular, too. Besides smoothing out your face, botox was rumored in to help relieve chronic headaches (it doesn’t).

So, as a reminder — botox will not relieve your chronic headache or migraine. And, a recently released study shows that botox can sink into your brain.

As another reminder, your brain doesn’t need smoothing out. It really needs all of those wrinkles.

What About This New Study?

Sadly, the study was done on rats instead of people. I’ve never been bitten by a rat, but I have been bitten by people, so I am admittedly predjudiced about being pro-rat. They were botox injections into the whisker area (that’s gotta hurt!) Thtree days later, the rats were killed and their brains opened up, which showed traces of the botox in the brain tissue and brain stem (which makes you wonder what these scientists do for fun.)

This is a preliminary study, so nothing’s conclusive (except if you’re a rat in a medical lab, you’re screwed). There is a call for similar studies to be done on monkeys (oh, joy.)

Wouldn’t it be easier to not just the damn botox in the first place?

Substitutions for Experimental Animals

Personally, I think we should stop all animal experimnentation. It’s expensive, it’s cruel and often doesn’t relate to what human bodies go through. What about all these criminals sitting on death row? What about that guy sitting for life at our expense who claimed to have something to do with 9/11? I say botox HIS whisker area and then dissect his brain three days later. We have all these prisoners who hate themselves and are a drain on society. Bu giving them a chance at medical becoming human lab rats, then they can feel that they are doing something quasi-heroic.

Surprisingly, I get a lot of strange looks when I bring this subject up.

But seriously, we could also do computer models and in vitro (in test tube) experiments instead of ripping open animals by the millions.

Remember — botox = death.

On that happy note, have a great weekend.

If you’re taking Topamax (topimarate) to prevent migraines and finding that you are having trouble concentrating, remembering stuff and having troubles comminucating with others, it’s not just you. Reuters is reporting about an Italian discovery that Topamax might give a user language problems.

Or, could it be that the patient is so shocked at not having a migraine that they are speechless?

That was just a joke (I know — don’t quit the day job). Now for some facts.

The Facts

These charges of languauge and concentration problems with Topamax are coming from the University of Perugia, Italy, lead by Dr. Francesca Coppola (probably no relation). The problems with language and concetration with Topamax users seems to mainly hit in the first month of taking the drug. Dosages did not need to be adjusted because after the first couple of months, it cleared up on its own.

However, there were only thirty migraineurs who participated in the study, which is not a huge slice of the migraineur world population.

Problems with Topamax included difficulty remembering words, problems naming objects and making up words when the patients couldn’t remember the correct word to use.

So, What’s The Point?

This is not a cause for great alarm among Topamax users and can most likely be safely annoyed by long-time users, but for someone just about to start Topamax for the first time, they need to know this.

It’s thought that problems with language and concentration can greatly aggravate depression, or make someone stop taking Topamax when staying on it could prove benficial. There does seem to indicate that there is a period where the body adjusts to Topamax that can at first make you appear anxious and depressed.

If you already have anxiety or depression problems, Topamax may aggravate them for the first month. It should pass. As always, please talk to your doctor if you are taking any new medication and your depression worsens or you get suicidal thoughts. To get through it, you may find reading Mental & Emotional Health blog useful.

Hope this helps.

:: Rant Mode On ::

Right up front, let me say that I’m not for drug addiction of any kind. But it does seem very hypocritical of Those In Charge (whoever they might actually be) to be so blind as to the causes of drug addiction (and I’m including alcohlism with drug addicts, as well). According to a recently released report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), by 2017, one out every five dollars spent in America will be on health care.

And Those In Charge wonder why there is a rise in drug addiction. Could it be because getting street drugs or alcohol is a hell of a lot cheaper than going to the doctor? Naaaahhh, couldn’t be. Must be those terrorists and left-wingers, eh?

Why Are We Not Rioting In The Streets?

Well, we aren’t rioting in the streets because of this insanity because we are too tired, in too much pain and are mainly too drugged up to do much of anything constructive. Believe me, you don’t want to ever try to organize a Million Migraineur March. You’ll be lucky if a baker’s dozen show up in dark sunglasses vomiting into buckets. Well, that definately would make somebody in Washington scared.

And yes, there are people who become drug addicts in an attempt to medicate chronic pain conditions such as migraines and severe chronic headaches. That’s kind of why I’m banging on about this. When you get into such chronic pain and discover that you cannot afford to go get treatment, you can wind up feeling so helpless that drug addiction sounds like a good deal.

Here’s a Thought

Hey, if we could lower the cost of stuff — mainly health care — do you think that might be a good incentive for people not to turn to illegal (and legal) drugs in the first place?

For example, there’s program for homeless alcoholics in Seattle that has decided to give housing first and THEN give rehabilitation. The effects have been that alcoholics drink a lot less — and has saved the city some two to three million dollars.

Health care is a basic need, just like housing and food. We should be able to get it legally through doctors instead of having no choice BUT to turn to addiction as a way to kill the pain.

:: Rant mode off ::

In case you need yet more proof that those in Congress are out of touch with reality, Greenville, South Carolina Rep. Bob Inglis (Reuplican) has blamed the high cost of health care in America — due to people OVERUSING health care by people who have any kind of health insurance:

“The problem is that someone else (our insurance company) is picking up the check,” said Inglis, later adding: “If I’m spending someone else’s money, I’ll spend freely.”

Apparantly, Inglis thinks that it’s a barrel of fun going to the hospital for a battery of nuerological tests. Of course, all of us with headaches and migraines think, “Hmm. I’ve got a day off coming up. How shall I use it? I could go shopping, get drunk or –hey! I know what — I’ll get an unnecessary colonoscopy.”

What planet is this guy from? It surely isn’t ours. Perhaps he was born in a parallel world and somehow crossed between worlds without knowing it. Perhaps he shaved off his goatee, like the goatee like Mr. Spock sports in the Mirror Universe. As writer Paul Hyde points out, South Carolina has over 700,000 people who can’t afford health insurance at all — and yet health care costs are just as bad in South Carolina than in any other stste that has less than 700,000 who can’t afford health care.

The reason the cost of health care is completely out of reach for the average American is due to the greed of Big Pharma and insurance compnaines who make doctors and hospitals take out incredibly expensive claims in order to practice medicine. And I say that as someone who is currently in the midst of a battle with Medicaid just to pay for my Prozac (the most prescribed medicine on the planet). I made only $5100 last year. Yeah, I’d love to go blow twelve hours getting a CAT scan to help better determine what’s going on with my migraines just to be told that everything looks normal.

The American public LOVES to do that. I wonder if anyone else in Congress believe this nonsense?

Right. I’m taking a deep breath now. Trying to get a grip.

If you want to let your Congresspeople get in touch with the reality of having chronic pain, click here.

Back to the usual tomorrow.

At least, that’s the conclusion drawn in the latest issue of Nuerology that comes out today. It was hoped that oxcarbazepine (which is officially classified as an anti-epileptic drug and sold under the brand Trileptol) could prevent migraines. The bad news is that oxycarbazepine is no good for migraine prevention. The good news is that it still works well for epiliptics. Unfortunately, this not a blog about epliepsy.

How’d They Come To This Conclusion?

“They” in this case is the fine researchers at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. (Can you tell that I come from the Greater Philly area?) The study took about five months with human volunteers from clinics all over the country. All told, 170 human guinea pigs took part, of which I am grateful, because no real guinea pigs were harmed in this particular study.

All of the human guinea pigs had at least three to nine migraine attacks a month. Half took a placebo while half took the oxcarbazepine. The results? There was no difference whatsoever between those that took the placebo and those that took the oxcarbazepine.

Why Did They Think It Could Work In The First Place?

Drugs for epilepsy have been able to help prevent migraines in a lot of people in the past. Unfortunatley, this one doesn’t join the ranks. There was a particular hope for oxcarbazepine to be a migraine preventative as it has very mild side effects.

The epliepsy drugs that do help prevent migraines (and have side effects harder on the body) are:

• Topiramate (the ever popular Topamax)
• Divalproex
• Gabapentin (brand name Nuerontin)

Ironically, this study was funded by the very makers of oxcarbazepine, Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Hmmm, I guess they didn’t pay the researchers enough (Cheap joke — sorrry!)

Here’s a quick reminder of the FDA’s recent warning about all anti-convulsants or medicines for elipetics (including Topamax and Nuerontin).

Hope this helps.

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.

Imitrex, near and dear to many with migraines, is a brand name made by the Prince of Giant Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline (nee: SmithKline Beecham), which has offices in America but is a British-owned company. One of the reasons that GlaxoSmithKline is such a mighty international company is that they charge a FORTUNE for their brand meds (remember when Tagamet was perscription only? OY!) Nine Imitrex tablets costs, on average, $200 (US). OUCH! It might be less painful to keep on having the migraines.

Now, thankfully, there is some competition for GSK and their CEO, Jean-Pierre Garnier, who will soon retire from GSK in order to pursue his destiny of being the AntiChrist.

Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, a Princeton, New Jersey business that makes generic drugs in India, got a deal approved last week to make a generic (read: CHEAPER) Imitrex. They are going to be allowed to make three dosage sized tablets:

• 25 mg
• 50 mg
• 100 mg

They will go under the name of Imitrex’s active ingrdient, sumatriptan succinate.

Litigation has been going on for some time about drug patent issues, but at least that’s all settled (knock on wood). The generic Imitrex is planned to be available to the general public this December. (There’s a Christmas gift idea for you, folks!)

It’s going to be Christmas every day for Ranbaxy, as Imitrex earns nearly $1 BILLION (US) yearly for GSK. The terms of the settlement are not being released to the public, which is probably a good thing. The gargantuan numbers flashing in front of our eyes would be enough to trigger a migraine.

However, so far, this generic Imitrex is for tablet form only. The injection and nasal spray versions will still be the sole property of GlaxoSmithKline … for now.

So, what do you do if you need Imitrex in the meantime (and with a migraine, that is a mean time indeed)? Basically, you’re screwed. This is the way Big Pharma is. Your choices are:

• Steal it (not recommended)
• Ask for any samples from your doctor (it happens, occassionally)
• See if you qualify for GSK’s token attempt at giving a damn at GSK For You. Well, I’d change the midddle word for a more accurate description of the program, but…
• Made a voodoo doll of Jean-Pierre Garnier and stick needles in his eyes and genitals. It won’t make your migraine go away, but it will make you feel a lot better in other ways.

(Not to be confused with the computer game series of the same name, but different spelling. Sorry — as I far as I know, they don’t do fully funded clinical trials for video games, although they probably should). If you were interested in joining the clinical trail for MIST II, forget it. NMT medical announced over the weekend that they were scrapping the clinical trial for heart holes being the cause of migraines in some people because they could no longer afford it. Instead, they will concentrate on just one major clinical trail, this one for strokes.

What Was MIST II?

MIST II wasn’t a clinical trial for a new medicine, but to prove that some people get migraines with auras because of PFO (patent pramen ovale, a genetic whoopsie of the heart often nicknamed “heart holes”. It’s not an incredibly serious genetic condition, but not something you wish upon a star to get.)

MIST II was to have backed up other studies done in the UK and America about closing the heart hole to give relief to those who get migraines with auras. One of the reasons that this clinical trial was scrapped is that far more people get strokes than have PFO and migraines with auras. NMT claims that out of over 1400 applicants since August 2006 for the MIST II trial, only a handfull passed the screening qualifications. So, they have decided that the trial had “little likelihood of being completed in a reasonable timeframe.”

NMT will also save at least $14 million (US).

In NMT’s favor, the odds of you getting a stroke rather than a PFO and migraines with auras is really high. It’s estimated that 750,000 people have a stroke just in America alone. NMT claims stroke is the leading cause of disbility in older Americans, and the American Heart Foundation (which has a sister group, the American Stroke Association) claims that stroke is the third leading cause of death in America.

In case you have migraines with auras, you should go to the doctor anyway, whether you also suspect you have PFO or not. PFO is a treatable condition with surgery.

Hope this helps.

Just in case any Canuk readers felt a little left out in the cold after the last post about American headache centers and clinics, you can relax knowing that you have two up on American migraineurs. The first is your national health care for all Canadians and the second is the realease of the new medicine FROVA for migraines. Frova will only be available in Canada.

What Is It?

Frova, short for frovatriptan succinate, is made by Teva Neuroscience Canada in Montreal. It will be available by perscription only in 2.5 mm tablets. It is suppossed to help both migraines with auras and migraines without auras. Some people taking Frovan for Canadian migraines have found that either their migraines symtpms lessened or went away completly.

As you probably guessed from the name, Frova for Canadian migraineurs is int he powerful Triptan family of medicines. Other drugs in this clan include Imitrex (sumatriptan), Maxalt (rizatriptan) and Zomig (zolmitriptan). It is made for migraine pain only — so no taking Frovan for cramps or other aches and pains.

One of the things that sets Frova apart from other Triptans is that the pain relief lasts for about 24 hours after taking it.

Side Effects

Frova is a heavy-duty painkiller that should only be taken IF lesser painkillers like acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin don’t do the job. There is a risk of serious side effects with any Triptan medicine, particularly on your blood vessels. This is another reason why you have to get this stuff on perscription — you have to make sure Frovan isn’t going to clash with other medications or aggravated any blood vessel or heart disease you may have. For even more details than you ever thought possible on side effects of Frova, click here.

Since migraineurs often also have depression, please pay special attention to this warning — You CANNOT take Frova if you are on these SSRI antidepressants (and they’ re the biggies):

• Prozac (fluoexetine. Well, that counts me out of Frova, even if I did live in Canada)
• Paxil (paroxetine)
• Zoloft (sertraline)
• Celexa (citilopram)
• Luvox (fluvoxamine

For God’s sakes, don’t stop taking the anti-depressants. I say that as a person suffering from endogenous recurring depression who would probably be dead now if it weren’t for my Mom’s instincts, the love of a good dog and Prozac.

However, I am not a doctor. PLEASE talk about all of this with your doctor or neurologist before popping any pills, even if they did “fall off the back of a truck”.

It sounds like Frova is apromising new drug for the large percentage of migraineurs who cannot take other medicines and who might not have heart disease or clinical depression. I’m sure that’s good news for the both of you.

(Sorry — couldn’t resist!)

From the “We Have Met The Enemy, And He Is Us” Department:

On January 7, in the city of Americus, Georgia, a migraineur disciplined one day without pay won a court case overturning this decision, 3-1. Kim Watts, a city accounting technician employee, had to go home from work with a migraine. Her supervisor, Suzanne Freeman, claimed that Watts was faking her migraine and thus diciplined her with a one day’s pay suspension.

The most intersting thing about the whole case is that Freeman herself is a migraineur. Her explanation of a total lack of sympathy for her fellow migraineur Watts is of the “I gotta work with a migraine — YOU gotta work with a migraine” philosophy. Methinks Freeman doth protest too much, eh?

What Are The Real Issues Here?

Personally, I think people who have migraines are often thought to be faking the pain. It’s not only employers who think this, but family members and even doctors, too. In the early 1990’s, I had a doctor tell me to my face that he thought I was faking it. Real nice bedside manner there, Doc.

In case you hadn’t realised it, people with migraines usually DON’T fake having one for reasons just like what happened to Kim Watts of Americus, Georgia. And since Freeman was completely unsympathetic to her fellow sufferer, it can be assumed that no one ever beleived that Freeman was having genuine pain she could not control and thus had to suffer. You don’t need Freud or even Fraiser in order to see that she was obviously taking out her frustrations on her underling.

We who suffer headaches need some kind of instant brain scan to show to people who don’t believe us that we are having a migraine. Maybe even a prortable lie detector. Perhaps that will stop all this silliness and resentment which can really prolong a migraine and make you miss even more work.

If you need some tips about handling migraines at work, here is a link to a previous post entitled — surprize, surprize — “Migraines At Work.”

Just when you thought you could escape news about global warming by coming to a blog on headaches — not a chance. Let’s face it — the planet is at it’s last gasps, but there are many things you can do to help prolong it’s life. One of these things is switching from a normal looking light bulb to those soft ice cream cone lookin’ compact flourescent bulbs.

But a report by the UK’s Daily Mail states that these grren light bulbs cause migraines.

Nothing’s ever easy, is it?

How Reliable Is Anything In The Daily Mail?

I lived in England for over five years. The Daily Mail is not known for its accuraccy of investigative journalism. It’s a cross between The New York Post and National Enquirer. They are of the “if it’s on telly AND it bleeds, it leads” school of psuedo-journalism. More reliable sources of news from the UK are BBC News, The Guardian and The Times.

Hey, BBC News Is Putting Up The Same Story

Slightly toned down, but yes, they are reporting mostly the same story. Normal light bulbs are expected to be banned in England come 2012, and there is a good reason why medical groups are aksing for the ban to be lifted or postponed.

Green light bulbs can cause migraines and eplieptic seizures when they start flickering. It is the flickering that seems to be of the most concern. The bulbs aren’t SUPPOSSED to flicker, but often they do. This can lead to a mild strobe effect, which can trigger migraines. This flickering effect is completely unnoticeable in those who aren’t prone to migraines or headaches.

Yes, green light bulbs cause migraines in certain conditions, but the answer is not to scrap green light bulbs and go back to traditional light bulbs.

There is also thought that some eyes have trouble adjusting to the lower levels of light the green light bulbs put out. If you’ve ever had to work in low light when you are used to bright light, that will give you a killer headache.

Say Hello To LED Lighting

Currently, LED lighting is the only lighting safe enough for eplieptics and apparantly those with migraines.

But what can you do in the meantime? Some tips:

• Talk to your doctor before taking any herbal supplements. I have found that bilberry capsules help the eyes in low-light conditions. Bilberry was given to English World War II bomber pilots when they had to do night flights.
• Make sure there isn’t any glare from any lighting or window on your television, computer screen or anything that you look at a lot (like a framed photo that causes a big bright spot you can’t avoid seeing.) This will give your eyes a break.
• The technology for green lighting is rapidly developing. If you are wary about green light bulbs causing migraines or seizures, you can probably wait to change the bulbs in the rooms you are most often in. The flickering might be taken care of by then. In the meantime, change the bulbs in places you spend less time in, like the back porch or a guest room. Every little helps!