Neurological Institute of the East Bay

During my recent reading of Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience from Within, I was struck by a note that was sent in along with an entry to a migraine art competition.  It certainly brings up some interesting questions:

I have suffered with migraines since my early teens, and I am now seventy.  The only time that I have been free from them was during my three years as a prisoner of war with the Japanese.  The stress there was often at the breaking point, so I cannot think that this was a contributory factor.  I therefore reached the opinion that it must be the richer foods that caused them, as my own diet then was two small bowls of rice per day plus water.
From Migraine Art, quoting from Cephalalgia

Whether you agree with the writer’s conclusions or not, it brings up some interesting questions.  Many people simply assume that stress brings on their attacks, and yet there is quite a debate about the role that stress plays in migraine.

For some, migraine attacks seem to decrease under stress.  For others, they assume stress is a trigger for years, only to discover finally that eliminating something from their diet made all the difference.

I think one of the key things to remember is that we need to look beyond stress for triggers.  Whether or not stress is a factor, it seems likely that it’s not the only factor.  You may be able to find a solution that you weren’t even looking for.

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Stress, Diet, and searching for Triggers

These other posts might relate:

• Measuring Pre-Migraine Stress Levels
• Chocolate for Migraine?
• Magnesium: Top of the List for Migraine

Chocolate has a notoriously bad reputation when it comes to migraine.  But much of that reputation isn’t deserved.  Although chocolate may trigger migraine in some, it may actually be ingredients accompanying the chocolate that cause the problem.

As a matter of fact, as you’ve probably heard before, cocoa has some health benefits.  And a recent study from Missouri State University, USA, shows it may have some benefits for headache sufferers in particular.

Now before you get too excited, this was an animal study – on mice.  The mice were fed a cocoa enriched diet for two weeks.  The mice were shown to have less inflammation than those who were deprived of cocoa (poor things!).

The authors of the study felt that a cocoa supplement may help with diseases of the head and face that involved the trigeminal ganglion (part of the trigeminal nerve), not just migraine.

The researchers feel cocoa could be an important part of an anti-inflammatory diet:  Cocoa enriched diets are able to repress the stimulated expression of proteins associated with the promotion and maintenance of inflammatory … responses said the researchers.

This is a very preliminary study, but it may lead to some helpful research in the future – possibly some new supplements that may be very effective.  Of course we shouldn’t all go out and start eating chocolate bars.  However, if chocolate isn’t a trigger for you, adding dark chocolate, low in sugar, and cocoa to your diet may decrease inflammation, as well as being an antioxidant, and a source of magnesium and folic acid.

More ideas and tips regarding chocolate and headache here.  And this video shows a healthy way to add cocoa to your diet, and why.

More on the study here:  Chocolate may ease migraines: Study

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Chocolate for Migraine?

These other posts might relate:

• 9 Aphrodisiacs for the Romantic with Migraine
• Magnesium: Top of the List for Migraine
• A Review of Menstrual Migraine (the book)

This week, try using the Pomodoro Technique to keep moving.

The what?!  Well, the Pomodoro Technique is actually a time management technique developed by Francesco Cirillo in 1992.  The concept is fairly simple – you work at a certain task for 25 minutes (using a timer), then take a break.  Every 4 cycles you take a longer break.

Of course there’s more to it than that, but that’s the foundational idea.

What does this have to do with migraine or headache?  Well, a number of things.  First, overdoing it at any task can be a migraine or headache trigger.  Sitting in one position, being on your feet too long, and so on, can cause all kinds of problems.

Second, sometimes those with chronic headache become very overwhelmed with the tasks of the day.  The Pomodoro Technique can help break things into chunks, and give you a sense of accomplishment.

The best news is that there are all kinds of Pomodoro resources absolutely free!  On the official Pomodoro Technique website, you can download the book on the technique for free, join groups, find online timers, and lots more!  And watch out for the new book coming out later this month:  Pomodoro Technique Illustrated: Can You Focus – Really Focus – for 25 Minutes?

Give it a try, then come back and share your experiences.

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better.  Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge.  Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

1% Thursday: Pomodoro!

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• Chiropractic and headache
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• Is High Blood Pressure Causing My Headache?

From the Headache and Migraine News BlogBiofeedback for Migraine and Headache (podcast) These other posts might relate:Stopping Headaches after SeizureDo I need an EEG?Cheap headache killer you can learn

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Biofeedback for Migraine and Headache (podcast)

It is rare to do actual drug research on pregnant patients so it is always a boon when good research comes out that relates to pregnancy. Glaxo-SmithKline has a drug registry that has tracked pregnant women taking sumatriptan ornaratriptan since 1996. They have collected information on over 800 pregnancies and found that neither drug causes an increase in birth defects compared to migraine sufferers generally.

As of right now, all triptan medications are considered Pregnancy Class C, meaning not enough data is available to make a definitive statement on their safety. Potential risks should be weighed against the possible benefits of the medicine. Hopefully this data can lead to more clear evidence on the safety of triptans in pregnancy. As with all headache treatments, be sure to discuss them with your primary care or other health care provider.

Read more about treating headaches in pregnancy.

Looking for natural headache cures during pregnancy?

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New Information on the Triptans in Pregnancy originally appeared on About.com Headaches / Migraine on Wednesday, November 25th, 2009 at 10:00:49.

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It may not be obvious to everyone why Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience from Within is such an important book.  But this magnum opus from Klaus Podoll and Derek Robinson is a key to migraine research that has been a long time coming.

I’ve been dealing with migraine symptoms for well over 20 years.  I’ve read countless pages of research, and innumerable experiences from migraine and headache sufferers from around the world.

Even after all that, there’s still more to learn about our symptoms.  Sometimes we ourselves don’t realize consciously what we’re experiencing – maybe because it’s become so "normal".  Or we fail to realize how different someone else’s symptoms are, assuming everyone is like us.

That’s one reason why migraine art is so powerful.  When we don’t know how to put things into words, sometimes we can relay information more completely through art.  The works in Migraine Art that have been collected over many years tell us a story that we rarely get from research and statistics.

Our understanding of the brain has come a long way in the last 20 years.  But in some ways, what we’ve learned has brought up more questions than answers.  Migraine art has given us a glimpse into the brain that no scan can yet give us.

For example, in 1941, US neuroscientist Karl S. Lashley amazingly predicted the concept of the concept of cortical spreading depression, by drawing and timing his own visual aura experiences.  This idea of the "brain storm" that impacts migraine is one of the most modern theories of how migraine works.

Throughout this beautiful book of full colour pages, Podoll and Robinson analyze migraine art that demonstrates not only various symptoms, but also triggers, and even how migraine impacts life in general.

You may not see the same statistics here that you’ll see in other research.  The point is not to give an overview of all migraine research, but instead to see migraine in the light of the art.  However, the book is carefully foot noted and connected to research, again making it an important contribution not just to patients but to the researchers and medical professionals as well.

If you want to understand your own symptoms better, and those of others, there are few books that will offer more insight.  This is the work on migraine art from the top experts in the field, based on many years of careful research.

You may be wondering how Migraine Art differs from the also excellent Migraine Expressions: A Creative Journey through Life with Migraine.  Migraine Expressions is also a colourful book full of migraine art, but it also includes poetry and prose.  It’s focused simply on the works of patients, and is easy to pick up and flip through.

Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience from Within is a more scholarly work.  It’s more focused on specific symptoms and their expression in art, and goes into detail about what the art means.  It’s emphasis is on pictures (more than 300 of them!), not writing (although it includes descriptions of the art by migraineurs).  You’ll learn much more about the history and use of migraine art, and symptoms you’ve probably never heard discussed other places.

Don’t take this book to be the end-all of migraine research.  On the other hand, if you want to get an intimate glimpse of migraine from a unique perspective, I highly recommend this book.  It’s also a must have for serious researchers – a work unlike any other that will be valued for years to come.

Migraine Art thus stands as the definitive work of its kind–an incomparable collection of material on the visual and other phenomena of migraine, and, by implication, on the brain processes which underlie these.  It will serve to reassure, enlighten, and inspire…
- Dr. Oliver Sacks, from the Forward

Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience from Within now available here

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Migraine Art: The Migraine Experience from Within (review)

These other posts might relate:

• 1% Thursday: Illustrate your Experience
• Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival: Art
• Migraine Art (video)

This week – double check what you’re taking your medication with.

What am I talking about?  Well, most of us are familiar with the fact that some medication should be taken with food, some on an empty stomach, and so on.  Sometimes this impacts how the drugs work in your body.  Other times it’s just a matter of what’s more comfortable for you.

But there are other issues that you may or may not hear from your doctor.  Taking certain medications along with supplements, for example, could be a problem.  You may find both work better if they’re taken at different times.  Or you may need to cut out a supplement while taking a certain medication.

There is increasing concern about taking medications with juice – not just grapefruit juice, the most famous, but other juices such as apple and orange.  Various chemical interactions could mean you end up with more or less medicine than you bargained for – both a serious problem.  Try sticking to water.

Even taking some supplements together can be a problem.  For example, many people take calcium with magnesium, not realizing that you need to take magnesium for migraine without calcium (read more here).

So – quick tips:

• Try taking your medication with water, not juice
• Make sure your doctor is aware of all the medications and supplements you’re taking
• Check a reliable source for yourself to investigate possible interactions.  Good online sources include Medline Plus (English and Spanish, includes herbs) and MedBroadcast, and others.  I prefer to have a published work on hand, and like The Pill Book.

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better.  Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge.  Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

1% Thursday: What are you taking your medication with?

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As the end of 2009 approaches, Thanksgiving turkey and holiday spending are probably on your mind. For those of you with Flexible Spending Arrangements (FSA) you should be thinking about health care expenses, as well. Many employers have FSAs available to their employees that they can use for certain medical expenses. One drawback with the FSA, however, is that if you don't use money you've contributed to your account during the year, you lose it. In other words, you can't roll over 2009 contributions to 2010 expenses.

FSAs can reimburse you for "qualified medical expenses," and IRS Publication 502 lists these out for you. As headache sufferers some of the following may be of special interest:

• Acupuncture, Chiropractic care, or Osteopathic Manipulation
• Dental work (including exams and x-rays)
• Eyeglasses
• Laboratory fees
• Prescription medications
• Physical examinations
• Stop smoking programs

Non-prescription medications are not deductible as qualified medical expenses, but an FSA can be used to pay for them.

The IRS reminds us that the following are not "qualified medical expenses":

• Amounts paid for health insurance premiums
• Amounts paid for long-term care coverage or expenses
• Amounts that are covered under another health plan

So, if you have health insurance or other health coverage that pays for something already, you can't use your FSA.

For questions regarding FSAs and other tax-advantaged medical savings programs (like Health Savings Accounts) refer to IRS publication 969, or speak to a qualified tax professional.

=============================
To keep up on useful information
related to headaches and migraines,
subscribe to the
Headaches and Migraines Newsletter.
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Use it or Lose it! originally appeared on About.com Headaches / Migraine on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 10:00:30.

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The question was asked of our visitors: What do you feel is your biggest challenge when it comes to getting effective treatment?

You can see the responses to the right.

First, I was glad to see that Lack of support from family and friends only got 2%.  That doesn’t mean it isn’t an issue – clearly it is.  But it’s good to know that’s not the biggest obstacle most people face, because it really is a difficult one to overcome.

Finances tops the list, not surprisingly, considering the cost of many treatments.  Finances of course come into play with other obstacles mentioned as well.  What if insurance won’t cover you?  Many excellent non-traditional treatments are not covered.  And what if a good specialist or treatment is too far away?

A lack of local help was a big issue – combining lack of local specialists and lack of local treatment, 29% considered this their biggest obstacle.  Part of this probably relates to the lack of knowledge out there about headache and migraine conditions – a good doctor may be close, but she may not be up to date on the best treatments available.

Frustration with the medical system was another big factor, at 26%.  Though related to finances, this can take on added dimensions, as patients try to go through the proper channels to get the proper treatment – only to find dead ends.

Finally, 7% said that the biggest obstacle was myself – I need to decide to take action.  Though certainly there are some who have put off getting treatment when they shouldn’t have, there are many issues here as well.  What about the person who has been ignored or put down by doctors, and who is reluctant to go back?  And what if you’ve tried treatment after treatment – it can be hard to keep going.

There are no easy answers to these issues.  Continuing research and education will go a long way in getting the right treatment to the right people at a reasonable cost.  More understanding and knowledge for doctors, specialists, and even those family and friends, will make a big difference.

There are answers, there is hope, and now is not the time to give up.  It’s time to fight back.

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

Obstacles to Effective Treatment: Poll Results

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• How to be a better Headache or Migraine Doctor

This week, draw a picture illustrating your headache, cluster headache and/or migraine symptoms.  If possible, share it with someone.

Using art in the diagnosis, research and treatment of various diseases has a long and glorious history.  There are good reasons why art is so powerful – and good reasons why you should be using it to your advantage.

We’ve talked before about having children "draw their headache" – how and why.  One of the whys is because children can often express things through art that they can’t express through words.

But the truth is, we all express things through art forms of various kinds that we for whatever reason have trouble expressing in words.  Art such as drawing, photography, photo manipulation, painting, but also poetry, music – even body language and story telling.

But this week I recommend using the visual arts.  Illustrate, in some way, your experience – draw your symptoms, or your frustrations, or whatever comes to mind.

In the end, you may find you have something valuable to share with your doctor.  Or, maybe you’ve just clarified something in your own mind that will make it easier to express in words the next opportunity.

If not your doctor, share it with a family member or friend.  Or, share it with us!

What is 1% Thursday?

Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better.  Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge.  Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!

From the Headache and Migraine News Blog

1% Thursday: Illustrate your Experience

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• 1% Thursday: Watch Your Sleep Schedule
• 1% Thursday: Learn a Relaxation Technique
• 1% Thursday: Start to carefully read Food Labels