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Archive for the ‘Current Affairs’ Category

Treating-People-Like-Swine Flu

May 2nd, 2009

I don’t know about you, but I was not at all shocked to learn that the CDC was investigating large-scale factory-farming pig feedlots in Mexico as the probable “ground zero” of the new H1N1 type A influenza mutation.  Feedlots belonging to US agribusinesses, mind you.

According to David Kirby in the Huffington Post last week,

One of the first things they [the CDC] will want to look at are the hundreds of industrial-scale hog facilities that have sprung up around Mexico in recent years, and the thousands of people employed inside the crowded, pathogen-filled confinement buildings and processing plants.

“Swine Flu: Will Factory Farms Kill Millions?”

I’m not shocked, but I’m disgusted. Move the feedlots to Mexico where you can crowd people and animals in together in unsanitary conditions; let’s destroy the immune system of the world while we destroy the environment and the economy.  Oh don’t get me started.  Go read The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  Buy local organic food.

As for me, I’m in bed for the last two days.  My glands are painfully swollen, I have body aches and chills, I’m sneezing and coughing.  I don’t have a fever or any respiratory distress, and my family members are taking good care of me, so don’t call 911.  I don’t think I have swine flu but I feel awful so please forgive me if I’m behind on posting.

– Megan

Three pigs image courtesy of Eric Moeller.

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Posted in Books, Current Affairs, Rant | Comments (4)

We Can Do Something About Pain Care Today

April 20th, 2009

Once again, there is an opportunity to take a little bitty action that makes a big difference.  There has been a National Pain Care Policy Act before Congress since 2003.  This may be the year at last, as it passed the House in March and is now in the Senate.  Pain is the most common reason that Americans access the health care system, yet there has been no consistent national standard for dealing with pain care.  This has great implications for all of us with chronic pain conditions, Migraine included.  The Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy has taken on passage of the National Pain Care Policy act as one of its goals – it will make a significant difference in the treatment we receive.

So, the time has come to email your senators and ask them to co-sponsor the National Pain Care Act.  It’s ridiculously easy.  The good folks at the AHDA have once again set it up so all you have to do is click, type in your name and address, add a few words of your own if you wish, and you’re done.

Please go over to the AHDA site and email your Senators today.  Less than five minutes, I promise, and you’ll be feeling no pain (at least, not from this).

– Megan Oltman


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Posted in Advocacy, Current Affairs | Comments (0)

Headache on the Hill

February 25th, 2009

I spent the day yesterday doing something I’ve never done before – lobbying Congress.  I’m not entirely sure I would ever have predicted that I would lobby Congress.  It was a great experience, and one that I’m sure will take me several posts to process and tell you about.  But I can at least get started.  The Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy (ADHA) is a wonderful group of doctors, advocates, writers and researchers who are fighting for better headache care for YOU.  I arrived in DC on Monday for a training session put on by the AHDA and learned some key things about the underfunding of Migraine and headache disorders research, and about how to lobby.

Nearly 40 of us spent Tuesday on Capitol Hill speaking to legislators and legislative aides.  I visited two senators and three congressmen from my state, along with another Migraine sufferer.  We were requesting that they add language to the 2010 appropriations bill which will direct the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to spend a larger share of their funds on Migraine and Headache Disorder research.

Here are some of the things I learned, straight from the AHDA fact sheet which we shared with the legislative aides:

Headache Disorders are the most prevalent neurological disorders.  This year:

US costs for headache disorders this year will be:

Migraine is extremely disabling, resulting in:

What has the response of the NIH been so far?  The NIH is responsible for funding, with our taxpayer dollars, the basic research that makes medical innovation possible.  So far the NIH funding for research on headache disorders is less than $13 million annually which comes to less than 0.05% of the NIH budget. Research of NIH funding relative to disease burdens (the impact of a disease on society, including prevalence, economics, disability, and mortality, as discussed above), shows that a fair share of funds for headache disorders (compared to other diseases with similar disease burdens) should be at least $103 million annually.

We got a good reception, particularly from our senators’ aides.  There is more work to do, but I think we are making an impact.  You can make an impact too.  Go to the ADHA site and sign up for their action alerts.  On Monday, March 2 we will be asking you to email your congressional representatives, asking them to sign on to the language directing the NIH to do the right thing with regard to headache disorders.  If you sign up for AHDA action alerts today, taking action next week will be as easy as a couple of clicks.

– Megan

We can make a difference!

US Capitol image courtesy of Kim Baker.

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Posted in Advocacy, Current Affairs, Medicine, Science, Uncategorized | Comments (9)

Balance through the Storm – Maintaining our Health in Hard Times

December 11th, 2008

Balance is a precarious thing. Living a life in balance is a challenge for most of us in the 21st century, with the demands of careers, family, a fast-changing world, information overload. Add chronic illness into that mix and living a life in balance becomes both more crucial and more challenging.

The elements are the same, whether you are ill or well.  All of us need:

With these elements present, and balanced, in our lives, human beings can live healthy and fulfilled lives, on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels.  When these elements are lacking, or out of balance, we see problems arise. For someone without chronic illness, those problems may not show up right away. They may take years to manifest. For those of us with chronic illness, lack of balance triggers us into attacks, flare-ups, and deterioration of our conditions.

I have to confess I have struggled quite a bit with that balance lately. Like most of us, hard economic times have had their impact on my business, and I have tried to compensate by working harder and longer. To the extent to which this means I am more focused and get more done with my working time, it’s not a problem. The issue that I see is one that most of my clients experience as well, that of being unable to stop. I know I can’t work through lunch or on beyond 5:30 without real immediate consequences to my health. Trying to sustain that level of focus without rest breaks is one of my biggest Migraine triggers. Knowing that if I keep pushing now I may lose the whole day tomorrow is usually enough to stop me, but not always. Do you find it hard to maintain balance right now?

I picture us standing on the center of a see-saw. In calm weather, we can learn, through time, to balance pretty well on the center of that see-saw, training our muscles to adjust to little fluctuations and shifts of weight, to keep us in balance most of the time. If a big wind comes up, the muscles we have trained and the balance-ability we have developed just aren’t sufficient to the job any more. I think in the current economy we are standing on the center of a see-saw in a big gusty wind. We need to strenghten those balance muscles now more than ever! We need them more than ever!

Many of us are facing realities in which we must do more work to survive, or go back to work, or do different, more difficult work. I can’t give you a one-size-fits-all answer here, but remember you must relax, and breathe, and have balance. Don’t forget you can join us on Monday evenings for relaxation teleclasses. It won’t help if you work so hard it makes you too sick to work.

– Megan

See-saw sign image courtesy of Tyger_Lyllie/Kat; storm image courtesy of BCMom/Anna.

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Posted in Current Affairs, Managing, Musings | Comments (2)

Imitrex Now off Patent – Non-Brand Name Forms now Available

November 24th, 2008

Imitrex – the trade name of the drug sumatriptan by GlaxoSmithkline – is at long last out in generic form. Imitrex was the first of the triptan class of drugs to be released, and is therefore the first to be coming off patent. When Imitrex came out about 15 years ago it revolutionized treatment of acute Migraine attacks. Triptans work not as pain-killers but work directly to abort the neurological process involved in a Migraine attack. Although they are contra-indicated for some Migraineurs, particularly those with cardiac-related problems, they are tolerated by most, and make it possible to greatly limit the impact of a Migraine attack.

Kerrie at the Daily Headache reported last week that injectable sumatriptan is now available in a generic form, and the Wall Street Journal announced today that Dr. Reddys Laboratories has launched the generic version of sumatriptan tablets. This is great news for Migraineurs – Imitrex has been one of the more expensive triptans on the market, retailing for anywhere from $15 – $25 per pill. Many Migraineurs, myself included, have found ourselves in ongoing struggles with our insurance companies, which limit us to 4 (or 2, or 6) pills per month, forcing us to choose which Migraines to treat and which to suffer through. I am still fighting for reimbursement of over $200 for Imitrex that was prescribed, and which the insurance company said they would pay for and didn’t. But that’s just another health insurance headache story.

– Megan

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Posted in Current Affairs, Medicine | Comments (3)

Your Host Seized by Election Fever

November 4th, 2008

I have to admit to a new illness – not a chronic one this time, but acute.  I have election fever.  I fear I
will be good for nothing until the election results are in tonight, and that will be late.  Tomorrow I will be exhausted and probably have a Migraine from lack of sleep.  I could hardly sleep last night, and my dreams were full of voting booths and speeches, polls and impassioned arguments.  Yesterday I had a teary conversation with my parents about how they raised me, about the values of inclusiveness and democracy, remembering the assassinations of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy in my childhood, my parents’ deep despair at those events and how they explained the world to me around them, and how this election feels like a fulfillment of what my parents have stood for their entire lives.  Who else out there is as worked up as I am right now?

I already anticipated that I would not sleep much tonight; I didn’t expect that I would have such trouble sleeping last night.  I didn’t expect that my irritable bowel syndrome would flare up, as it did overnight and is today.  It’s a good thing I live in a very small town because  a long line at the polls would not work for me today!  I plan to spend a few hours volunteering today, helping others get to the polls, providing rides if needed, as long as my body allows me.

As a coach, as a chronic illness coach I should probably be advising you, and myself, to relax, to get rest today, to go to sleep tonight and find out the election results in the morning.  I don’t think I would be capable of taking that advice.  We are human, and we must concede our humanity.  My Migraine Connection posted their poll of the week today – “Do You plan to vote regardless of a Migraine?“.  Of around 120 responses so far, 94% said yes, they plan to vote regardless of a Migraine.  That’s how important this election is to us.  The outcome here matters to all of us, wherever we stand politically and even wherever you live in the world.  I know many people who have devoted many hours to volunteering this election cycle; my illnesses make me unable to do as much.  I may feel very sick tomorrow, but I will know I have done what I can.

Be good to yourself today.  Vote if you can and you haven’t already.  Help someone else if you can.  Let me know how you’re doing!  I’ll be back posting again when my fever has passed!

– Megan Oltman

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Posted in Current Affairs | Comments (0)

Childrens’ Health Insurance Plans Sometimes Cover Parents Too

October 30th, 2008


If you saw my recent post on our family’s Health Insurance Headaches you know I’ve been doing a lot of research into health insurance options lately.  I thought I’d pass on some information that might help some of you.  In the United States, every state and territory provides low or no cost medical insurance coverage to uninsured children under a federal initiative called the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).  The program is paid for by both the Federal and State governments, but each state administers its own program, including (within Federal guidelines), determining eligibility, benefits, and payment levels.

The program was originally designed only to cover children, but has been extended to the parents of eligible children by a number of states.  In my state parents of children 19 and younger can qualify for free coverage if they are under a certain income guideline, and for those earning slightly more there is a sliding scale of premiums.  Some other states may require the parents to be already receiving public assistance or Medicaid.  I mention it because it is worth checking your state’s rules.  So many people are temporarily out of work or their business has declined or other factors leave them unable to afford the insurance they once could.

I hope a few of you reading this are helped – or know someone else who could use this information.  I know it’s no help to those of you who don’t have children, or whose children are grown, or who earn too much but still can’t afford good health insurance.  I hope we have a better system soon!  If you live outside the US, I hope you live in one of those sensible countries with universal health coverage!

– Megan

Healthcare clinic image courtesy of Daniel Lobo.

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Posted in Current Affairs, Medicine | Comments (0)

Is the Economy Hurting your Head?

October 27th, 2008

As you know from my recent posts, the costs of health care and our national tragedy of a broken health insurance system have been hitting me where I live lately. Of course I’m far from alone in this. In the current economic crisis, people are finding it harder than ever to afford the medications and health care they need.  In a study published on October 14, the National Headache Foundation (NHF) surveyed 270 headache sufferers on line recently, and found that more than three quarters of the respondents said they have cut back financially, and those cuts have impacted their headache treatment:

63 % admit they rely on prescribed medications for their headache.  However, since the economic decline, 29 % have either delayed or skipped filling prescriptions for headache medications due to financial set-backs.  Another 53 % switched to over-the-counter medication instead of their prescription medication to treat headache in an effort to save money.

Migraineurs are not alone in this, of course, the New York Times reported last week that prescription drug sales are down, and people are cutting back on life saving medications for many medical conditions. The NHF’s survey also found that people were cutting back on certain types of food purchases, and were not sleeping as well and feeling more stress due to their economic situation.  Sleep disturbances, anxiety and dietary changes were all cited as triggering increased headaches. Delaying or skipping filling prescriptions, or using over the counter medications as a substitute is a serious concern.  It’s easy for me to say to you – don’t cut back on prescription medications!  Find something else to cut back on!  If the choice is between snack foods and prescriptions, definitely give up the snack foods.  Unfortunately, many of my prescriptions have a $50 co-pay.  I could save a lot more money delaying a $50 co-pay than going without a $3.89 box of donuts.  Sometimes we are faced with real, terrible choices.  Sometimes we have to choose what to do without, and there may be no truly right answer.  I will not presume to advise you here – you must make your own choice. Some economic insecurity is very real.  Some people lose their jobs, can’t get loans, lose their investments, don’t have health insurance, and have to make terrible choices.  Please ask yourself whether you really need to forgo this expense, or whether it is just anxiety and fear for the future that is making your decision for you. The NHF has some suggestions for ways to afford your prescriptions:

Beyond the nuts and bolts of paying for the prescriptions, though, you need ways to manage your stress and anxiety.  I suggest snuggling a kitty if you can.  NHF has some good advice, picking up on some familiar themes here at Free my Brain, they suggest you practice relaxation techniques and include exercise in your daily routine. Suzanne Simons, NHF Executive Director, concludes with a great piece of advice: “remember that the financial turmoil we are currently experiencing is temporary. …[T]he situation will get better and keeping a positive outlook may help lessen the emotional and physical impact of these volatile economic times.” Remember that economies are affected by attitudes.  Refuse to give in to despair.  Do whatever you can to make things better.  And get out and vote for change!

– Megan Oltman

Hand on head image courtesy of Mr. Thomas/Christopher.

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Posted in Communicating, Current Affairs, Managing, Medicine, Tips & Techniques | Comments (3)

Migraine News from Between my Ears

October 17th, 2008


A funny thing happens when you start blogging.  There is this little bit of celebrity that arises.  I can admit that like many people I once secretly wanted to be famous.  My friend Laura told me in High School that she pictured me as a kind of revolutionary leader, with thousands chanting my name.  If that had ever been my ambition, I’d have to say that I failed miserably.  I’ve made it through nearly 50 years of life and I don’t think even dozens have ever chanted my name.  Not at the same time, anyway.

But I digress.  I started this blog for a few reasons.  I wanted a place to share my thoughts on living with Migraine disease, and the other chronic illnesses I live with.  I particularly wanted to share my hope and strength, as someone who has come a long way in managing a life with these conditions.  I wanted to join the warm, intelligent, funny and committed community of Migraine and headache
bloggers and advocates who are making such a difference in the lives of patients and in advancing the understanding of this disease.  The big reason was this moment of truth I had almost a year ago, when I realized that my chronic illnesses are not just an impediment in my life; they
are an opportunity to
share my professional tools and skills, and the
wisdom I have accumulated, to help others manage their lives with
Migraine.  I wrote a bit more about that a few months back in My Migraine Story.

I didn’t really start the blog to keep the world posted on the doings in my own life.  I tell a lot of stories, partly because I come from a family of storytellers,and partly because I’ve always made points (with clients and anyone who will listen) by telling personal stories, about things that happen and lessons I learn.  So it’s been a lot of fun doing that here.  And lo and behold, I learn that people are actually following (to some extent) what’s going on in my life.  Little old me, Megan, Rachel & Adam’s Mom, Danny’s wife, Joan & Jim’s daughter, Jon & Ellen’s sister, the lady in the house on the corner by the field, the little red-head… that one.  It’s a small and gentle sort of celebrity, but I find when I don’t follow up on things I’ve mentioned, sure enough, you’re actually listening, and sometimes you ask.

So the news between my ears…

Hope your heads treat you well and you have an AWAP weekend!
– Megan Oltman

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Posted in Communicating, Current Affairs, Musings, Weblogs | Comments (4)

Please Email Your Senator Today!

April 4th, 2008

You Can make a Difference – Right Now!  We migraineurs spend too much of our time feeling helpless.  Part of taking back your life from this disease is to feel and be powerful wherever and whenever you can.  You can do a piece of that today.  If you are in the US, please email your senators right now!  We just got word this morning that today is the deadline to get senators on board to support increases in NIH funding for headache disorder and Migraine disease research.  Last month’s efforts to get support in the House of Representatives were successful, so thanks to everyone who helped!  And now we get another chance!

Here’s the text of the email I received from ADHA this morning.  You can click on the link below to email your senators in less than 5 minutes.  Thanks in advance for your support.  Together we can make a difference!

Dear Ms.
Oltman:

Our efforts last month to urge members of
the US House of Representatives to support increases in NIH funding for research
on headache disorders were highly successful. Twelve Representatives signed the
Obey/Walsh letter. This is an outstanding result for the first mobilization of
our numbers, and we are optimistic that it will be enough to have our message
appended to the House appropriations bill.

It is now time to contact your US Senators
for the same purpose. Unfortunately our window of opportunity is only narrowly
open. The letter with Senators’ signatures must be submitted by today, April
4th.

  1. Please take just 5 minutes RIGHT NOW to go
    directly to http://capwiz.com/headacheadvocacy/issues/alert/?alertid=11231066&PROCESS=Take+Action
    and send your message to your two US Senators
  2. Please forward this email right away to
    anyone else concerned about the inadequate state of care for patients with
    headache disorders.

Only with increased research will new
effective treatments for headache disorders become available. And only with your
help will such research activities increase to levels appropriate to the huge
scale of this problem. The larger our voice, the greater will be our
impact.

Thanks again for your efforts.

Robert Shapiro, MD, PhD
William Young,
MD,
Teri Robert, PhD
Brad Klein, MD, MBA

And thanks from me too! – Megan

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