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Posts Tagged ‘Teri Robert’

One Million Dollars for Moms for Migraine? That shouldn’t be Hard!

May 8th, 2009

The National Headache Foundation has a great idea.  There are at least 36 million Americans who suffer from Migraine disaease.  (Yes, look around.  That’s one out of every 12 people you know!) If just one million of us gave a dollar each, that would raise a Million dollars for Migraine research!  Did I mention that Migraine research is so underfunded that the research is about 30 years behind any other major disease that impacts this many people?  Yes, I did, but that’s okay, I’ll mention it again.  Please go back and read what we were lobbying for at Headache on the Hill.

Only one out of 36 of us has to participate to make this work.  Are you game?  Go on over to the National Headache Foundation and give just one dollar!

Teri Robert lets us know about a lovely added twist, just in time for Mother’s Day!  Have a mother or grandmother with Migraine Disease?  Are you married to one?  Is your sister one?  How about giving one dollar for Migraine research in her name – a lovely way to recognize her on Mother’s Day!  Read Teri’s post The Perfect Affordable Gift for Migraineurs here.  The National Headache Foundation is launching the Migraine Million Campaign just in time for Mother’s Day – to raise awareness that this is a genetically based disease.  Talk to your Mom about Migraine disease.

– Megan Oltman

P.S. Six percent of men have Migraine disease too. You can give a dollar in the honor of all those Mother’s sons!

Tags: Migraine disease, Migraine research, National Headache Foundation, Teri Robert
Posted in Advocacy, Current Affairs | Comments (0)

Migraine and Headache Poetry Contest

March 22nd, 2009

The ninth annual Migraine and Headache poetry contest is going on now at MyMigraineConnection.  Teri Robert, patient advocate and Migraine expert on MyMigraineConnection.com, has kicked off the “Putting Our Heads Together” Poetry Contest. The contest seeks poetry on how Migraine disease and/or headache disorders affects your lives. You can submit up to three poems, in any style, for the contest – the more creative, the better! To enter the “Putting Our Heads Together” poetry contest, visit: Poetry Contest.

As those of us who blog on Migraine can tell you, writing is a one of many creative outlets that can help you cope with this disease. Make art out of pain, and help others find fellowship and understanding. Don’t worry if you think you’re not a poet. Poetry is painting pictures with words – hold your brush lightly, don’t think too hard, don’t force it, let it flow. Rhyme, or don’t rhyme, play with the rhythm and music of the language. I hope to see you in the contest!

– Megan

Tags: headache disorders, migraine, My Migraine Connection, poetry, Teri Robert
Posted in Communicating, Weblogs | Comments (0)

Running on Fumes

March 14th, 2009

A while back I wrote a… um… post (rant?) about how stress is not a Migraine trigger (officially) but… why does it seem that way to us so frequently?  The International Headache Society calls stress an aggravating factor, in other words, it’s not considered a trigger, but a factor that can make us more susceptible to our triggers, perhaps lower our threshold to be triggered into a Migraine.  As far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on this question.  Given that hormonal fluctuations are one of the biggest triggering factors, (such as the hormonal fluctuations that give women menstrual Migraines and increases or decreases in Migraines around menopause), and given that our bodies react to and cope with stress by release of stress hormones (cortisol and epinephrine, among others), I’m betting research will eventually show that changes in stress hormone levels play a role in triggering Migraine attacks.

I’ve spoken with Teri Robert, author of Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches, about this topic.  Teri makes several good points – the level of stress in our lives may be largely out of our control, while individual triggers may be in our control.  Therefore if we focus on stress, we may be focusing on something we can do little about, rather than on something we can change.  And, if we blame stress we may be missing other triggers that being stressed makes us forget.  Do you sleep well, or enough, when you are stressed? Do you eat well, regularly, or enough? Do you overdo it on caffeine?

As so often happens, I had a chance recently to be my own guinea pig for these speculations.  I was given a rush project to complete over a weekend, and my world became all about getting it done.  It took me back to college, law school, and my early days as a lawyer, when a project could take over everything, and sleep, food, everything else would go on the back burner. It’s not a mode of operations I have used much in the past decade, and clearly not one that is good for me, but boy was it familiar!

On the second day of the project I woke up early after not enough sleep, my head full of the research I had to do.  I whizzed through getting my son off to school, and whatever I had to do of my morning routine, and was at my desk and deeply immersed in legal research before nine in the morning.  I was alert, turned on, and my mind was moving fast.  I was drinking more coffee than I usually do, and I noticed I had little appetite, and less tolerance for taking the time to eat, or rest.  I don’t know exactly when I noticed, but I could see it coming.  I was definitely pushing myself beyond normal endurance limits, and I could actually feel the point where the stress hormones took over.  When I was 25, I could run like that for several days without triggering a Migraine.  Now I could feel the lurking heaviness around the margins of my mind, crowding right in on the heels of my adrenaline high.  I caught myself before I lost much sleep, or skipped many meals, or propped myself up on much more caffeine than usual.  I forced myself to stop and rest, and although I couldn’t nap with all that caffeine in my system, I did lay down and do relaxation exercises, and I did manage to avoid the Migraine I felt threatening.  My hat is off to Teri for good practical advice, because if I was busy blaming the stress, I could not have attended to the triggers in this way.

I realize I’m not telling you a tale of a Migraine, but of a Migraine averted, and that’s good news. That’s actually another post, for another day, and I’ve written others on the theme – you can push those triggers back at times, and stopping and relaxing can do it. That’s why I offer relaxation teleclasses and recordings!  But if I hadn’t been so aware, and hadn’t had that tool; if my Migraines weren’t managed to the degree they are, I would have had a Migraine that day. In fact, I had one at the end of the project, three days later!

So, was the stress itself a trigger, one in the stack, with the lack of sleep, insufficient food, and excess caffeine? Was the stress an exacerbating factor that made me more vulnerable to the effects of the other three triggers? Or was the stress the producer of the stupidity that made me willfully expose myself to those triggers, the very things I so carefully manage my life to avoid? What do you think?

– Megan

Dashboard image courtesy of Winstonavich/Winston.

Tags: International Headache Society, Migraine management, Migraine triggers, relaxation practice, stress management, Teri Robert
Posted in Managing | Comments (4)

Help Us Get Better Treatment

February 7th, 2009

Most of the time we do what we can to manage our own Migraines and support others, but don’t feel like we can have much of an impact on the disease itself or our treatment options. Coming up on February 24th is the Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy‘s (ADHA) Annual “Headache on the Hill” – a day of advocacy on Capitol Hill where we will be lobbying our Congressional representatives for a larger share of National Institutes of Health dollars for Migraine and Headache Disorders research. I’m very excited to tell you that I will be in Washington along with Teri Robert and a number of leading Migraine specialists and advocates to speak with my Congressman and Senators. Read some more about what Teri has to say about it here: We Need Your Help to Get Better Migraine Treatment.

So, here’s what happens in the meantime. The ADHA will need your help in writing to your representatives sometime soon, possibly before Headache on the Hill, to inform them about the issues and ask them to lend their support. Could you please go over to the ADHA site today and sign up for their mailing list?  This way you will know when it’s time to write your representatives. Why are Migraine and Headache Diseases so under-represented when it comes to our National Health dollars? Probably because we haven’t had the kind of organized advocacy that other diseases have had, but we can change that now!

I’ll let you know here when it’s time to write to your representatives, but please sign up with ADHA today so that you don’t have to rely on me! Thanks for your help!

– Megan

Tags: action alerts, Alliance for Headache Disorders Advocacy, Headache on the Hill, migraine advocacy, Migraine disease, Teri Robert
Posted in Advocacy, Medicine | Comments (0)

The Weather Report inside my head (Sinus and Migraine locked in competition)

March 16th, 2008

Sniffly with a chance of coughing?  Yesterday’s migraine has transitioned into today’s sinus infection.  You don’t really want to hear about the nasty greenish glop going down the back of my throat!  I seem to have two major weather systems duking it out in here.

I’m going to try to make sense here, but the brain is not quite up to par today, so no promises.  It’s hard to think with stuff pressing on the brain – whether that’s from the inflamed blood vessels of a migraine or from blocked up sinus cavities.

I’ve been wondering for some time about the sinus/migraine connection.  In a thought-provoking article, Sinuses giving you a headache?  It’s probably Migraine! Teri Robert tells us that ” nearly 9 in 10 people with sinus headache symptoms likely are suffering from Migraines,” and Migraine not only causes pain in the sinus area, but can lead to nasal congestion as well! According to a research study  presented in 2004 at the 46th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Headache Society (AHS), “real” sinus headache is only present when there is a sinus infection, which typically involves fever, lots of green or yellow mucus, and swollen lymph nodes.I have to say, as one who has clear and obvious Migraines, (pounding pain in one or both temples, with extreme light and sound sensitivity) and clear and obvious sinus infections (with the green glop of doom, swollen glands and fever), the study raises as many questions as it answers.  To quote Teri Robert further:

Ironically, researchers believe a few of the people in the study may have acquired sinus infections as a result of having a Migraine. Lengthy Migraine attacks can lead to swollen nasal membranes and closed off sinus passages, creating the perfect environment for an infection, said Dr. Eross.

I had one neurologist (not a headache specialist) tell me my sinus problems are probably Migraine.  Without asking any further questions about my history, it sounds like he read the research, but I don’t think he was giving me useful information.  I don’t generally have those suspect sinus “headaches,” I have months of recurrent infection symptoms.

This is the essential chicken and egg dilemma.  Do my Migraines lead to sinus infections? Does the pressure and swelling of infection trigger Migraines?  Both look likely from my own history.  My internist is intrigued by the question but has no answer for me.  I’ve got my hopes pinned on the headache specialist appointment in June.   What difference does it make?   If I can work out a good preventive regimen for either ailment, I’d love to have it help both!

In the meantime, I try to live in the way that will best take care of both the sinuses and the Migraine brain, which for me involves avoiding dairy, keeping my supplements up (including magnesium and B for the head and C and zinc for the immune system), eating in a way that takes care of my gut (high fiber, not a lot of processed foods, using a pro-biotic supplement), keeping my nasal passages moist with a neti pot and saline spray, and using relaxation to keep the ole brain calm cool and collected (more or less).

Megan Oltman

Free my Brain from Migraine Pain, Free my Head from Sinus Dread?

Vitamin photo courtesy of DRB62/Daniel R. Blume

Gargoyle photo courtesy of ClatieK/Katie Claypoole

Tags: American Headache Society, migraine, sinus infection, Teri Robert
Posted in Communicating, Managing, Medicine | Comments (1)

March Headache Blog Carnival – Maintaining Friendships for Those With Migraines and Headaches

March 10th, 2008

Be sure to check out the March Headache Blog Carnival – up now on My Migraine Connection!

Generally speaking, a blog carnival is a collection of links to a variety of a blogs on a central topic. The Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival has been created to provide both headache and Migraine disease patients and people who blog about headache disorders with unique opportunities to share ideas on topics of particular interest and importance to us. Visit the link to this month’s carnival for a collection of thoughtful entries on negotiating friendships that are so often impacted by headaches and migraine disease.

Thanks so much for hosting, Teri!

– Megan

Tags: Teri Robert, Weblogs
Posted in Weblogs | Comments (0)