Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You... That You Need To Know rose to the top rankings of books on headaches and Migraine when it was released on November 1 and has remained there since.
Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches is a holistic guide to the diagnosis and treatment of headaches and Migraine disease. It offers a patient-empowering message to all headache sufferers: you don't have to live with daily pain. In this book, I provide you with all the information you need to know about getting the help you need, including: Understanding side effects, treatments for long-term relief, identification of the various types of headaches, traditional and alternative therapies, information on finding health care practitioners and support.
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Below is the press release from HarperCollins Announcing Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches...
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"If you are a headache or migraine sufferer this book is a must; if you are touched by a sufferer, giving this book would be as good a gift as you will ever find."
-- Fred Sheftell,
Director and Founder, New England Center for Headache
LIVING WELL WITH
MIGRAINE DISEASE & HEADACHES
What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You…That You Need to Know
TERI ROBERT
They’ve got nothing to do with being high-strung, uptight, or brainy. And, as sufferers know, they’re no laughing matter. Headaches can be serious, and Migraine disease is an excruciating, debilitating illness. Even worse, they are surprisingly common. Consider:
- Nearly 200 million Americans suffer from tension-type headaches.
- Nearly 33 million Americans suffer from Migraine, a genetic neurological disease. That’s more than the 32 million sufferers of asthma, diabetes, and coronary heart disease combined.
- Collectively, the nation’s Migraine sufferers spend about 112 million bedridden days and lose at least 157 million workdays each year.
These are just a few of the painful realities uncovered by Teri Robert, a Migraine sufferer for over forty years—she had her first attack at age six—and an award-winning patient advocate. In LIVING WELL WITH MIGRAINE DISEASE & HEADACHES: What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You…That You Need to Know (Collins; November 2005; $14.95), she presents a holistic and empowering approach to managing the pain. While offering insights into treatment advances, she shares numerous patient cases to illustrate a crucial fact: head pain is unique to every person. Speaking from a wealth of frustrating experience, Robert also urges sufferers to refuse to take “no relief” for an answer and become an active participant on their own healthcare team.
LIVING WELL WITH MIGRAINE DISEASE & HEADACHES begins with a discussion of types of head pain disorders and the importance of an accurate diagnosis. Robert explains why Migraines are not “just bad headaches,” and alerts sufferers to common warning signs—from food cravings to stiff neck—of an attack. Chapters move on to the subject of relief, offering sensitive, expert, and completely unbiased advice on:
- Finding the right doctor, with a list of questions to ask a headache “specialist”
- Identifying headache and Migraine triggers—bright light, lack of sleep, stress, and certain foods among the possibilities—and avoiding or reducing them
- Preventive therapies, with a look at the potential benefits of antihistamines, antidepressants, blood pressure meds, and dietary supplements—and the potential dangers of over-the-counter analgesics, like ibuprofen and acetaminophen
- The use of triptans and other abortive drugs that work to stop a Migraine attack
- Complementary therapies, with a look at the healing claims of aromatherapy, acupuncture, biofeedback, crystal therapy, massage, and meditation
LIVING WELL WITH MIGRAINE DISEASE & HEADACHES culminates with guidance on developing a support system, helping co-workers and loved ones understand the seriousness of head pain, and dealing with insurance providers. With checklists, worksheets, and summaries of key points throughout, plus a glossary of medical terms and a detailed resource section, this user-friendly and encouraging book can make life not only livable but full and enjoyable, despite the headaches and migraine attacks.
About the Author: TERI ROBERT is a health writer and patient advocate. In 2004, she received the National Headache Foundation’s “Patient Partner Award.” The About.com “Guide” for Headaches and Migraine, she also serves as the support advisor for MAGNUM, the National Migraine Association. She lives in West Virginia and welcomes visitors to her Web site, HelpForHeadaches.com.
LIVING WELL WITH MIGRAINE DISEASE & HEADACHES
What Your Doctor Doesn’t Tell You…That You Need to Know
by Teri Robert
November 2005
Trade Paperback; $14.95 / $19.95 Can.
ISBN: 0-06-076685-9
Collins, An Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers
NOTE: Living Well With Migraine Disease and Headaches is available at Amazon.com:
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December 28, 1992, marked a new era for Migraine and cluster headaches sufferers when the FDA approved the first of a class of medications that many would come to call "miracle drugs." That drug was the injectable form of sumatriptan (Imitrex®, Imigran®), the first of the triptans. Now, the FDA has approved a new Imitrex® STATdose in a 4mg dosage. This is the same STATdose injection system patients have been using; only the dosage has changed. The 4mg STATdose provides a new option to patients for whom the 6mg was "too strong" or may have produced uncomfortable side effects. Feature article.]]>
When addressing headaches and Migraine disease, it's critical to also address other issues that can affect headaches and Migraine disease as well as those that impact our overall health. Especially given the fact that 18% of women have Migraine disease (6 - 7% of men), women's health initiatives are of great interest. Heart disease and stroke, which is also an area of focus for the American Heart Association, can both significantly impact Migraine treatment. For example, Migraine abortive medications are quite often not recommended for use by patients with a history of or high risk factors for heart disease and / or stroke. Thus, it becomes even more important to learn about our hearts and how to take the best possible care of ourselves... Feature article.]]>
Thousands of Americans will help women fight heart disease on February 3, 2005, when they participate in the second year of the American Heart Association’s Go Red For Women initiative, as it gears up again for February.
One of the biggest topics of discussion amongst Migraineurs today is that of PFO, "the hole in the heart" that may contribute to Migraines. Migraineurs are asking their doctors to test them to see if they have this condition. Many of those who do want to have the hole repaired -- immediately. However, questions remain and the closure procedure is not yet being performed on the basis of Migraine disease because it has not yet been proven effective. Trials are underway to determine the efficacy of PFO closure for Migraine disease. Feature Article]]>
What Is PFO: 
We've all heard a lot about Botox, botulinum toxin type A (BoNTA). It seems as if it's being used for something different every day. There are both cosmetic and medical applications for it. In the right hands, Botox is very helpful; in the wrong hands, it can be disastrous. If you're considering Botox treatments, don't hesitate to ask how much experience your doctor has with Botox administration.
Too many Migraineurs share this problem — finding treatment for intractable or refractory Migraines. Those are the Migraines that don't seem to respond to treatment no matter what they try, be it preventives, abortives, or pain management. This situation often leads to feelings of desperation on the part of the patient and extreme frustration on the part of their physicians. John Claude Krusz, PhD, MD; (Ask the Clinician) and his colleagues; Virginia Scott-Krusz; Jeanne Ballanger, RN; and Jane Cagle, LVN; have been using outpatient IV treatment for refractory Migraines in Dr. Krusz's Dallas clinic since 1994 and collecting research data... Feature Article]]>
"The future of aggressive headache treatment is in the specialty clinic, a far more cost- and time-effective mode of treating intractable headaches, including refractory and chronic Migraines. Compared with the emergency department, the headache clinic can offer a wider range of effective and definitive treatments and offer headache patients maximum degree of success for control of Migraines. We have used IV treatment in the clinic since 1994 and presented initial data regarding its effectiveness in 1998. This study continues in documenting the degree of success of outpatient IV treatment of headaches..." Feature Article]]>
The MedicAlert E-HealthKEY is a USB flash drive that allows you to carry your medical records with you. It's an excellent supplement to emergency medical identification. You can not only record emergency information such as conditions, medications, and contact information, but you can also store medical images and your complete medical history. With your computer, the E-HealthKEY will also remind you of prescriptions and appointments and much more. You may remember my review of the E-HealthKEY from August. Until now, MedicAlert items have been available only through MedicAlert. Now, in order to reach more people with their vital services, MedicAlert has listed the E-HealthKEY on Amazon.com. Congratulations to the fine folks at MedicAlert, and thank you for the life-saving services you provide!]]>
Another medication can now be added to the growing list of medications shown to be effective for prevention of headaches and Migraine attacks. Namenda (memantine HCL, Forest Pharmaceuticals) was approved for use in the United States in October, 2003, more than a decade after its use began in Europe under the brand names Ebixa and Axura. It's classified as an orally active NMDA receptor antagonist. Namenda (memantine hydrochloride) is approved for the treatment of "moderate to severe dementia of the Alzheimer's type."
Today was a bit strange. I was reviewing the statistics for my Web sites and noticed a significant amount of traffic from a large and fairly well known online community/forum that I hadn't visited for a couple of years. Traffic to my sites from that forum means that people there must be posting links to my content. Thus, I have readers there, and I always feel that I owe my readers my support. So, off I went to see if I could offer information or support to anyone there. I registered and created a forum "signature." In that signature, I included my name, profession, email address, and Web site URLs. Since I don't charge anyone for information, support, or advocacy, in every other forum, that would be acceptable. But not on that forum. At least not to a couple of very verbal ladies (well, women) who immediately took affront to my signature. One of them felt the need to reply to every post I made and scold me for "advertising." If I were new to forums, I wouldn't be surprised. If these women had approached me nicely, I wouldn't be so sad. I don't know if I'll continue posting there or not. A couple of other members have sent me very nice private messages, but who needs that kind of stress. Sigh. You may wonder why I'm posting this. I really do have a point. If you're a member of a forum somewhere, I hope make new members feel welcome. There's always room for new people in our support groups.]]>
In the last few years, New Daily Persistent Headache (NDPH) has been recognized as a distinct primary headache syndrome. It is characterized by continuous daily head pain, varying in intensity, and sometimes accompanied by Migrainous symptoms. It's important that NDPH be diagnosed carefully and correctly after ruling out other conditions that can present the same symptoms. Feature Article.]]>