MigraineCast

Migraine as an Invisible Illness

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network.

One of the biggest challenges faced by people with Migraines and chronic headaches is the level of understanding of those around them. Migraineurs often say that only other Migraineurs can understand them and what Migraines do to their lives.

One reason for that is that Migraine disease and chronic headaches are "invisible" illnesses. Yes, people can sometimes see that we're in pain, but the illness, the source of the pain, isn't something they can see or feel for themselves. We don't have a visible wound or any visible scars. We don't need crutches or a wheel chair, or other assistive devices. Let's take a look at invisible illness...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download Invisible_Illness.mp3  . In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

Is Stress a Migraine Trigger?

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network. This week, we're taking a look the relationship between stress and Migraine disease.

There is some controversy as to whether stress is an actual trigger. The International Headache Society has moved it from their list of triggers to their list of exacerbating factors on the premise that it doesn't by itself trigger Migraines but it does make us more susceptible to our triggers. So, what does it matter if stress is an actual trigger or an exacerbating factor that makes us more susceptible to our triggers?...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download is_stress_a_trigger.mp3. In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

Setting Reasonable Goals for Headache and Migraine Treatment

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network. This week, we're taking a look setting realistic treatment goals -- goals that give us something to strive for, but aren't so high that we give up.

Recently, someone with very frequent and severe Migraine attacks told me something her husband promised her. He promised her that, when she'd been Migraine-free for six months, he'd buy her a plane ticket to visit a friend. On the surface, that seems like a nice thing to do. But it brought to mind the subject of setting realistic goals -- goals that aren't too easy, but aren't so difficult that we'll want to give up. I consider my Migraine preventive regimen to be extremely effective, but it's been many years since I was Migraine-free for six months...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast062607.mp3. In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

National Awareness Week - Seven Healthy Habits of Headache and Migraine Sufferers

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network.

Sunday, June 3, marks the beginning of National Headache Awareness Week. Some people have asked me why there's an awareness week for headaches and Migraine disease. People who need to ask that question are generally people who never experience anything beyond a minor tension-type headache. Those with chronic headaches or issues with Migraine disease know the answer. Although the World Health Organization ranks Migraine disease as the 19th leading cause of years lived with disability on a global level, Migraine is still dramatically underdiagnosed, undertreated, and misunderstood. That ranking is from 2004. In 2000, Migraine was ranked at 20th. While we would hope that Migraine would move down on the list, it is, unfortunately, moving up. Tension-type headaches are experienced by 80% of the world's population. Extrapolation from figures for migraine prevalence and frequency of attacks suggests that 3,000 Migraine attacks occur every day for each million of the general population. Less well recognized is the toll of chronic daily headache: up to one adult in 20 has headache every or nearly every day.

Initiated by the National Headache Foundation, this year's awareness week is focusing attention on Seven Healthy Habits of Headache Sufferers...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast060307.mp3  . In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

PFO - A "Hole in the Heart" Related to Migraine?

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network. This week, we're taking a look at the connection between patent foramen ovale (PFO) and Migraine.

It's theorized that a PFO causing unoxygenated blood to be circulated to the brain may trigger Migraines. In 2004, research was published that seemed to confirm this theory. The problem with that research was that the studies asked patients for information about headaches and Migraines that occurred in the past as opposed to gathering information at the time of the episodes. Also, the data for this research was gathered from studies performed to evaluate PFO and stroke. Thus, more conclusive research is needed before the connection between PFO and Migraine can be evaluated and PFO closure considered as a treatment for the prevention of Migraine. This research is underway now...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast050907.mp3. In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

Can Migraine Protect Memory?

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network. This week, we're taking a look at the recently released results of a research study.

Many of us have wondered what effect Migraines might be having on our brains and our memories. Certainly, during a Migraine, thinking straight can be difficult at best, and many of us don't remember much of what transpires during the time we have Migraines. This study indicates that women with Migraine with aura may experience less cognitive decline over time than nonmigraineurs.

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast042407.mp3. In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

 

The Most Common Head Pain

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network. This week, we're taking a look at the most common type of head pain, tension-type headaches.

Up to 78% of the world's population experiences tension-type headaches, and 60% of sufferers experience reductions in social activity and work capacity. Tension-type headaches can also trigger Migraine attacks....

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast041707.mp3 . In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

 

Migraine Trigger Identification and Management

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network. This week, we're taking a look at identifying and managing Migraine triggers. Triggers are physical things we encounter that bring on or "trigger" Migraine attacks. Some are avoidable; some aren't. But once we identify them, we can work to avoid those we can and, hopefully, manage at least some of the others...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast041007.mp3. In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

 

The Most Frequently Asked Migraine Question

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Welcome to MigraineCast the weekly podcast brought to you by MyMigraineConnection.com and the HealthCentral Network. This week, I want to address the question that's asked more than any other single question. We hear and read this again and again from people who say, "I've tried every preventive medication out there, but nothing works. Now what?" There is an answer to that one, "It's literally impossible to have tried every preventive option available." There are...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast040307.mp3. In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!

 

Rebound - When Our Medications Cause Headaches

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They're a conundrum, a vicious cycle, a Catch-22. I'm talking about medication overuse headaches, also known as rebound.

In a recent poll on MyMigraineConnection.com, only 3% of respondents said that they're doctors told them about rebound before they experienced it. 26% said their doctors explained it after they experienced it. The remainder? Their doctors never explained it at all. Sad statistics.

So, what is medication overuse headache or rebound?...

Ready for this week's podcast? Here it is! Download MigraineCast032707.mp3 . In some browsers, podcasts can be a bit slow to load, so please be patient if it doesn't load immediately. (In my experience, podcasts load and play fastest in Firefox.)

While you're here, please take a look to your right on the page where you'll see a variety of ways you can subscribe to our podcast.

Until next week, Live Well!