Headache & Migraine News Blog

Here's a quick tip if you can't sleep.  You know, you wake up with a headache or you're just feeling restless, and you're feeling hot.  You try and try, or you just try not to try, but you can't get back to sleep.  The tip?  Try water.

No, don't drink it.  Splash it on your skin - your legs, your arms, your stomach, wherever.  Nice cool water.  Not a gallon, just enough to get wet.  Seriously!  Splashing water onto your skin will cool off your skin, and will actually make it easier for you to get back to sleep.  You may even find that you can avoid the painkillers, or the warm milk (which after all might cause another trip in the night!).  Give it a try next time you wake up hot and restless.

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More migraine attacks, less support
December 15, 2006 10:16 am

On a regular basis those studies come out that anyone with a chronic illness can relate to.  You say,"Yes - exactly!" even though you haven't really thought specifically about it before.

Such is the case with an internet survey throughout Australia.  Here's a summary of the results...

Most people with migraine felt supported by family and friends (64% - not exactly a high percentage, considering these are the people closest to you!).  However, when it came to the workplace, only 29% felt supported by coworkers, and 26% by managers.

So far, no big surprises.  I'm very sorry to see that managers are so unsupportive - they should outrank the coworkers and be champions of thier employees - for the sake of the people, the workplace and the business.  But here's the worst finding of all:  The more attacks people had, and the more frequent those attacks were, the less support they felt they had!

I know, once again no big surprise.  But non-sufferers need to realize the severity of the problem.  That coworker that is away with a "headache" (migraine is not a headache, folks) is suffering from pain that many people (people that have experienced both) have compared to a root canal, a broken bone, or giving birth.  And when those people drag themselves to work the next day, they're not neccessarily fully recovered.

Read more details of the migraine study in The Australian.

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Headache and migraine blogging tour
December 19, 2006 9:10 pm

It's about time again to visit some headache/migraine/cluster/etc blogs for a few good recent posts...

Often at this time of year, HeadWay has suggested some gift ideas for someone with migraine or headache.  It's time for someone else's suggestions - check out these holiday gift ideas.

You've read before about one of migraine's "friends" - thyroid disease.  For some newly updated information, read Thyroid Disease Can Be Linked To Headaches and Migraines

Can you relate?  Most of you know The Monster

We're always looking for ways to get to sleep - ah yes, Sleep, Sweet Elusive Sleep

The title says it all - ugly dog, bad day

An interesting perspective on the spiritual side (or perhaps moral) of medication - medication: crutch or life line

For more recent posts from bloggers like these, check out the Migraine Blogs, Headache Blogs page.

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Cheap headache killer you can learn
December 29, 2006 3:51 am

I was reminded by the comments of Curt Beil from the BVDN (Professional Association of German Neurologists) that I haven't said nearly enough about one of the most effective, inexpensive headache treatments out there.  Beil was commenting on biofeedback (which I have written quite a bit about) and progressive muscle relaxation.  Of all the many relaxation techniques, he says, it's the best studied, and works great with biofeedback.

There's another reason why you often hear about these two techniqes together - they were both pioneered by the same man:  Dr Edmund Jacobson.  He studied the nervous and muscle systems extensively, and believed that many disorders were related to muscle tension.

So if you have tension headache, migraine, or even just need to relax, this is something that you should take the time to learn.  A study from the summer of 2005 on relaxation training also confirmed the benefits of such training in childen too.

Progressive relaxation training involves tensing and relaxing muscle groups in an organized way.  Though you should be cautious if you have back pain or other muscle problems, this is very safe even for children.  You can easily learn to do it by yourself (though some people prefer audio guidance as an additional aid, such as Carolyn McManus' audio CD, Progressive Relaxation & Autogenic Training).  There are some excellent guidlines on progressive muscle relaxation here.  I suggest you visit the link and give it a try - it's worth it even if your headaches or migraines are not severe.  I hope I can write more on the topic in the future (but right now I need to go and relax!).

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