Brother Morelos
April 6, 2007 4:26 pm
If you don't live in Mexico, you may or may not know the name José María Morelos.
Morelos was a priest - but that's not why I call him brother. He was also one of the main leaders in the Mexico's struggle for independence from Spain. He's a national hero in Mexico. The city where he was born is now named after him (Morelia). A whole state is named after him (Morelos). His face appears in paintings, you see him in monuments, and he's been on Mexican currency since the 1940s. His face is now found on the 50 peso note.
Morelos also suffered from migraine. And he's not just another famous migraineur. He's unique because many of these images remind us of the pain that he suffered.
These two pictures are typical of the images you'll find of Morelos. One is from the Palacio de Justicia (Palace of Justice) in Morelia (photo courtesy of eperales). The other is a 1 peso coin (no longer in circulation) (photo courtesy of TFDuesing). Notice that he's wearing a white bandana in both pictures. What many people don't know is why he's wearing it. He's wearing it because he has a headache. He's using it to put pressure on his head to help ease the pain (not an unheard-of treatment, by the way).
In spite of the pain, Morelos led a revolution with skill and brilliance. And today all over Mexico you can see him honoured, wearing a badge of the pain he had to endure.
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Hot and cold for tension headache
April 14, 2007 7:38 am
We've talked about heat and cold therapy before. There's always more to talk about, because there are many different ways to do it. Different types seem to help different people.
Here's a tip for tension headache from a group from the Northwestern Health Sciences University in the USA:
Apply an ice pack to the back of your skull and a hot pad to your shoulders. The ice pack will reduce pain while the hot pad will reduce muscle tension.
They also recommend a warm compress with a few drops of essential oil (remember, be careful about some oils, which may burn if they actually touch sensitive parts of your skin!).
Some more ideas - other cold therapy and heat, cold and other home remedies. Read more from the NHSU.
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Trexima (and the problem with a double-drug)
April 16, 2007 7:26 am
You might have heard about Pozen's migraine product, Trexima, which is currently under review in the USA. I know I've heard about it - a lot about it. I've written about Trexima before, more than once.
Trexima is a combination drug. Its key ingredients are sumatriptan succinate (otherwise known as Imitrex) and naproxen sodium. Both of these have been a lot of help to migraine patients. But the amazing combo seems to do the job better than either of these individual drugs. And Trexima is more than just a combo. It uses RT Technology, which is supposed to get it into your system faster, a key aspect for migraineurs. Read more on Trexima here.
But there are problems with the two-drug approach. Headache specialist Dr Christina Peterson asks,"Do you need a naproxen dose every time you need a triptan dose?" Of course, the answer is most often no, and that raises a lot of questions. There are mild questions like, am I spending more than I need to? But there are more serious questions as well.
For example, will your doctor actually prescribe Trexima and another drug, such as Imitrex, in the same month? Would your insurance cover that?
But the worst questions have to do with simply taking more drugs than you need to, which could lead to rebound headache, actually making your symptoms worse.
This is a great discussion, and it brings up issues related not just to Trexima but many other drugs. And there are likely to be more drugs like Trexima showing up at the drugstore in the years ahead. Thanks to The Daily Headache for writing on this issue and continuing an important conversation. I recommend you read the post on Trexima and rebound there as well.
In the USA, the FDA review may come to a conclusion in August, meaning Trexima still may be available later this year.
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Doctor found guilty of killing patient
April 24, 2007 7:27 am
Michael Stevenson, a doctor from Cumbria, England, has been sentenced. Stevenson was charged, and pleaded guilty, to accidentally killing a migraine patient.
It happened like this. Dr Stevenson was a doctor with 25 years of experience behind him. He got a call in January, 2005 from the daughter of Mrs Marjorie Wright. It seemed that her mother, a widow of 58, was suffering a migraine. She regularly had migraine attacks.
The doctor came to the house that morning and injected her with Diamorphine, a strong opioid. He had actually given her 30mg - 6x the normal amount. To make matters worse, he didn't stay to monitor her condition - to see if she would have any adverse reactions to the drug. Minutes later, she was dead.
In the court's opinion, Stevenson was guilty of negligence and overwork (although there is some disagreement about just how overworked he was). He will not go to prison, but he won't be practicing medicine again.
It's the policy of Cumbria Primary Care Trust, which oversees doctors making house calls in the area, that a doctor only carry one strength of Diamorphine with them.
Judge Richard McComb said,"I have before me statements from Mrs Wright's daughter and from one of her brothers testifying to the devastating loss that Mrs Wright's death has meant to them and her young grandson. A court cannot fail to be moved by such clear expressions of grief. Nothing the court can do can repair their loss. No punishment inflicted on you will ever seem adequate to expiate their sorrow."
Read more from the BBC - Overdose killing GP spared jail.
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