What have Love Me Tender and Alice in Wonderland got in common?
February 2nd 2008 14:33
All about migraines Dec. 9, 2007
Provided by: Sun Media
Written by: MARILYN LINTON
What have Love Me Tender and Alice in Wonderland got in common? Both Elvis Presley and Lewis Carroll suffered from migraine headaches.
Migraines are associated with slurred speech, a sensitivity to light, and visual disturbances. Elvis coped by wearing dark glasses, while Lewis Carroll may have written Alice in Wonderland based on the visual distortions he experienced. Dutch impressionist Vincent Van Gogh painted his famous Starry Night during one of his violent migraine attacks.
Sadly, none of these men knew what was happening to them. It's been only recently that we've learned that there are several different kinds of headaches, and that various headaches need different kinds of treatments.
Not only drug-based responses, but lifestyle changes as well.
Take migraines: This painful condition (its prevalence in Canada exceeds that of diabetes and asthma) is often underdiagnosed, says Calgary neurologist Dr. Werner Becker. The professor in the department of clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary recently led a Migraine Forum of 30 migraine experts and patients. Its goal was to examine the country's current state of migraine care and explore ways to improve the lives of Canadians with migraine.
The forum concluded that societal stigma, patient denial, misdiagnosis and treatment confusion pose barriers to migraine management. The World Health Organization ranks migraine as 19th overall among medical disorders in terms of causing years lived with disability and among women it ranks 12th. According to 1992 estimates, seven million working days are lost annually in Canada due to migraine.
Migraines have criteria that differentiate them from, say, cluster or tension headaches. About 12% of women and 6% of men have migraine, Becker says. "So many migraine sufferers don't take their migraines seriously enough. If you have diabetes, for example, you have to get with the program -- change your diet and pay attention to lifestyle factors. Migraine can become a big part of your life."
Despite its high prevalence in Canada, patients may be suffering unnecessary pain and disability, he explains. It's not only sufferers, but also doctors who don't recognize migraines. Indeed, migraine chat rooms are full of sufferers who complain about doctors who treat their condition as "just a headache."
In fact, a migraine is a specific type of headache that is usually one-sided, with pain that can be moderate to severe. Pain can be pulsating, pounding or throbbing, and associated symptoms include nausea or vomiting, sensitivity to light and sound, and, sometimes seeing flashing lights or halo effects called auras.
Headache Network Canada has a terrific site for consumers at headachenetwork.ca. "Migraine is a complicated condition," says Dr. Becker.
While the help that's available could be better, patients have to take it upon themselves to explore the specific lifestyle triggers that impact on their own condition. Red wine is a common trigger for migraine sufferers, as is lack of sleep, skipping meals, and barometric changes -- the latter which results in the weather forecasting headaches.
Medications can overwhelm and confuse: Many people find that over-the-counter meds work just fine, but if simple analgesics or NSAIDs do the trick, chances are your migraine isn't particularly bad. Other over-the-counter meds combine pain-fighters with caffeine (they may work, but can lead to insomnia or shakiness.) Analgesics that contain opiates are common, but some of these can lead to dependence.
WATCH OVERUSE
Triptans are the newer class of anti-migraine prescription drugs and work on the brain's biochemical changes. Medication overuse, however, results in rebound headaches: They account for most visits to headache clinics. Patients need to embrace self-management, says Dr. Becker, whose migraine clinics in Calgary include weekly sessions in stress management, trigger detection and medication overuse.
"Ideally, patients with frequent migraines need more than medication.
"As a sufferer you have to invest the time and the energy needed to understand your headache. You have to get to know medications, learn self-management tips, consider lifestyle changes so you don't party until two in the morning. A lot of patients don't want to do all this. They don't think they are sick. But we see some pretty desperate people
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