The Daily Headache

The Daily Headache's New Design and Online Support Group and Forum Launch Tonight!

Starting tonight, you'll see The Daily Headache's new design -- and our online support group and forum will open! We're aiming for a smooth transition, but there may be some glitches in the next 24 hours. You might get a mix of the new and old designs as you navigate around, so please hang in there.

Help get the online support group and forum off to a great start by starting a thread or responding to others. The content is only as good as we all make it.

Frequent Migraines + Cold, Dreary Weather = Hibernation

I've had intermittent bouts of inexplicable sadness since I returned to Seattle after Christmas. Always worried I'm going to slip into a clinical depression, Hart and I watch closely for warning signs. How I've felt just doesn't fit the profile, but I'm rarely sad without reason unless I'm depressed.

Could being cooped up in my house with migraine after migraine, and not seeing or talking to friends and family have something to do with the so-called inexplicable sadness? Hmm.

I've hidden from the cold, windy, rainy weather that's descended upon Seattle. It seems colder and wetter than usual, but maybe I'm revising history. My scalp hurts when rain, even the slightest drizzle, hits it. Wind or extra-chilly air increase my head pain.

Yesterday was warm and sunny (that's Seattle-speak for 50 degrees with a light wind, a sun-shaped glow behind the clouds and a few visible blue patches in the sky). My head wasn't any better than it had been, but I was in such a great mood. I walked a couple miles, did some grocery shopping, went to two appointments and had dinner at one of my favorite restaurants. That's more than I did in any week in January!

I went into hibernation without even realizing it. Eventually sitting in front of the cozy fire became oppressive -- the opposite of the comforting home it usually is. In the name of keeping warm and not exacerbating my head pain, I withdrew from the many activities that make my life good. I thought I was taking care of myself, but was making things worse.

I emerged into the world yesterday and it was glorious. The weather won't hold, of course, but I hope the glimpse of sun will keep my new perspective in place.

Epilepsy Drug Trileptal Not an Effective Migraine Preventive

Anticonvulsant drug Trileptal (oxcarbazepine) is not an effective migraine preventive even though preliminary data indicated it might be. In the 15-week study, 85 patients received Trileptal and 85 received a placebo. There was no difference in the number of migraine attacks for the two groups.

Unlike other epilepsy drugs that are successful for migraine prevention, Trileptal does not regulate a neurotransmitter involved in the headaches.

"Since some antiepileptics are useful against migraine headaches, it would be reasonable to assume that Trileptal would work, too. This is an example of what is necessary to prove the presence or absence of benefit," Molofsky said.

The three epilepsy drugs that have been shown to prevent migraines, topiramate, divalproex and gabapentin, do so through several mechanisms. One mechanism is the regulation of the neurotransmitter called GABA. However, oxcarbazepine appears not to affect GABA activity. It is possible that epilepsy drugs need to regulate GABA to prevent migraine, Silberstein noted.

The findings were published in today's issue of the journal Neurology. Novartis, the maker of Trileptal, funded the study.

Article abstract: Oxcarbazepine in migraine headache: A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study

New York Times Migraine (and Chronic Daily Headache) Blog

Launched last week, the New York Times' new migraine blog provides patient and expert perspectives on migraine and chronic daily headache. From the first two posts, it looks to be an excellent addition to the growing community of headache and migraine blogs.

"Philosophical resignation" is how author and migraineur Siri Hustvedt describes her acceptance of migraine as part of her life:

Our media fetishizes the heart-warming stories of those who, against all odds, never lose hope and fight their way to triumph over poverty, addiction, disease. The person who lies back and says, “This is my lot. So be it,” is a quitter, a passive, pessimistic, spineless loser who deserves only our contempt. And yet, the very moment I stopped thinking of my condition as “the enemy,” I made a turn and began to get better. I wasn’t cured, wasn’t forever well, but I was better. Metaphors matter. [Read more: Arms at Rest]

Coupling wit with incisive observations, All in My Head author Paula Kamen offers a glimpse at the travail of (non-migraine) chronic daily headache:

I’d like to lift the veil of secrecy and give those of you without the problem on a little tour, in the spirit of Lewis Carroll. It’s a subterranean, and truly absurd, netherworld of questionable tonics, of doublespeak, and of condemning authorities who pronounce seemingly random verdicts, where you cannot trust the logic of your own senses to guide you through it all. [Read more: Down the Rabbit Hole With Chronic Daily Headache]

Look for future posts from Hustvedt and Kamen as well as from renowned writer and neurologist Oliver Sacks and Wilco's lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Jeff Tweedy.

A Reader's Story: Living With New Daily Persistent Headache

Andy recently "celebrated" his third year anniversary of having a constant headache. He's determined to keep it from defining who he is, which we all know is a constant struggle.

I woke up with a headache on January 22, 2005 and it's been there ever since. I also determined through my own research that it is New Daily Persistent Headache -- it has the symptoms of chronic daily headache without the traditional migraine elements.

Most days it's pretty mild, allowing me to live my life fairly normally as long as I'm distracted by my job, family, baseball game, etc. But it never goes away. It's always there, and it's really devastating to think I'll be spending the next 50 years of my life in pain. 50 years! See how terrible that sounds? I just came across this blog for the first time and it's somewhat comforting to know there are other people out there who can relate to that. Depressing, yet comforting.

I sometimes wish I would have been in a car accident or suffered some specific traumatic experience so I could at least pinpoint an occurrence and say, "It's awful, but these things happen." In my case, all I did was wake up. It's maddening, but I try not to let it define who I am.

Like others, I've spent the past several years seeing many specialists and trying dozens of medications -- all to no avail. I'm currently taking an extended-release form of Tramadol (and Vicodin every few days) but aside from offering a few hours of slight relief, they just make me fatigued like most of the other meds I've tried.

We're all in this together, which is why it's so important to hear stories from many different people. If you'd like to share your story with readers and me, please e-mail me or leave a comment.

For more information, see the National Headache Foundation on new daily persistent headache and Her Life in a Nutshell, a blog about the disorder.

Self-Compassion: Life's Easier When You're Nice to Yourself

My massage therapist and I talked about self-compassion -- and how little I have -- for most of my last 90 minute massage. I wrote this post in 2005 and have improved some, but have a long way to go. (As evidenced by my evaluation of my progress toward self-compassion.

Having Compassion. . . For Yourself

A new study indicates that having compassion for oneself may help people deal with life's difficulties. Although the examined specific instances of failure, the findings may also help us learn to live with illness. Not that we're failures because we're sick, but that the self-blame that chronic illness invites is similar.

When Life Is Rough, Self-Compassion May Help: To Bounce Back, Cut Yourself Some Slack, Study Shows

"If life is a journey, we all run into potholes, and new research shows that those jolts might not be so bad if you treat yourself with compassion.

"In other words, lighten up on yourself when failure comes your way. Self-compassion might even help more than high self-esteem, report researchers from Wake Forest University."

I hadn't thought of it as self-compassion, but one of my newer methods for coping with headache is to try to avoid blaming or criticizing myself for having them or for letting them affect my life. Notice the words "try to" in that sentence. Success is often elusive, but I don't berate myself as often or as severely as I once did. These baby steps feel like a huge accomplishment. And I'm much more comfortable in my skin if I have compassion for myself.

(To read more details of the study, see Psychologist Finds Self-Compassion Helps People Cope with Failure)

How to Cope With Pain Blog Carnival

How to Cope With Pain's January carnival is up.

Nominate Your Headache Care Provider for The National Headache Foundation's Healthcare Provider of the Year Award

There's still time to nominate your favorite headache care provider for the National Headache Foundation's Healthcare Provider of the Year Award. Submissions are due March 14.

The National Headache Foundation Healthcare Provider of the Year Award recognizes an outstanding healthcare provider. The award is open to physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses serving patients with headaches and practicing in the United States or U.S. territories. Patients, friends and co-workers may nominate healthcare providers. A selection committee compiled by the National Headache Foundation will judge nominations based on the following criteria:

NOMINATION CRITERIA

Scope of Care
Nominee must be a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner or and nurse who cares for or serves patients with headaches.

Quality of Care
The nominee must demonstrate a high level of clinical expertise and a commitment to improving healthcare delivery to headache sufferers.

Dedication
The nominee must have demonstrated extraordinary dedication to patients with headaches during the year and throughout his or her career.

The Healthcare Provider of the Year Selection Committee will review all nominations. Current members of the National Headache Foundation board of directors and staff are not eligible to participate as nominees in the Healthcare Provider of the Year program.

The nomination form (with applicable attachments) must be postmarked or received at the National Headache Foundation office no later than March 14, 2008.

Nominations can be submitted via email to nhf1970@headaches.org. Completed nomination forms can also be mailed to:

National Headache Foundation – Healthcare Provider of the Year
820 N. Orleans, Suite 217
Chicago, IL 60610-3132

For additional information, please call (888) NHF-5552 or email info@headaches.org.

Nomination Form (Word file)
Nomination Form (PDF)

The Great Pillow Experiment: Results Not Encouraging

My joy following the Great Pillow Experiment was sadly short-lived. The day of my original post was the best and the next day was pretty good. The relief dropped dramatically and I haven't found it since. That was almost four weeks ago.

I tried a new pillow combination three nights ago. My neck and shoulder pain has lessened. While the chronic daily headache is unchanged, the migraine episodes haven't been as severe as they were the past couple weeks.

If this doesn't pan out, I'm not sure what's next. My sensitivity to odors rules out memory foam, latex and the synthetic filling of most pillows. I've tried wool, buckwheat, down, and organic cotton over buckwheat, all to no avail. These fibers may be perfectly fine, but the pillow construction is never right.

The pillow of my dreams is shaped kind of like a memory foam pillow. There's a densely stuffed ridge at the bottom to hold my neck in the right position and a dip above to keep my head at the correct angle. Maybe I should build my own.

Generic Form of Migraine Abortive Imitrex Available By December 2008

Sumatriptan, the generic form of Imitrex, is scheduled to be available by the end of 2008. Although Imitrex is available as a tablet, nasal spray and injection, sumatriptan will only be available in tablets of 25, 50 or 100 mg. It will be distributed by Ranbaxy.

In the meantime, you can save on the pricey prescription by signing up for $25 off Imitrex coupons from GlaxoSmithKline. I was skeptical because your mailing address is required to receive the coupons. I signed up a couple years ago and it hasn't been intrusive. Mailings are about four times a year and there's no indication they've sold my address.

[via Dealing With Headaches]