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Ten More Primary Headache Diagnoses
Did you know there are 10 more primary headache diagnoses outside the categories of migraine, tension and trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia? While these are lesser known, they have diagnostic significance. Understanding your diagnosis can help you target your treatment. Some require excluding other causes before making the diagnosis. This blog will sort through what sets these apart.
Read MoreWhat People With Migraine Want Their Friends and Family to Know
Though migraine is one of the top ten most debilitating diseases worldwide, it is often misdiagnosed, under-treated and misunderstood. Those of us who live with this highly stigmatized condition are sometimes hesitant to speak out about the daily challenges we face. But when we talk about our condition and the many ways it impacts our lives, we raise awareness, help others feel less alone and create real change.
Read MoreThe Empowered Patient: How to take an active role in your health and care
The World Health Organization defines patient empowerment as “a process through which people gain greater control over decisions and actions affecting their health.” Becoming an empowered patient can help ensure you’re receiving quality treatments that are right for you and increase your chances of healing.
Read MoreManaging Acute Pain: Building a Migraine Comfort Plan
We’ve all had those moments. You’re going about your day when suddenly that all too familiar pain starts building as a migraine attack shows up, hell-bent on taking over. The anxiety and stress about what is to come creeps in. Often, the first step in controlling the pain is keeping calm, which is easier said than done! For times like these, it may be helpful to create a migraine comfort plan so you can be prepared and have everything you need close by in order to help you get through an attack.
Read More6 Easy Ways to Beat Holiday Stress
As the countdown to Christmas is underway, here are 5 simple things you can do to beat that last minute holiday stress.
Read More“I Hope You Feel Better”
Parenting with migraine is not easy, but holding tight to sweet moments helps keep things in perspective.
Read MoreHow Does Your Migraine Rank?
I never dreamed that I would be ranking my migraine disease….sports, yes…but migraine, not at all. I used to refer to my migraine days as ‘the good, the bad and the ugly.’ The good, low pain days were few and far between. As my ‘bad’ days increased to ‘ugly’ days, the ranking of my migraine followed. I moved from episodic migraine to chronic migraine to intractable chronic daily migraine. Each new ranking brought new anxiety, fear and desperation. Then I realized I am not alone. Of the approximately 40 million people in the US who have migraine, an estimated 4-6 million have chronic migraine.
Read MoreManaging Your Mindset and Mental Health
Living with migraine can be incredibly painful, frustrating, and lonely. It’s no wonder anxiety and depression so often come along for the ride. But there may be ways we can refocus our thinking and keep our hopes high. Keeping in mind that what works for some may not work for all, here are some ideas to add to your treatment toolbox:
Read MoreOccipital Neuralgia and Facial Pain
While trigeminal neuralgia is the most common of the facial pain diagnoses, there are others that cause facial pain. Understanding the various pain sensations and how they arise can help patients have better conversations with healthcare providers and look at different treatment options to best address the symptoms. Of the conditions explored in this blog, occipital neuralgia is the most prevalent, which stems from a spinal nerve but causes pain to be experienced in the head.
Read MoreTrigeminal Neuralgia & Facial Pain
A Complex and Acutely Painful Condition Trigeminal neuralgia, while a rare disorder, is one of the more commonly heard of facial pain disorders. In 2021, “The Good Doctor” and “Chicago Med” both featured a patient with what is nicknamed “the suicide disease.” In both cases, they had successful microvascular decompression surgery performed leaving many to…
Read MoreDo You Know What Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalalgia Is?
Trigeminal autonomic cephalalgia (TAC) is a group of primary headache disorders. The one most commonly heard of is cluster headache. This group of headache disorders are strictly unilateral, which means they cause symptoms only on one side of the head. They usually involve symptoms such as a red watery eye, stuffy or runny nose, forehead sweating, swollen droopy eye, and/or unilateral pupil constriction – these are known as cranial parasympathetic autonomic features. While this group of headache disorders has these common traits and are known as TACs, there are also important differences which help determine the most appropriate diagnosis.
Read MoreBeyond Medication: Diet and Migraine Management
Maintaining a well-balanced diet is critical to overall health and well-being. For those of us with migraine, what we eat and when is especially important. As is the case with all migraine treatment options, figuring out what to eat and what to avoid can be an ongoing challenge. You may be able to eat something one day, while another day it seems to trigger an attack. While at times frustrating, making dietary changes can help you better manage life with migraine.
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