Migraines Suffer Similar Stigma to ME/CFS and FM

[Cort]

It's not just ME/CFS and FM: every female dominated disease that doesn't kill you gets short shrift from the medical profession:

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stephanie-weaver/migraines_b_7215382.html

Sociologist Joanna Kempner has produced a fascinating book about migraine, women, health care, and bias. Kempner -- professor and affiliate of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University -- has personal experience with migraine attacks, which started for her at 5 years old.

Since I was diagnosed last year with migraine and Meniere's disease, I've been working on a migraine-friendly diet plan and book. I was fascinated to find Kempner's book, which asks the pointed question: Does migraine treatment and research get slighted because it's primarily women who suffer?

More than 75 percent of migraine sufferers are female, and Kempner's premise is that this gender inequity makes an enormous difference in how migraine is studied and treated, as well as how migraine drugs are marketed. Her book traces the history of migraine, the perception of the "migraine personality" in literature, how treatment has evolved, and the attitudes expressed about patients in both the medical literature and recent best-selling books on migraine.

She tackles such meaty topics as how pharma companies play on women's guilt about failing at their family duties, how the recent shift to seeing migraine as a neurological spectrum disorder has legitimized both headache doctors and researchers, and the rise of the patient advocate.

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I think someone should read this book and do a blog on it. We would learn a lot

 

[Issie]

My poor dad had cluster headaches. They are also called suicide headaches. People can't stand them and off themselves. There was never a day in my life that I don't remember him having one.

Issie

 

[Strike me lucky]

headaches, dam things. I definetly have a few types and some can be hard to tell between for awhile.
Since the end of march i have had a headache since having head shingles, they feel heavy and very wide spread and i have alot of memory issues or worse since having them. Also getting angry easier and pissed off at things easier than i would.

My typical viral/cmv headaches are also very broad, not severe pain but uncomfortable, sort of like turning up the brain fog dial and it turns into a headache. Also have neck gland pains and feel dead tired with arms and legs feeling like bricks

The next one i think i have now, is the frontal sinus headache/infection, when they are bad like now they push my blood pressure quite high, but i think worse since the shingles as before shingles they could get as high as 160/110, recently 190/130 but using lyrica brought this pressure and pain down to a normal level. I do find these hard to pick until they get severe. When severe my nose doesnt run and no post nasal drip, i think i get totally clogged but dont realise it. Today i thought i would just try a sinus spray and it did help open things up and post nasal drip started, this seemed to ease the pressure i was getting in my head and forehead. I do need to see a dr about other treatments and maybe something that can control bp when it goes high.

Lyrica and some panadeine forte are helpful for headaches and just resting.

 

[Issie]

headaches, dam things. I definetly have a few types and some can be hard to tell between for awhile.
Since the end of march i have had a headache since having head shingles, they feel heavy and very wide spread and i have alot of memory issues or worse since having them. Also getting angry easier and pissed off at things easier than i would.

My typical viral/cmv headaches are also very broad, not severe pain but uncomfortable, sort of like turning up the brain fog dial and it turns into a headache. Also have neck gland pains and feel dead tired with arms and legs feeling like bricks

The next one i think i have now, is the frontal sinus headache/infection, when they are bad like now they push my blood pressure quite high, but i think worse since the shingles as before shingles they could get as high as 160/110, recently 190/130 but using lyrica brought this pressure and pain down to a normal level. I do find these hard to pick until they get severe. When severe my nose doesnt run and no post nasal drip, i think i get totally clogged but dont realise it. Today i thought i would just try a sinus spray and it did help open things up and post nasal drip started, this seemed to ease the pressure i was getting in my head and forehead. I do need to see a dr about other treatments and maybe something that can control bp when it goes high.

Lyrica and some panadeine forte are helpful for headaches and just resting.

So sorry for you. They are miserable.

Issie