by Stacey Anter
The Library Detective
7/30/15
Yes, I know that June was Migraine Awareness Month. Yes, I also know that it is now the end of July. But, there’s a reason for my tardiness: Migraines. As someone who suffers from Chronic Daily Headaches and Migraines, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to spread the awareness, even if I completely missed the Awareness Month celebration. However, Migraine Awareness Week is September 6-12th, so I’m actually early for that one.
Migraines and Chronic Daily Headaches are not an obvious thing to see like other medical conditions. Many suffer from this form of chronic pain in silence, and it’s not just because of the sensitivity to light and noise, but it is very real. As a matter of fact, many tend to doubt the truthfulness of someone who says they have a migraine. Some people think that we’re just faking to get out of doing something, or because we want a day off from work. And as a result, migraine sufferers, or migraneurs, feel guilty when we are forced to miss work, social activities, or other responsibilities because of a migraine. But, we shouldn’t feel guilty. According to TheDailyHeadache.com, “Migraine is not just a headache. It is the most disabling of all neurological disorders and ranks seventh among all causes of disability worldwide.”
My favorite resource that really helped me understand about migraines was The Migraine Brain by Dr. Carolyn Bernstein. She is the founder and director of the Women’s Headache Center at the Cambridge Health Alliance. Because of her book, I learned that migraines and chronic daily headaches are very common, and they also vary greatly depending on the individual. For example, many people get auras but some don’t. Some people get visual auras, but I get olfactory auras, meaning, I smell things that aren’t there. One day, I figured this out because I couldn’t get the smell of dryer sheets out of my nose. Another time, it was “old lady perfume” (perfume is a trigger.) Another time, it was doughboys. So migraines and their causes, symptoms, auras, etcetera, depend on the individual. Different people get migraines for different reasons. Dehydration, weather changes, hunger, and hormones are just a few.
If you or someone you know suffers from migraines and/or chronic daily headaches (I know, I sound like a commercial for a new medication), check out these other resources and see a neurologist/specialist if you haven’t already. Here are just a few books that you could turn to for more information: Migraine: Identify Your Triggers, Break Dependence on Medication, Take Back Your Life: an integrative self-care plan for wellness by Sharron Murray, MS, RN; The Migraine Solution: A Complete Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment, and Pain Management by Paul Rizzoli, Elizabeth Loder, and Liz Neporent; The Woman’s Migraine Toolkit: Managing Your Headaches From Puberty to Menopause by Dawn A. Marcus, Philip A Bain.
There are many websites dedicated to migraines and chronic headache awareness, such as M.A.G.N.U.M: The National Migraine Association at http://www.migraines.org/ ; Migraine.com http://migraine.com/ ; The National Headache Foundation http://www.headaches.org/ ; and there are many Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn Pages dedicated to Migraines as well such as Migraneur Misfits. Just do a search on any social media site for a list.
I call myself the Library Detective because I can find the answers to any question you can think of, or at least I can point you in the right direction. To find out more about Migraines and Chronic Daily Headaches, visit your local library; there are more Library Detectives there, too.
The Library Detective 