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Daily Chat >> General Posts >> Women's Day article (June 2011)
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Message started by Melissa on May 27th, 2011 at 4:23pm

Title: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Melissa on May 27th, 2011 at 4:23pm
I first read this in my magazine, and then found the clip online.  I already wrote a letter to the editor in concern to the paragraph below.

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Quote:
6 Little-Known Headache Facts
Discover migraine misconceptions, foods that cause head pain and moreBy Abigail L. Cuffey Posted May 13, 2011 from Woman's Day .
Photo: © Corbis
Think you’re a victim of sinus headaches? Think again. According to research, there’s no such thing. Read on to find out what else you didn’t know about all that throbbing and pounding.

1. Fifty percent of people with migraines don’t realize they have them. Current stats show that more than 29.5 million Americans suffer from migraines, with three times as many women affected as men. This type of headache causes throbbing pain on one side of your head as well as nausea or vomiting and sensitivity to light— but you don’t have to experience all of these symptoms for the headache to be a migraine. “Many people mistakenly assume they’re having tension headaches,” says Jason Rosenberg, MD, director of the Johns Hopkins Headache Center. If the pain is bad enough to make you skip work or other activities, definitely talk to your doctor. You may need a prescription drug in the triptan class (like Imitrex). For chronic migraines, you may also need to take a preventive medication (like nadolol, a beta-blocker) daily to ward off attacks.



2. There’s no such thing as a “sinus headache.” Over 90 percent of people who think they have sinus headaches (not sinus infections) have migraines; the others are probably experiencing tension headaches. Migraine pain is often located over the sinuses, which is why people frequently mistake it for sinus pain, says Brian Grosberg, MD, a director at the Montefiore Headache Center in New York City. If you get better with so-called “sinus” medications, it’s because these contain a pain reliever. For long-term relief, you’ll need specific migraine treatment.



3. What you eat could be to blame. Many foods contain chemicals that can trigger migraines and possibly other types of headaches, says Dr. Grosberg. Some foods to watch out for: deli meats and hot dogs (which have nitrates), Chinese food (which may contain monosodium glutamate, a.k.a. MSG) and sugar-free foods sweetened with aspartame or sucralose. If you’re headacheprone, also avoid tyramine, a natural compound in foods such as citrus fruits, bananas, avocados, processed meats, aged cheeses, onions and nuts. Keep in mind that triggers are individual; track what you eat in a journal to sort it out.

4. Smokers are at higher risk for a rare but scary type of headache. Only 1 in 1,000 people get cluster headaches, but they happen to smokers more often. Symptoms include intense pain on one side of the head and feeling agitated or angry (sufferers may even harm themselves or others). Think you’re having a cluster headache? Go to your doctor’s office or the ER immediately—you’ll probably need an oxygen mask or an injection of Imitrex.

5. Some headaches warrant a visit to the ER. If you experience any of these symptoms, a hospital visit may be in order: It’s severe and comes on extremely suddenly (experts call this a “thunderclap”); it crops up immediately after exerting yourself (like after lifting a heavy piece of furniture); or it’s so bad that it wakes you up from sleep. Any of these could indicate a life-threatening condition like an aneurysm (a ballooning blood vessel in the brain), so best get immediate attention.



6. Botox can treat migraines. Although Botox is best known as a cosmetic treatment for minimizing lines and wrinkles, headache specialists have successfully been using it “off-label” to treat painful and debilitating migraines for over 10 years, according to Peter McAllister, MD, clinical assistant professor of neurology at Yale University School of Medicine. Last year it finally received FDA approval specifically for the treatment of chronic migraines in adults. It’s not a permanent fix—you’ll need to return for additional injections about every three months—but it can be very effective. Experts believe that it works by blocking nerve signals that cause the pain. The downside: Each visit entails getting a total of 31 small injections in seven different spots around your head and neck, and no, they won’t also make you look younger (the injection sites are different from those used for cosmetic treatment). You might also have a hard time getting your health insurance to pay for it. Currently, close to 50 percent of insurers won’t cover Botox for migraines, and those that do tend to have some pretty strict criteria. The requirements can differ for each insurer, but you may have to suffer from at least 15 migraines a month, with each one lasting at least four hours.

There were a couple things that struck a nerve with me, which is what I pointed out on when I gave my feedback (i.e. smokers being at higher risk for clusters, them harming others [which I have yet to witness on this board in all the 10+ years I've been here] and not elaborating on the O2 delivery).  I know it is Abigail L. Cuffey who wrote this piece, but she got her information from Peter McAllister, MD, who is a clinical assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine. 

Anyway, I was moved to write.   :-/

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Racer1_NC on May 27th, 2011 at 4:35pm
It sounds more dramatic if we are portrayed as a bunch of violent smokers.....I mean...you know how "those people" are.  ::)

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Brew on May 27th, 2011 at 5:29pm
Maybe we should start floating the idea that we're all smoking, right-wing, gun-toting, born-again, posse-founding lunatics. Just the type that scare the bejeepers out of the media elite.

That ought to raise some eyebrows. How could they deny spending money on research and treatment? We need to be kept docile, right? ;D

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by BobG on May 27th, 2011 at 8:40pm
“Cluster headache? Yeah, I had one of those once. I just popped a Nicorett Lozenge and took a nap. I’m ok now. I haven’t kicked the dog in two weeks.”


Abigail L. Cuffey is a dumbass. And you can tell her I said so.

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Charlie on May 27th, 2011 at 10:04pm
Lemme see........

In 1969, when this horror first got hold of me, I was a heavy smoking Republican. In 1991, when it ended, I was anti-smoking left-winger...not that there's anything wrong with that  ;D :o

All seriousness aside, I don't think smoking has much to do with CH. In 1969 everybody smoked. It was no more prevelant than today from my understanding. I have no idea why it hit me. An aside: From our many posts, Jonny and I seem to be among the few who were never affected by alcohol. Beats me.

Charlie

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Kevin_M on May 28th, 2011 at 8:47am

Quote:
Smokers are at higher risk for a rare but scary type of headache.





Chair: Gentlemen, you know why you've been called before this Senate hearing.


Cig CEO 1: We never knew they were addicting.

Cig CEO 2: Nicotine's legal, we're innocent.

Chair:  No, this is about a warning label for clust...

Cig CEO 3:  I didn't arrive in a company jet.

Cig CEO 1:  I took a bus.

Cig CEO 2:  I didn't have bus fare, my bike's outside.

Chair:  Gentlemen!  You've no warning on your cigarettes for these headaches.

Cig CEO 1: Is that like a hangover?  I like tabasco and orange juice.

Cig CEO 3: Do you really?  I usually just take aspirin.

Cig CEO 2:  What a brainstorm!  20 proof alcoholic cigarettes... 

Chair:  Order! Order!

Cig CEO 3:  Sir, our research hasn't shown...

Chair:  BUT WOMAN'S DAY HAS EXPOSED THIS!

Cig CEO 1:  Probably a billion people smoke cigarettes.

Cig CEO 2:  We can't afford research.

Cig CEO 3:  Sir, what my competitor here is saying, is that if cigarettes cause headaches, we'd sell aspirins too, or tabasco sauce.  A billion is a big number.

Chair:  But these are a rare headache.

Cig CEO 1:  Oh, small market, no wonder we don't.

Cig CEO 2:  Sir, do you want us to warn people we don't sell aspirin?

Cig CEO 3:  I object, what next, a warning not to smoke in bed after sex?  This government is reaching too far!

Chair:  Gentlemen, I'm talking about a risk here for clusters.

Cig CEO 3: You mean group sex?  Hell, I'll risk...

Cig CEO 1:  We got a good group at the bar, we kind of cluster there.

Cig CEO 2:  Yeah, a good power breakfast, we pound'em down.  I lose count at lunch.

Chair:  Boozing, sex, cigarettes.  This is about the risk of a certain headache. 

Cig CEO 1:  Oh yeah, Women's Day thing.  My wife always gets headaches in bed.

Cig CEO 3: I wake up with a doozy.

Cig CEO 2: Scary ones too, trying to figure, ok, who's skirt, which motel.

Chair: Your cigarettes, gentlemen, and cluster headaches.

Cig CEO 3:  Do you mean sir, people who have clusters never drank or had sex so Women's Day figures cigarettes are the risk?

Chair:  Maybe they had a cigarette after sex or with a drink.

Cig CEO 1:  Why pick on us then.  Maybe sex and booze is the risk.

Cig CEO 2:  I will personally research that sir!

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by BarbaraD on May 28th, 2011 at 9:03am
I'm gonna have a cigarette and ponder this one...

Yep that woman is nutz.. and so's that doctor who told her that one.. He NEEDS to do some research..

And Kevin - you just ain't right son.. :)

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Guiseppi on May 28th, 2011 at 9:21am
Kevin....that mind...Lordy...that mind. ;D

Joe

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Sandy_C on May 28th, 2011 at 10:06am
What a bunch of crap!

Yes, there is such a thing as a sinus headache - I get them, and they do not in any way resemble a migraine or a cluster headache..

Yes, there are mirgaines -I get these too.  They in no way resemble either a tension, sinus or cluster headache.

I get cluster headaches too - trust me, a cluster headache is absolutely nothing like a sinus, tension or migraine headache.

This person has no clue!

Sandy

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Callico on May 28th, 2011 at 11:13am
Sounds to me like she got her advice from a Podiatrist.

Jerry

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Racer1_NC on May 28th, 2011 at 4:17pm
Perhaps she somehow mixed up Cluster symptoms with Chantix side effects.
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Sample quote:

Quote:
Moore's case studies describe "inexplicable and unprovoked" reactions in Chantix patients with no previous history of violence or mental illness, including:

•A 24-year-old woman who started beating her boyfriend in bed because "he looked so peaceful" and later attempted suicide;
•A 42-year-old man who punched a stranger at a bowling alley;

I've been here a good while now......never heard of a CH'r whipping someone's ass in bed because they were sleeping peacefully.

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by AussieBrian on May 28th, 2011 at 7:46pm
The Australian Women's Weekly is now published monthly, but they never changed the name.

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Linda_Howell on May 28th, 2011 at 9:27pm

   Kevin...I'd love to get inside your head for a few days.   Wait.  No I wouldn't.


I'm going to write a letter too Mel.

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Grinner62 on Jun 2nd, 2011 at 11:37pm

Callico wrote on May 28th, 2011 at 11:13am:
Sounds to me like she got her advice from a Podiatrist.

Jerry

That's not how to spell Proctologist.

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Mike Bernardo on Jun 14th, 2011 at 5:00pm
Proctologist. Definitely a proctologist.

Title: Re: Women's Day article (June 2011)
Post by Charlie on Jun 14th, 2011 at 7:28pm
There are a raft of medical specialties out there. Aside from some kind of kink, I never understood why proctology is chosen as a specialty. 

Just wunderin'

Charlie

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