A Review of Menstrual Migraine (the book)
I liked this book. You probably wouldn’t, but I sure did.
All right, let me qualify that a little bit. The book I’m talking about is the brand new Menstrual Migraine, edited by Dr Susan Hutchinson and Dr B. Lee Peterlin. And you may like it after all – if you’re a health professional, like a doctor or nurse. That’s really the target of the book. But let me give you a bit of an overview.
 |
Actually, the back of the book gives a very good summary:
Tailored to the needs of busy health-care professionals treating female patients in the primary care setting, the book focuses on essential clinical information for physicians, nurse practitioners, and assistants in family practice, internal medicine and OB/GYN.
Using some of the statistics in this book, it’s quite possible that 10% of women have migraine related to their menstrual cycles. That’s not 10% of women with migraine, that’s 10% of the general population! So as a health professional, you can see why it would be important to have the best information about something that impacts 1 in 10 of the women you see. Of course, it will probably be more than 1 in 10, because those with menstrual migraine will, I hope, be more likely to see their doctor.
And this book is exactly that – the latest, cutting edge information about migraine and specifically menstrual migraine, in a small package. The book is only 95 pages including indexes. It’s actually a series of write-ups by various experts on related topics, such as:
- Hormonal therapy and menstrual migraine
- Tips and pearls for the diagnosis of migraine and menstrually related migraine
- Pharmacotherapy
- Nonpharmacological interventions for the management of menstrually related migraine
Though of course even the experts don’t always agree with one another, I was very impressed that this was really cutting-edge information. Published only last year, Menstrual Migraine has brought together the latest in research so that you can get a quick overview of where the science is and where it’s going, and how it relates to treatment in a practical way.
You can already see from the titles above, the book doesn’t make an attempt to be accessible to the layperson. There’s a lot of technical language, scientific charts and numbers, and terms and short hand that most people will have trouble following without some medical background. But the book is very well organized for those who will make the best use of it.
With so many out-dated or poorly researched works out there, this one was a relief to read. I know I will keep it handy and will be using it as a reference frequently (in fact I’ve already found myself reaching for it to check on various things).
Menstrual Migraine also includes some handy appendices, with further resources, questionnaires for use with patients, and headache diaries.
Menstrual Migraine, a part of the Oxford American Pain Library, is a small handbook that provides practical, up-to-date information on a widespread issue. It would be of value to every doctor and health professional that have female patients, and certain other people who want to see essential aspects of the latest research.
Note: What’s with all the reviews!? In case you’re wondering, I made it a project to collect some books over the summer to review. Of course, I had no time over the summer to actually review them, so I’m catching up over the fall! That’s the reason for the sudden influx of reviews. I hope you’ll find the resources helpful. I’ll probably just have one more book review in the near future, and then things will slow down for a while. 🙂