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A Letter from a Cancer Patient

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Although it’s a letter from a cancer patient, and not a chronic headache patient, I have a feeling a lot of people with chronic illness can relate.

David Darlington is an editor with the American Historical Association for their magazine Perspectives on History.  He’s also one of the authors at In the Agora.  Dealing with cancer, he wrote a post entitled Dear Friend – a letter to that kind person who keeps emailing him about “new” cancer “cures” that they discover on the internet.

See?  I told you that other people would be able to relate! 🙂

Now I don’t exactly feel the same as he does – I’m a little more interested in the treatments I hear about from people.  Then again, I have an extra reason – I’m constantly evaluating those treatments and writing about them here.  And there’s another difference – as serious as migraine is (sometimes even deadly), cancer is on a whole different level when it comes to killing-power.  So if I were in his shoes, I suspect my response would be a little more like his…

Greetings! I hope this letter finds you well. I’m dropping you a quick note today to express my appreciation for all you’ve done for me during my cancer trial this past year. Your love and support means more than I can express in words, and your actions have lifted me up in my time of need.

But if I may be so bold, there is has been one area where your assistance has been more of a distraction than an aid. I am speaking of your passing along of miracle cures and alternative therapies you’ve heard about or read on the internet. While I appreciate the intent behind you sending me these things…

Read the rest here.  And share your thoughts in the comments – how do you feel when people send you the latest headache “cure”?  Plus, be sure to take our current poll on the topic!

via JollyBlogger

Coca-Cola and Migraine

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No, this post is not a debate over the benefits or dangers of Coke.  It’s just for fun.

Coca-Cola for Migraine?

You may or may not know that Coca-Cola was originally marketed as a headache remedy.  Of course, it was somewhat different at first than it is today – probably containing much more caffeine, and some other interesting ingredients.

But I thought you might like to see the first label for Coca-Cola, as written by the inventor, John Pemberton, back in the 1880s:

COCA-COLA SYRUP AND EXTRACT  For soda water and other Carbonated Beverages.  This Intellectual Beverage and Temperance Drink contains the valuable Tonic and Nerve Stimulant properties of the Coca plant and Cola (and Kola) nuts, and makes not only a delicious, exhilerating, refreshing, and invigorating Beverage (dispensed from the soda water fountain or in other carbonated beverages), but a valuable Brain Tonic and a cure for all nervous affections–Sick Head-Ache, Neuralgia, Hysteria, Melancholy, etc.  The peculiar flavor of COCA-COLA delights every palate.

Hmmmmmm… not sure if that makes me want to go for a Coke or not!  Yes, "sick head-ache" was the old name for migraine.  Now we know a lot more about what it is (a nervous affection?!  Um, no.), and we know that Coca-Cola, old formula or new, does not cure it.

My, how things have changed!

Taken from For God, Country, and Coca-Cola by Mark Pendergrast

Migraine Art Video (take 2)

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Migraine.  Maybe you have to see it to believe it.

For a long time visitors have been sharing their art and photos with us (what am I saying?  Photos are art!).  They are trying to describe some aspect of their migraine attacks visually, so we can understand just a little bit better.

I put all the entries together in a video over a year and a half ago, but there is so much new art I decided it was time for an update!

So here is a glimpse of the art from so many of our visitors.  You can take a closer look, find out who the creator is and what they have to say about their art, and even leave your own comments and ratings, by visiting our Migraine, headache, and art page.  Scroll to the bottom for links to each picture, or upload your own art!

(Note – some of this art is disturbing.  Which is, of course, appropriate considering the topic!)

Monday Notes (21 June 2010)

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First of all, thanks to all of you who ordered the Migraine Barometer.  You used up the company’s supply once again!  🙂

As I mentioned before, we’re hoping to get a larger shipment in soon.  Meanwhile, if you go to the Migraine Barometer page and scroll down, you can ask to be notified when the barometers return.

Now, I wanted to share a few things from around the internet that you might like to check out:

Is anyone else like me?

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That’s really one of the most common questions I get when it comes to migraine or various headache disorders.  I have a strange symptom, am I the only one?  Or perhaps I have migraine attacks every day, is that rare?

A few months ago, for example, I got this email from Marie in the UK:

… One of the symptoms/effects of my migraine is extreme sleepiness, only waking up to be sick. I just cannot stay awake, which is a godsend sometimes. I have looked at your site but have not seen anything written on this type of migraine. …

She continued with a kind compliment regarding this website, but the question remains, is she alone?

It bears repeating that migraine can be a very individual things.  Like snowflakes, no two migraineurs are alike (no, I’m not calling you flakes – but like snowflakes we are beautiful people, aren’t we?) 😉

Why are migraine attacks such an individual thing?  Even in the same person, attacks and symptoms can very throughout our lifetime.

Here’s a good illustration to explain it.  Imagine someone finding a big, beautiful spider web.  Having no concern for the spider or its handiwork, they take a rock and throw it through the web.

The Spider Web

What pattern do you end up with?

It will be different every time, won’t it?  The rock never goes through the exact same spot.  It never hits the same strands.  And though webs are based on common designs, even the webs of a single spider will always be slightly different – varying with the wind, the materials they are attached to, the needs of the spider that day.

Migraine is a complex disease striking complex people.  There are similar patterns, yes.  But there are a million and one reasons why an attack can vary from person to person, from day to day.  (this issue of HeadWay listed a sample of some of the many symptoms that seem to come from or come along with migraine attacks)

This isn’t to say that there may not be symptoms a majority get, or treatments that are helpful for a majority of people.  Maybe someday we’ll find a single cure for all – or we may find we’re dealing with distinctly different diseases that respond to different cures.

Probably someone else has your symptom.  But no one (except God) understands exactly what you’re going through.

Then again, there’s a lot that others can understand.  You are not alone.  We are in this together, fighting to help not only ourselves, but one another.

If you have symptoms like someone else I write about or who comments, leave your own comment.  But remember, just because no one is like you exactly doesn’t mean that you’re alone.

A spider has to work alone to repair the damage.  We can come together and help one another.  Let’s do it this year with new passion.

PS Looking for information about your variety of symptoms? You’ll get the best search results by searching from here.

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Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of each article, and to point you to further sources of information. However, this site is for informational purposes only and should never replace a visit to your doctor.