Resources

19 September 2005

Vertigo – could it be migraine?

Vertigo, the feeling that the world is spinning or that you’re about to fall, often goes hand in hand with headaches. Neurologist Dr Lee Moon Ken recently wrote this helpful article about vertigo, in which he talks among other things about the connection to headache.

In their book Migraine and Other Headaches, Drs Young and Silberstein write about a girl who experienced extreme problems with vertigo: …she began seeing double. This lasted for about a minute. She began to feel like the room was spinning and then she passed out…

This girl had a basilar type migraine, also known as Bickerstaff Syndrome. The symptoms can be serious enough, as you can tell. But vertigo can indicate a more immediate life threatening problem, and isn’t something that should be ignored.

Vertigo by itself could even indicate migraine. As you should know, migraine attacks do not always involve pain. It’s worthwhile to know your family history and consider whether you may have migraine if you’re getting vertigo.

You can read a portion of an eMedicine article on migraine and vertigo here.

2 September 2005

Visual PFO treatment…

James Resources 0

You’ve read here several times about PFO and it’s relation to migraine. Check out the article from HeadWay, "Mixed Blood and Migraines" for more on how this common heart defect may be related to migraine.

If you really want to know more about the defect and the operation needed to solve the problem, check out the MIST website. They have diagrams, explanations of words, and even a video animation, which is very helpful. Here’s the page with the video and diagrams of PFO. They have other materials around their site to help you understand what all the excitement is about. Who knows? Maybe this will be the key to fighting off your migraine…

I’d be interested if anyone reading this has personal experience with PFO and migraine. Feel free to comment!

30 August 2005

Technology – helpful, usually

James Resources 0

I’ve been reading about the E-HealthKEY from MedicAlert. The new key is basically a little flash drive that can connect to your computer, or to most computers with a USB port. The advantage of course is the multitude of things you can do with a computer, such as printing emergency cards for your wallet, track medications or fitness goals, include personal reminders and alerts, and so on.

Of course, much of this you can do anyway. Even with a traditional MedicAlert system, you can sign up to have your information stored online for your doctor to access. And all technology has its limits. The computer you’re using must have a USB port (not everyone has one, trust me). If it’s not running Windows XP (which, believe it or not, many computers don’t have), you may need to take the time to download drivers from the internet. Just last week I had trouble doing this on a Windows 98 machine. And, of course, there has to actually be a computer handy to use.

Now of course hospitals should have access to this kind of equipment in many countries. And many people will find the programs and information storage that comes along with the E-HealthKEY to be convenient enough to be worth the extra cost.

It’s important to be prepared, but make sure that you think through the benefits and limitations before making a purchase.

17 August 2005

Blog hungry?

James Resources 0

After my post a few days ago about The Daily Headache blog, I got thinking about what I could do to help everyone keep up with all the excellent migraine and headache blogs out there. They’re actually multiplying like rabbits these days, and no doubt some are better than others.

Some of you might have noticed a little box at the bottom of the main blog page here. It shows recent headlines from some of the migraine blogs, headache blogs, clusterhead blogs and news sources. If you click on that, you’ll go to a page that shows some of the most recent entries from these blogs around the internet. My idea is to keep up with some of the best blogs on the net, and collect them here. Check out the new blogs page from time to time to see new sources. If there’s one you really like, I encourage you to subscribe to their blog, or bookmark it.

This is a brand new page, and there’s lots more I can do with this section in the future. So keep your eyes open, and get ready to be introduced to several people that are dealing with chronic diseases. In the future, I may also provide a suggestion form – if you know of a great blogger, or you’ve started a blog yourself, you can recommend it.

For now, go and check out some migraine blogs and headache blogs and more…

13 August 2005

The Daily Headache blog

James Resources 1

I’ve been looking around the site of another "migraine blogger", and really enjoying it! I recommend you take the time to stop by The Daily Headache. This excellent patient perspective blog was started earlier this summer, but the author has a unique combination of experience. She’s a great communicator, and has been dealing with migraine and chronic headache for 20 years.

Recent posts include thoughts on Pfizer’s Drug Ad Plan, Why Medical Studies Contradict Each Other, and a discussion of chronic pain and hope in The Hard Days

If you are suffering from any kind of chronic pain, or if you want to better understand those who are, this is an excellent place to visit. I know I’ll be visiting more often, and hopefully I’ll have more to say about The Daily Headache in the future!