Website news

1 March 2018

Important Info for Facebook Fans of Headache and Migraine News

Facebook is changing – so here’s what you need to know!

First, thanks so much to all of you who get involved on the Headache and Migraine News Facebook page! As you know, more and more people are engaging with the important issues that we talk about on Facebook.

For those of you who haven’t checked out the H&MN page, you should know that there is a lot of information there that you don’t see here. News stories, clinical trials looking for volunteers, new treatments, information about drug shortages, and much more.

At the beginning of this year, some changes were made to Facebook. The basic idea is that users will see more posts from friends and family. Many people believe that users will actually spend less time on Facebook, which for some people is not a bad thing!

However, many people have also come to rely on Facebook as a source of news and information. And some people will find that some of the information they’re used to getting is no longer appearing in their feed.

If this is you, and if you find the information on the H&MN page useful, here’s what you need to do.

“Like” the Page: Obviously, if you haven’t done this, you’re not ever seeing the information that is being posted.
Make sure notifications are on, and check “See first”. (This doesn’t mean that posts from H&MN will crowd out your friends, it just means that you’ll see news when it’s posted. Rarely is something posted more than once or twice a day).
If you want, you can go to your News feed preferences, and prioritize who you want to see. You can chose your top pages, and top friends, to make sure that they’re prioritized in your feed. (Note: You should already generally be seeing your top friends and family. Remember, it’s pages like H&MN that are being dropped down with Facebook’s latest changes.) You can always adjust these settings.
Share: Please don’t just share because I say so. Only share what you think it interesting and useful for someone else. However, do share, because it shows the great Facebook computers that you are interested in the content.
Comment: Same as above. Don’t write “Hey look, I’m commenting!” 😀 But if you have a thought, do share it with the community. We need to learn from each other. And, this also shows Facebook that you find the content interesting.

I feel privileged to be a part of such an engaged community that is committed to fighting back against migraine and headache! Let’s remind Facebook that wiping out headache symptoms is a priority for us.

14 December 2017

Discuss: The Challenge of Long Distance Doctor Visits

James Website news 0

A recent poll here at Headache and Migraine News highlights a challenge that we don’t often talk about. It’s this – we often have to travel, sometimes quite a distance, to see a doctor or specialist.

Boy with map As nice as it would be to live in a big city with excellent migraine or headache specialists, that is not the reality for many. In fact, everyone who took our poll has had to travel at least to another town or city in order for treatment or consultation.

A little less than half at least didn’t have to travel too far – a nearby town or city was the farthest they had gone.

But 52% travelled farther. 40% travelled out of their home state or province. 12% travelled out of the country – with half of those actually going to another hemisphere!

Some people would benefit greatly from travelling to see another specialist, but they simply can’t afford the expense. Many headache disorders are complex, requiring multiple visits to the specialist just to get a good handle on a proper diagnosis.

Not only is there the cost, there’s the time. And the fact that travel can end up triggering symptoms, making travel a very painful option to someone already suffering from a lot of pain.

What can be done about this problem? Thankfully, there is more information and education available than ever before. Doctors have the opportunity to get more good information and training, so that more doctors with more knowledge are available. Plus, patients are learning to become savvy investigators themselves.

Also, with video conferencing and cheap phone calls, and apps and computerized data sharing, it’s becoming more possible for specialists to help patients from a distance.

If you’re travelling to see a specialist, one of the first things you should do is see what options are available for follow up. Your doctor may be willing to help you from a distance at least part of the time.

If you have felt the need to travel a fair distance to see a doctor for a headache condition, how have you minimized the problems? Share your ideas with us!

7 November 2017

Congratulations to our Winner!

James Website news 0

Congratulations to the winner of four NatureLux Fluorescent Light Filters – Eric, from Reading, PA, USA! Eric will be receiving 4 premium flourescent light filters which he hopes to use in his office. I hope they’re a help to you, Eric!

If you would like more information about NatureLux filters, be sure to check out the original article here: Reduce Harsh Fluorescent Lighting (and a chance to WIN!)

20 July 2017

10 Headache and Migraine News Highlights from the past 3 Months (July 2017 edition)

James Highlights, Website news 0

Hi everyone! It looks like our Facebook problem is resolved, although it’s taking a while for everyone to remember we’re here. 🙂

So, if you’ve missed some recent posts, here’s your chance to see what’s been most popular with visitors to this site. The most popular post is first. Also, the three posts in bold received the most “likes” on Facebook.

You can help remind people about the information that’s here – share a post that you think is useful!

Also, continue reading below the list for some important reminders…

Thanks for reading! Here are some important reminders. First, if you check the right sidebar on the Headache and Migraine News site, you’ll see a button you can press to ask your questions. This is a new experiment – so ask now and I’ll try to answer some of your questions here in the future.

Secondly, the fantastic Migraine Summit library is still available. For more information, whether you have already invested in this resource or not, see Get the Most out of Your Migraine Summit Library.

Finally, we have a new poll! Check out the right sidebar here and be heard!

13 July 2017

Migraine, Headaches, and Support (poll results)

James Tips, Website news 0

Having people around you who are supportive – even one person – can make an incredible difference. Recently we ran a poll to find out about the closest person in your life – just how supportive are they?

First of all, for about 9% of you, the closest person is someone who is not only very supportive, but also has the same condition. But let’s leave those aside for the moment, and look at the rest.

The support of friends Actually, I was happy to hear how many of you have a very supportive person close to you. 13% just raved about the amazing support, another 11% also incredibly supportive, and then 13% very supportive – getting us to 37%, plus those with the same condition, getting us to 46% who are very supportive to varying degrees.

But that is less than half. What’s next? Another 10% have at least taken some time to understand. So that gets us to 56% of friends/family who are at least pro-active.

Next are those who are at least aware that you get headaches/migraine attacks – 35%. Another 5% are only vaguely aware.

Finally, 6% reported that the closest person to them didn’t even know that they had headache/migraine attacks!

So I’m glad to see that many of you have friends and family who are extremely supportive. But really, that’s only half of you. For the other half, the closest person to you has either done very little to try to understand, or – let’s face it – you haven’t shared much!

I realize there are a lot of reasons why this might be. But we need to be pro-active ourselves to make sure that we have people very close to use who know what our struggles are. If it isn’t going to be the person closest to you, look to others who are close to you. Find someone you can talk to, and actually sit down with them this weekend and have the conversation. If you have to, tell them your friend James said it was important for your health. 😀

Let’s get the percentage up to 75% – then to 100% – so that we all have a person close to us who is very supportive. And remember – we need to be supportive of others too!

Here are some inspiring notes from people who do have a supportive friend/family member. And here are some ideas about how faith communities and others can be supportive.