What I do to get to sleep is play a CD of relaxing instrumental music very very softly. If I haven’t fallen asleep by the end of the CD I know it is time to try something different.
Good idea! Now, during some migraine attacks you may not want sound of any kind. But at other times, the music seems to help – a LOT.
Of course there are many, many other classic easy listening type artists – such as Kenny G (in the UK), Liona Boyd (in the UK)
– well, you get the idea.
Get something new to enjoy, make your own mix if you like, and have it handy on your MP3 player or by your CD player for the next time you need to rest.
What is 1% Thursday?
Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!
I’m just stopping by with some random news and tips to brighten your day:
The January Headache and Migraine Disease Blog Carnival is up! The theme is New Healthy Year. Check it out for some tips to start off your new year right.
Amazon.com recently announced some steep discounts on fitness DVDs. I know some of you are trying to get motivated to make a new start in your exercise program. We’ve talked about programs such as pilates here before – check out these Pilates DVDs, and you can go from there to other exercise DVDs (including Blue Ray of course). A lot of these are almost 50% off, so this might be a great time to grab something that will give you that extra push to get going.
An excellent warning from the CBC in Canada about something that causes headache symptoms. It’s worth a read – Guarding against the ‘silent killer’. The silent killer is carbon monoxide. You’ll learn some surprising things.
And just for fun – do you like relaxing background noise? Make your own mix at Sound Sleeping.
Finally a good reminder for those who have been busy with holiday activities, and are getting back to "normal" life – The After Holiday Crash
Hanging out on Twitter, I see a lot of talk about "cluster headache". Some people actually know what they’re talking about. But I suspect most do not.
Some seem to casually mention that they have a cluster headache today. Some mix up terms completely, saying things like cluster migraine. Or they say they have a migraine or a cluster headache or something.
I don’t get too upset at the people themselves, who are simply misinformed or uninformed. But having some idea what cluster headache is (though I don’t suffer from them myself), I still get upset that the term gets thrown around so casually.
Cluster headaches are also known as "suicide headaches", and there’s a reason. The pain is almost beyond comprehension.
But special thanks to A ClusterHead’s Life for posting some videos of people enduring a cluster attack.
I’ve posted one below, but I’ll warn you – it’s hard to watch. And it’s one of the less graphic videos. But if you want to understand cluster, take a look at a few of the videos here. You’ll never use the word casually again.
This week, make the call you know you’ve needed to make for a long time. Find a new doctor.
There are a lot of reasons why people put up with a doctor or specialist. I mean that doctor that you’ve been seeing for a while – but you know you’re not happy with them. They don’t listen, maybe. Or all they want to do is try the latest drug on you – they’re not willing to explore other options. Or maybe they’re even too nice – they’re not willing to tell you what you know you really need to hear.
Why do we put up with it? Well, sometimes we’re just not aware of someone near our area who is better, and time and/or financial constraints are keeping us from making the switch (of course, imagine the financial benefits of getting those migraine or cluster attacks under control!).
But a lot of the time we just don’t want to take the risk. What if the next doctor is worse? Or we just don’t want to bother – all the same questions all over again, getting to know someone new, explaining again…
I understand your hesitation. But putting up with a doctor who is not moving your treatment forward is simply not worth it. Why wait 5 more years to change? Yes, you may need to do a little research. Maybe even try a specialist or two before you’re happy. But the long term benefits are enormous.
"I just don’t have the emotional stamina to do it right now!" – all right, explain your situation to a friend. Have them do some research for you. But take the step. It’s the beginning of the new year, this is your week to make a change that will make a big difference in the months to come. Don’t put it off. Make the call.
Every Thursday at Headache and Migraine News (weather permitting) we’ll talk about one measurable, practical thing we can do to make our lives just 1% better. Usually it will be something very easy, sometimes it will be a challenge. Let us know if you try it, or share an idea of your own – and maybe a year from now we’ll see that things have really changed for the better!
A relationship between migraine and out of body experiences? Really?
You may be wondering if I’m serious – or if I’m that desperate for topics that I’m reaching for some that are a bit on the bizarre side.
The truth is, no, I’m not in any way at a loss for things to write about. I’ve chosen this one on purpose – I am serious, and I have a feeling there are a number of migraineurs out there that are thankful someone is talking about this.
Our of Body Experiences – a Symptom of Migraine?
It has been known for some time that out of body experiences, or OBEs, are a possible symptom of migraine. This is not to say that all OBEs can be attributed to migraine. But I have a hunch (and I’m not the only one) that this symptom is more common than we think – that it’s under reported.
And as they demonstrated in their recent book Migraine Art, this doesn’t just come from observations of the art but from testimonies of patients themselves. In fact, they list 17 medical case reports (about 70% female, 30% male, between the ages of 17 and 66) of out-of-body and related experiences in migraine patients. Most of these patients had repeated OBEs.
Under reported?
Why this would be under reported is obvious. As one patient put it:
I have never told anyone else, as I have not wanted to be called or thought of as queer, and even a supposedly understanding doctor might lift his eyebrows at some of the happenings of a migraine victim, who learns to keep things strictly to herself, excluding both family and physician from her confidence. -from Hallucinations of physical duality in migraine by Dr. Caro W Lippman, quoted in Migraine Art.
What is an Out-of-Body experience?
You probably already know that there’s a lot of controversy about what exactly OBEs are. There’s those who believe the soul actually leaves the body, of course, but there is also a great deal of discussion in the medical community about what may be going on neurologically – physically – in the brain.
Because hallucinations of various kinds are common in migraine attacks, a strong theory is that there is a relationship between migraine and OBEs, and that these OBEs are another type of hallucination coming from memory and imagination.
But we’re putting a lot under this category – let’s look at how some patients described their symptoms (mostly from the book Migraine Art):
the feeling of my transparent body leaving my physical body
toward early morning I woke up, and instead of being in bed I was suspended in the air halfway toward the ceiling. I looked on the bed and saw myself lying asleep
one patient reported the extraordinary sensation of being drawn out horizontally through a small hole in the centre of the skull
Some patients are simply aware of the presence of an invisible double
One male patient says, suddenly I would become aware of a ‘second self,’ vaguer than and more tenuous than the original ‘me.’ I felt just like a double exposure looks.
Like I’ll feel like my hands are at my sides, but they’re folded in my lap. It’s real bad when I feel like I’m sideways, but I’m sitting up in my chair. (quoted here)
Sometimes these experiences last a split second, sometimes longer. Sometimes they happen in bed, sometimes while going about normal daily activities.
And this doesn’t even take into account other bodily hallucinations felt by migraineurs – for example, the awareness of another ‘presence’ in the room, or the feeling that one part of your body has ‘stretched’, or that your head is actually splitting open, and so on and so on. There are so many variations it’s hard to know how to categorize them.
But is it really a migraine symptom?
We don’t know – and the reason is that many people report OBEs, and many people are migraineurs. You would expect that there would be overlap. Also, is the OBE actually a symptom of migraine, or a symptom coming from a common cause? And what part does medication play?
But there are good arguments in favour of considering OBEs a real migraine symptom. For example:
Hallucinations of various kinds are very common in migraine
OBEs in migraine patients often go along with other better-known symptoms of a migraine attack. In other words, the OBE comes along at the same time as the attack, and often is intertwined with other symptoms.
Why this article is here
We’re talking about this today because
It shows once again how unique migraine symptoms can be
We need to get this information out in the open because people do need to talk to their doctors about it.
There are some of you out there with these symptoms who are afraid to share with anyone – you’re not alone.
For those that have these symptoms, you need to know there is research being done. This is not an unheard of symptom, although we certainly understand very little about it.
So please share your comments and thoughts if you’re willing – let’s learn more about this aspect of migraine, which may be more common than most people think…
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, and you can go from there to other exercise DVDs (including Blue Ray of course).