Posts Tagged ‘Headaches’
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
Hallucinogenic drugs are illegal in the U.S., but for people who have headaches so painful they’re commonly referred to as “suicide headaches,” these drugs might be the only answer. New studies from Dr. John Halpern of McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School reveal that the use of psychedelics such as LSD and psilocybin (found in a type of mushroom) have helped many people suffering from cluster headaches, widely accepted as the most painful kind of headache.
Dr. Halpern and his team were inspired by the Cluster Busters, a group of cluster headache sufferers determined to find a cure for their excruciating headaches who have turned to hallucinogens because they believe it’s currently the only hope. Dr. Halpern conducted a series of interviews with cluster headache sufferers and found out that these types of drugs made headache attacks less painful and/or less frequent for 41% of subjects, and ended cluster cycles altogether for 52%.
These results motivated Dr. Halpern to go even further. His team launched a small pilot study testing the effects of BOL (2-Bromo-LSD), which is almost identical to LSD, but without the psychedelic effects, on cluster headache patients. Though only a few subjects participated in the study, all of them yielded very positive results.
This early success of BOL gives sufferers hope for a legal, low-side-effect therapy for their cluster headaches. However, with so many legal issues involved, it may be years before BOL can be sold on the market as a cluster headache treatment. For the time being, this leaves many cluster headache sufferers with the unfortunate decision between toughing out these terrible headaches or turning to illegal substances.
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Tags: Attacks, BOL (2-Bromo-LSD), cluster, Drugs, Frequent, Hallucinogens, Headaches, Painful, Suicide Headaches, Therapy, treatment
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Friday, November 13th, 2009
Individuals suffering from headache might have a reason to start living green. A recent study from Chile reveals that increased levels of pollution in the air may contribute to headaches.
Researchers in Santiago Province, Chile studied the effects of various pollution factors including ozone, carbon monoxide, air pollutants and particulate matter associated with burning gasoline and other fossil fuels, on all types of headache. This province in Chile is one of the best places to conduct such a study due its high population density and its location in a valley surrounded by mountains, which makes it extremely prone to pollution.
Although the study authors recommend further studies be conducted in different geographic regions to test for consistency, in Chile they found that on days of high pollution, headaches severe enough to require hospitalization rose substantially. More specifically, migraine was the type of headache most consistently associated with individual air pollutants, while ozone was the pollutant most consistently associated with headache in single-pollutant models.
“If this association proves to be causal, the morbidity from headache should be included when estimating the illness burden and economic costs of air pollution,” the study authors wrote in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology. Based on their findings, they suggest that headache sufferers stay indoors on days of high pollution.
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Tags: air pollution, carbon monoxide, contribute, fossil fuels, gasoline, Headaches, mirgraine, ozone, particulate, pollutants, suffering
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Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
While Veterans’ Day reminds us to honor the brave soldiers who fought so hard for our country, lets not forget that many of them are still fighting in a different way today. A new study from the University of California, San Diego, suggests that veterans who suffered physical injuries or developed post-traumatic stress disorder after combat in Iraq or Afghanistan may suffer recurrent headaches.
According to the study, which surveyed 308 veterans, those who had suffered combat injuries were at greater risk of developing migraine headaches. At the same time, those who screened positive for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) had elevated rates of both migraine and tension-type headaches. Overall, vets with only physical injuries had more than twice the risk of recurrent headaches as those without such injuries. The risk was four times higher among veterans with PTSD than those without it.
Moreover, researchers found that physical injuries made veterans more prone to migraine only, while PTSD was linked to both migraines and tension-type headaches. The study authors write that PTSD may be linked to headaches because psychological stress can trigger headaches through the body’s natural physiological responses to stress.
No matter what the cause of headaches in veterans, however, the researchers say that this link between wartime injury and recurrent headaches suggests that veterans could benefit from comprehensive assessments of their physical, mental and emotional health in order to find the best treatment options for them.
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Tags: Afghanistan, Headaches, Injuries, Irag, migraine, Post-Traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Psychological stress trigger headaches, tension-type, Veterans
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Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
Although author Jennette Fulda had the will power to lose half her body weight, she did not have the magic power to get rid of the headache that she has had for over a year and a half.
Tired of the pain and countless treatments, Fulda, whose online alias is “PastaQueen,” decided she needed to take action. On August 15, the PastaQueen put on her running shoes and finished A Midsummer Night’s Run, a 5K race in Lexington, KY with a time of 47:53.
“There weren’t many water stations so my time suffered, but I was happy to complete the race,” Fulda said, “I hope to improve on [my time] next month at my next 5K.”
Fulda ran not only because her doctors told her that regular exercise can improve headaches but because she wanted to raise awareness about headaches to help other sufferers. With her ultimate fundraising goal of $3,000, Fulda encouraged her friends and fans to sponsor her in the race by donating to the National Headache Foundation’s Migraine Million Campaign. The Migraine Million Campaign goal is to raise $1 million dollars for headache education and research. The National Headache Foundation hopes to rally one million of the nearly 30 million migraine sufferers in America to donate $1 or more to this initiative.
“I wanted to hold myself accountable so that I would finish the race and I knew if people had given me money I would have to finish. I wanted to raise money for the cause for people like me who have been suffering with headaches, and I thought the National Headache Foundation was a great place to donate,” Fulda said.
Fulda gained national media recognition with her 2008 book Half-Assed: a Weight Loss Memoir, which was inspired by her online blog that chronicled her weight-loss from 372 to 180 pounds. In November of 2004 Fulda, then 24, began to track her weight loss. In February 2008, though she had lost more than half her body weight, Fulda developed a debilitating headache that has yet to disappear.
“It was kind of ironic. I was in the best shape of my life and I got this tension-type headache that just wouldn’t go away,” Fulda said.
Because of the pain from the constant headache, Fulda gained back 30 pounds in the fall of 2008. Though she has started to exercise again in attempt to relieve her head pain and get back into top shape, Fulda has decided to share her experiences with the world for a second time. The Indiana based author is currently working on her next book, tentatively titled Chocolate and Vicodin: And Other Failed Cures for the Headache that Wouldn’t Go Away.
Though the race is over, Fulda hopes to continue to raise awareness about headaches. Donations can still be made to the National Headache Foundation at the author’s fundraising site (http://firstgiving.com/pastaqueen) or on the National Headache Foundation’s Web site (http://www.headaches.org/store/donations.html?cat=253) Fulda’s blog can be seen at http://www.pastaqueen.com.
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Tags: Donate, Exercise, Half-Assed: a Weight Loss Memoir, Headaches, Jennette Fulda, migraine, Pain, PastaQueen, Sufferers, tension-type, Treatments
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Monday, November 9th, 2009
Prescriptions medications do not solve every headache sufferer’s pain. The NHF website is a great resource to research and discover alternative headache treatment methods. Below are some quick descriptions of therapies that can be used to treat headache.
Acupuncture: In acupuncture, specialists place fine needles into channels running though the body to attempt to manipulate “chi” energy. Some studies have shown that acupuncture can prevent migraine.
Acupressure: Acupressure is a technique that applies pressure to energy-releasing trigger points of the body. Various pressure points and acupressure techniques have helped improve both migraine and tension-type headaches in some patients.
Biofeedback: Biofeedback involves measuring a patient’s bodily functions and temperatures so that he/she can eventually learn to control his/her headaches. It can be used alone or combined with medication to prevent headache attacks.
Counseling: Talking with a therapist is a good way to learn to cope with the impact headaches have on your life. Therapists can also teach you to relax and avoid stress, which often triggers headaches.
Hypnotherapy: Hypnotherapy is a variation of biofeedback that allows you to detach yourself from stress causing events. If practiced regularly, the patient can learn to avoid stress and the resulting headache.
Massage: Massage can help headache patients relax and get rid of stress. Studies suggest that massage can decrease headache frequency and increase body awareness.
Riboflavin/Vitamin B2: Riboflavin, an essential vitamin for chemical reactions in the body, creates an energy-producing substance called ATP. During migraine, cells have less energy and by adding high doses of this vitamin, you can decrease the frequency of the attacks over a period of time.
To learn more about alternative therapies, you can purchase of our brochure Alternative Therapies & Headache Care at our online store, or you can listen to our new podcast. Through an educational grant from Medtronic, Inc., the National Headache Foundation recently launched Headache and You: A Guide to Living Well podcast series that provides listeners with practical advice empowering them to take charge of their health and life. Be sure to listen to Biofeedback & Alternative Headache Therapies where Psychologist Kathy Farmer discusses the benefits of alternative methods of headache treatments such as biofeedback, acupuncture, and herbal remedies. In 1996, Dr. Farmer co-founded The Headache Care Center in Springfield, Missouri with NHF board member Dr. Roger Cady.
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Tags: Acupressure, Acupuncture, Alternative Headache Therapies, biofeedback, Counseling, Headaches, Herbal Remedies, Hypnotherapy, massage, Riboflavin, Vitamin B2
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