Understanding Your Migraines is a comprehensive and authoritative resource for people who suffer from migraine headaches, as well as for their families and their caretakers. Drs. Levin and Ward bring their vast experience studying and treating migraine to this book in a clear, practical and easily understandable volume which covers all of the aspects of migraine that plague individuals and their families. Numerous examples of real people with migraine help illustrate the options available for finding relief for this highly disabling worldwide health problem.

Health & SICKNESS -- Consumer Health . In the United States, eighteen percent of women, six percent of men, and four percent of children suffer from migraine headaches. All races are affected, although, for reasons which are unknown, whites are more likely than African Americans to be afflicted with the condition, and Asian Americans are least often migraine sufferers. Migraine is an inherited condition-many families can trace it back for generations-and it has enormous economic and social consequences, both to individual sufferers, and to the society as a whole. The cost to the U.S. society alone is in excess of $13 billion per year in lost productivity and in health care. Understanding Migraine and Other Headaches provides up-to-date information on the causes and diagnoses, as well as current preventive measures, effective treatments, and surgical procedures. The book gives an overview of every major type of headache, including the debilitating, nausea-inducing forms of migraine, episodic tension-type headaches (the most common form), chronic daily headaches, and more obscure head-aches such as trigeminal neuralgia and cluster headaches. This book is intended for those who are burdened by headaches as well as for their families, coworkers, employers, and friends. As such, it is written in a lucid and simple style that is accessible both to lay readers and medical professionals. In the last two decades, revolutionary new migraine-specific medications have been developed. This book undertakes a comprehensive look at medications for acute as needed treatment of headaches and for preventing the onset of an attack. It offers guidelines for assessing headache pain, the level and type of medication needed, possible side effects, and drug effectiveness. Stewart J. Tepper is director of the New England Center for Headaches in Stamford, Connecticut.

"English," wrote Virginia Woolf, "which can express the thoughts of Hamlet and the tragedy of Lear, has no words for the shiver and the headache. . . . let a sufferer try to describe a pain in his head to a doctor and language at once runs dry." Despite Woolf's astute observation and the apparent dearth of writings on such subjects, editor Kathleen O'Shea has managed to gather a wide selection of helpful excerpts, chapters, poetry, and even a short play in this anthology--all with a view toward increasing our understanding and ending the stigma attached to migraines and migraine sufferers. Unlike clinical materials, this anthology addresses the feelings and symptoms that the writers have experienced, sometimes daily. These pieces speak freely about the loneliness and helplessness one feels when a migraine comes on. The sufferer faces nausea, pain, sensitivity to light, and having the veracity of all these symptoms doubted by others. O'Shea, a professor of literature and a migraine sufferer herself, also includes an original essay of her own reflections. Offered as an alternative not only to medical writing but also to self-help books and internet blogs, So Much More Than a Headache addresses a real omission in the available works on migraine, provides a resource for those who may have underestimated the depth and range of writing on this subject, and challenges the cultural bias that dismisses migraine as "just a headache."

Draws on the latest scientific findings to identify the unique characteristics, chemical makeups, and structural differences of migraine-prone brains, offering insight into the role of the central nervous system while outlining a comprehensive program to reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches. Reprint.

The up-to-the-minute guide to understanding and treating migraines for all migraine sufferers and their families Across America, twenty-eight million people suffer from migraines, costing the nation millions of dollars in lost work and school days, medication, and countless visits to doctors and hospitals. At the world-renowned Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago, Dr. Seymour Diamond has spent more than thirty years helping thousands of headache sufferers conquer their debilitating pain. At last, the resources of that institution are available in a book. Dr. Diamond's Conquering Your Migraine is a comprehensive guide to the identification and treatment of all types of migraine, including pediatric headache, hormonal migraine, and coexisting migraine and tension-type headache. This book includes: The most up-to-date research on the cause of migraine, including if and how it will affect treatment How to identify the danger signs of migraine Identifying and treating migraine when it is linked to depression Why more than 70 percent of migraine sufferers are women and what their particular circumstances mean for treatment How the miracle drugs of the twenty-first century can stop your migraine attack The latest in non-drug and self-help treatments, including relaxation therapy, biofeedback, and preventative therapies If you or someone close to you suffers from migraine, Dr. Diamond's Your Migraine is the lifeline you need to help free you from pain.

Providing details of the pros and cons of common prescription medications, this text explains Dr. Mauskop's patient-tested, seven-step programme for migraine relief. It includes tips on avoiding migraine triggers in food, the home & the environment.

Based on the breakthrough understanding that virtually all headaches are forms of migraine--because migraine is not a specific type of headache, but the built-in mechanism that causes headaches of all kinds, along with neck stiffness, sinus congestion, dizziness, and other problems--Dr. Buchholz's Heal Your Headache puts headache sufferers back in control of their lives with a simple, transforming program: Step 1: Avoid the "Quick Fix." Too often painkillers only make matters worse because of the crippling complication known as rebound. Step 2: Reduce Your Triggers. The crux of the program: a migraine diet that eliminates the foods that push headache sufferers over the top. Step 3: Raise Your Threshold. When diet and other lifestyle changes aren't enough, preventive medication can help stay the course. That's it: in three steps turn your headache problems around.

From the renowned neurologist and bestselling author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat comes a fascinating investigation of the many manifestations of migraine, including the visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs can experience. “So erudite, so gracefully written, that even those people fortunate enough never to have had a migraine in their lives should find it equally compelling.” —The New York Times The many manifestations of migraine can vary dramatically from one patient to another, even within the same patient at different times. Among the most compelling and perplexing of these symptoms are the strange visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs sometimes experience. Portrayals of these uncanny states have found their way into many works of art, from the heavenly visions of Hildegard von Bingen to Alice in Wonderland. Dr. Oliver Sacks argues that migraine cannot be understood simply as an illness, but must be viewed as a complex condition with a unique role to play in each individual's life.

Arguing that an appropriate medication has the best potential for relieving a headache, a guide to headache treatment discusses different types of pain, and conventional and alternative options for prevention or treatment.

'A fantastic and much needed resource for all those suffering. Dr Katy Munro's experience and knowledge through this book will help all those who read it' Dr Rupy Aujla, The Doctor's Kitchen 'Dr Katy Munro is the single best migraine expert our family have ever met [...] This book brings hope to every migraineur' Miranda Sawyer, Guardian & Observer Journalist ***** Despite being one of the most common and debilitating conditions in the world, migraine is still widely misunderstood, stigmatised and misdiagnosed. Migraine is much more than 'just a headache', it's a genetic, neurological brain disorder, and it's time patients got the healp they really need. Managing Your Migraine is the practical go-to guide for understanding and treating migraine. In the book, headache Specialist and GP Dr Katy Munro will give you expert advice on: · Understanding your migraine phases and triggers · The impact of food, exercise and sleep on migraine · Rescue plans for acute attacks · Migraine preventers · Migraine in children · Managing your mental health with migraine If you're a person with migraine, or know someone struggling, this book will provide helpful strategies for alleviating your symptoms and managing your migraine. Drawing on her medical expertise, her own personal experience with migraine and the stories of her patients, Dr Munro will empower you to get to know your own migraine and build an effective treatment plan that will help you live your life more fully. Part of the Penguin Life Experts series.