| |
| |
| Introduction | |
| |
| |
| About This Book | |
| |
| |
| Questions answered | |
| |
| |
| Solutions offered | |
| |
| |
| Caution given | |
| |
| |
| Foolish Assumptions | |
| |
| |
| How This Book Is Organized | |
| |
| |
| Conventions and Icons Used in This Book | |
| |
| |
| |
| Looking at the Big Picture: Migraines Demystified | |
| |
| |
| |
| Knowing What You're Dealing With: An Overview | |
| |
| |
| Getting a Take on What Migraines Are and What They Aren't | |
| |
| |
| Tripping through the Types of Headaches | |
| |
| |
| Looking at Some of the Reasons Why | |
| |
| |
| Getting an Under-the-Hood Inspection and Tune Up | |
| |
| |
| Handling Family and Work Issues | |
| |
| |
| Exploring Options Galore | |
| |
| |
| |
| Coping with the Symptoms | |
| |
| |
| Taking on the Big Three: Auras, Sensory Sensitivity, and Stomach Problems | |
| |
| |
| Encountering Other Migraine Signs | |
| |
| |
| Using Quick Fixes as a Stopgap | |
| |
| |
| |
| Knowing Your Foes | |
| |
| |
| Keeping a Journal to Discover Reasons and Triggers | |
| |
| |
| Understanding Inherited Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Checking Your Environment for Allergens | |
| |
| |
| Finding Dietary Villains | |
| |
| |
| Zeroing in on Exercises that Make Your Head Hurt | |
| |
| |
| Keying in on Other Migraine Triggers | |
| |
| |
| Stopping Triggers in their Tracks | |
| |
| |
| |
| Getting Diagnosed | |
| |
| |
| |
| Distinguishing a Migraine from Other Head Pain | |
| |
| |
| Sorting Headache Types | |
| |
| |
| Understanding What Makes a Migraine a Migraine | |
| |
| |
| Identifying Variations on the Migraine Theme | |
| |
| |
| Recoiling from Rebound Headaches | |
| |
| |
| Defusing the Myths | |
| |
| |
| |
| Finding a Good Migraine Doctor | |
| |
| |
| Seeing Your Everyday Doc | |
| |
| |
| Discovering Whether Your Physician Understands Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Turning to a Headache Specialist | |
| |
| |
| Preparing for the Headache Specialist | |
| |
| |
| |
| Having Your Head Examined and Coming Up with a Plan | |
| |
| |
| Huddling with Your Doctor | |
| |
| |
| Taking the Tests | |
| |
| |
| Hunkering Down to Come up with a Migraine-Busting Plan | |
| |
| |
| |
| Giving Migraines a Knockout Punch | |
| |
| |
| |
| Spelling Relief without a Prescription | |
| |
| |
| Counting on Over-the-Counter Medications | |
| |
| |
| Sidestepping the Side Effects of Too Many OTC Drugs | |
| |
| |
| Using Vitamin and Herbal Supplements | |
| |
| |
| |
| Taking Care of Pain with Prescription Drugs | |
| |
| |
| Looking for Relief in All the Right Places | |
| |
| |
| Finding Out What to Expect and How You React | |
| |
| |
| Fighting Back: Abortive Medications for Migraines Underway | |
| |
| |
| Stopping Migraines Upfront: Prophylactics | |
| |
| |
| Trying Newer Treatments | |
| |
| |
| Choosing a Delivery Method | |
| |
| |
| Calling on Superhero Medications | |
| |
| |
| Getting Nausea Relief | |
| |
| |
| |
| Sampling Alternative Remedies | |
| |
| |
| Sampling Mind-Body Methods | |
| |
| |
| Working with Behavioral Headache Bashers | |
| |
| |
| Pursuing Alternative Physical Treatments | |
| |
| |
| Micromanaging Your Own Treatment Program | |
| |
| |
| |
| Making Medical Decisions Even When You're Migraine-Hazy | |
| |
| |
| Making Good Choices Despite the Migraine Haze | |
| |
| |
| Negotiating the Emergency Room | |
| |
| |
| |
| Committing to Lifestyle Changes | |
| |
| |
| |
| Catching and Rejecting Food Triggers | |
| |
| |
| Tracking Down Dietary Triggers | |
| |
| |
| Pulling the Plug on Migraine Foods | |
| |
| |
| |
| Getting Physical with Your Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Loosening Migraine's Grip with Movement | |
| |
| |
| Avoiding Exercise that Induces Migraines | |
| |
| |
| |
| Eyeballing Environmental Enemies | |
| |
| |
| Investigating Your Environment | |
| |
| |
| Kicking Troublemakers Out of Your Home | |
| |
| |
| Checking Your Surroundings | |
| |
| |
| Preparing a Personal Oasis | |
| |
| |
| |
| Looking at the Link between Migraines and Sleep | |
| |
| |
| Waking Up to Your Sleep Patterns | |
| |
| |
| Defining and Treating Sleep Disorders | |
| |
| |
| Benefiting by Changing Your Behavior | |
| |
| |
| |
| Staying Connected to the People in Your Life | |
| |
| |
| |
| Living the Good Life Despite Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Singing the Why-Me Migraine Blues | |
| |
| |
| Feeling Free to Get Pain-Free | |
| |
| |
| Deciding Whether to Go Out and About or Hunker Down at Home | |
| |
| |
| Joining in the Social Whirl | |
| |
| |
| Keeping It Real When Migraine-Free People Think You're Faking It | |
| |
| |
| |
| Managing Migraines at Work | |
| |
| |
| Minimizing Migraine's Impact at Work | |
| |
| |
| Coping with Attitude and Agony | |
| |
| |
| Staying in a Positive Self-Image Place on Migraine Days | |
| |
| |
| Working with Periods of Disability | |
| |
| |
| |
| Handling Your Home Life | |
| |
| |
| Giving Cues to Loved Ones | |
| |
| |
| Making Your Mate an Advocate | |
| |
| |
| Being Realistic about Your Children's Reactions | |
| |
| |
| Handling the Negative Attitudes of Family Members | |
| |
| |
| |
| Managing Special-Situation Migraines | |
| |
| |
| |
| Spotting the Dangerous Headache | |
| |
| |
| Paying Attention to First-Ever or Worst-Ever Headaches | |
| |
| |
| Spotting ER-Worthy Red Flags | |
| |
| |
| Getting Thee to the ER on Time | |
| |
| |
| |
| Let's Hear It for the Girls: Hormonal Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Discovering Why So Many Women Are Plagued by Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Combating Menstrual Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Spelling Relief or Trouble: Oral Contraceptives and Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Tackling Migraines While You're Pregnant--and Afterward | |
| |
| |
| Ditching the Migraines of Menopause | |
| |
| |
| |
| Helping a Child with Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Recognizing the Signs | |
| |
| |
| Hunting Down and Disarming the Causes and Triggers | |
| |
| |
| Seeking Treatment | |
| |
| |
| Managing the Emotional Side Effects | |
| |
| |
| |
| Holding Off the Sex Migraine | |
| |
| |
| Laying Out Sex-Related Headaches | |
| |
| |
| Having a Candid Chat with Your Doctor | |
| |
| |
| Doing It without Getting Done In | |
| |
| |
| |
| Sideswiping Migraines Caused by Stress | |
| |
| |
| Mastering Techniques for Calming Your Mind | |
| |
| |
| Rearranging Priorities to Scuttle Some Stressors | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Senioring Effect: Aging and Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Losing Migraine Pain along with Your Hair | |
| |
| |
| Gaining Wisdom and Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Seeing Your Doctor for Help | |
| |
| |
| Looking Out for Eye Problems and Atypical Head Pain | |
| |
| |
| |
| The Part of Tens | |
| |
| |
| |
| Ten Tips for Dealing with Folks Who Don't Get Migraines | |
| |
| |
| Express Your Envy (At Least to Yourself) | |
| |
| |
| Shrug Off Unhelpful Advice | |
| |
| |
| Keep a Sense of Perspective | |
| |
| |
| Steel Yourself for the Very Irritating | |
| |
| |
| Try to Love Even the Headache-Free | |
| |
| |
| Be Matter-of-Fact about Having to Miss Engagements | |
| |
| |
| Warn People Up Front | |
| |
| |
| Don't Let Anyone Guilt-Trip You | |
| |
| |
| Help Your Hosts Accommodate Your Triggers | |
| |
| |
| Express Your Disappointment at Missing Important Events | |
| |
| |
| |
| Ten Things You Can Do for the Migraine Sufferer You Love | |
| |
| |
| Be On Call | |
| |
| |
| Stay Cheerful | |
| |
| |
| Crank Up Your Compassion | |
| |
| |
| Resist the Urge to Cajole | |
| |
| |
| Serve as a Social Secretary | |
| |
| |
| Take Charge of the Kids | |
| |
| |
| Make Necessary Work-Related Phone Calls | |
| |
| |
| Call the Doc if the Headache Worsens | |
| |
| |
| Be Thoughtful | |
| |
| |
| Ask What You Can Do | |
| |
| |
| |
| Eleven Ways NOT to Treat a Migraine | |
| |
| |
| Go Off Your Program | |
| |
| |
| Take Too Many Drugs | |
| |
| |
| Ignore Dosage Recommendations | |
| |
| |
| Believe Crazy Claims | |
| |
| |
| Keep Taking a Drug that Doesn't Work | |
| |
| |
| Try to Gut it Out and Go Out | |
| |
| |
| Stuff Yourself with Tons of Food | |
| |
| |
| Try the Sun-and-Activity Remedy | |
| |
| |
| Doctor-Hop | |
| |
| |
| Foster a Sick-Person Reputation | |
| |
| |
| Become an ER Junkie | |
| |
| |
| Index | |