Migraines

Health insurance costs are out of control. We’re all painfully aware of this inflationary spiral. Monthly premiums are through the roof. Co-payments keep going up and up. Out-of-pocket expenses are so high we often wonder what we’re saving by purchasing health insurance at all.

Every family has been hit hard by these financial burdens. If you’re self-employed, your health insurance premiums for adequate individual coverage are close to $1000 per month. These bills are too high for many small business owners, so they opt for catastrophic coverage. These policies still cost $4000 to $5000 per year. If you encounter medical problems, you have to pay up to $5000 or more in out-of-pocket expenses.

What solutions, if any, are available to U.S. citizens? The Federal government may or may not address our crumbling health care system in the next presidential administration. Individuals and families need to take steps on their own behalf to ensure better health. Improved health and well-being always translate into reduced health care costs.1,2

Health-affirming lifestyle choices make a real difference in both short-term and long-term well-being. Old habits may need to be broken. New habits will need to be nurtured. The outcomes will be better health and increased savings by reducing health care expenditures

Nutrition and fitness are often the primary categories needing improvement. Obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease, and diabetes are a few of the main culprits raising our national health insurance costs. Each of these can be positively impacted by achieving a better diet and engaging in regular exercise.

Stop smoking. Reduce alcohol consumption. Replace soda with water. Cut down on snacks. Cut down on processed carbohydrates - white bread and white rice. Reduce portion size. Taking all these action steps, progressively and over time, will improve your overall state of health.3

Be in it for the long haul. Change does not happen overnight - it’s a process. We’re talking about a lifetime of good health supported by good habits.

Chiropractic health care is an important part of the process of restoring well-being and reducing health care costs. Regular chiropractic visits help a person stay active and are a key component in returning to fitness. Chiropractic treatment helps to improve flexibility, balance, and stability, This increases your ability to exercise and make it more fun.

Use your chiropractor as a resource as you work on improving your health. Your chiropractor will have many valuable recommendations regarding healthful nutrition and healthful exercise. He or she will be glad to offer guidance and support in your journey to good health.

1Fronstin P: Health promotion and disease prevention: a look at demand management programs. EBRI Issue Brief 177:1-14, 1996; 2Parks KM, Steelman LA: Organizational wellness programs: a meta-analysis. J Occup Health Psychol 13(1):58-68, 2008; 3Pearce PZ: Exercise is medicine. Curr Sports Med Rep 7(3):171-175, 20

Need another reason to commit to a healthy diet and exercise? Think migraines are just headaches? Migraine and obesity sufferers feel more emotional pain than those dealing with life-threatening conditions like congestive heart failure, prostate cancer, osteoporosis and high blood pressure. In fact, they tend to feel more pessimistic than those diagnosed with depression.

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There is a fairly reasonable chance that someone you know has had some form of headache today, just because there are so many different types of headaches about. These kinds of headache could be the result of dehydration, missed meals, migraines or other types of headache like a tension headache or even a chronic tension headache.

While a tension headache feels like a tight rubber band around your head, the pain from tension headaches goes away after a short time. Now imagine having to suffer from a tension headache every day. This kind of tension headache is classified as a chronic tension headache because the pain is experienced at least 15 days a month for a period of several months.

With the case of chronic tension headaches, the symptoms of the headaches are fairly similar to those of tension headaches, except that the pain never actually seems to go away. People who have experienced chronic tension headaches, say that the pain is as if they were wearing a pressure band around their heads. Other people have described severe chronic tension headache pain as a hooded cape that drapes down over their shoulders.

In the case of both tension headaches and chronic tension headaches, the pain can be located at the forehead region, sides of the head and sometimes even at the back of the head. At its usual strength the chronic tension headache is a dull, aching pain, although sometimes the pain is like a pressurized tightness. Generally the pain is mild to moderately intense.

The severity of the pain varies with the general physical condition of the individual concerned and it also varies with the different kinds headaches. Many people begin to experience chronic tension headaches as soon as they wake up in the morning, although others have reported that their chronic tension headaches start in the early hours of the morning.

Normal tension headaches are more usual than chronic tension headaches, however twice as many women as men suffer from chronic tension headaches. The duration and the severity of the pain is about the same as a normal tension headache, although the pain from the chronic tension headache is almost a daily occurrence and is also of a continuous nature.

Those who suffer from chronic tension headaches are supposed to be more susceptible to anxiety and depression than non-sufferers of chronic tension headaches. It is also well-documented that chronic tension headaches occur during or after heightened periods of stress and anxiety. Furthermore, anyone who has mood disorders like depression or anxiety ought to have these conditions treated before getting their chronic tension headache attended to.

People who suffer from chronic tension headaches can lead normal and fulfilling lives with the proper medication and treatment. Over time, they may understand what the triggers of their headaches are and how avoiding these triggers can prevent the onset of a bout of chronic tension headaches.

Botox is the commercial trade name for botulinum toxin type A, a neurotoxic protein produced by the anaerobic, Gram positive, spore-forming bacteria Clostridium botulinum. It is marketed in injectable form by the pharmaceutical company Allergan as Botox Cosmetic for the treatment of facial lines and wrinkles. It minimizes the appearance of wrinkles by immobilizing the underlying muscles that cause facial lines and creases. It is also emerging as a treatment for migraine headache.

Severe head pain, nausea and visual or light sensitivity problems are some of the symptoms associated with migraine headaches. Slurred speech and temporary paralysis have also been frequently observed in severe cases. Botox for migraines had been shown to be a safe and effective treatment, actually relieving most if not all of the symptoms of migraines, in clinical studies conducted as early as 1999.

Research on the use of Botox for migraines was begun when doctors discovered that a number of patients receiving Botox injections for the treatment of deep wrinkles on the forehead stopped having migraine headaches or had significantly fewer migraine headaches since starting the injections. Complete recovery from migraine headaches was observed in about half of them and there was partial improvement in about a third.

Los Angeles plastic surgeon Dr. William Binder and three other doctors conducted a formal study in 1999. They divided 100 patients in to 3 groups. Patients who definitely had migraines composed the first group. Patients who probably had migraines went into the second group. The third group consisted of patients who did not have migraines. At the conclusion of the study, it was established that migraine headaches completely disappeared in about half of the patients while the severity and/or frequency of migraine headaches was reduced by half in about 37 per cent.

The patients who reported that they no longer suffered from migraine headaches said that their symptoms had disappeared four months after receiving Botox injections. Of those who had acute migraines, complete benefit was experienced by 8 out of 13 within one or two hours. The benefits far outweighed the disadvantages; the only adverse effects reported in the administration of Botox for migraines were temporary local pain caused by the injections and slight bruising.

Based on the results that were achieved, the researchers concluded that the administration of Botox for migraines certainly helped relieve the symptoms but it can not be said to be a cure. They were surprised by the effectiveness of Botox in patients who suffered from migraine headaches, despite data from previous research that it is an effective treatment for tension type headaches. After all, tension is not the primary cause of migraine headaches.

Dr. Richard Glogau, professor of dermatology at the University of California San Francisco, conducted another study on the use of Botox for migraines in 2000. Four to six months of migraine relief following injections of Botox was experienced by 18 out of 24 patients in this study. In addition, the frequency of migraine headaches in patients dropped from an average of 14 to only 6 a month after receiving Botox injections in a study conducted by Dr. David Dodick, of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine in Arizona, in 2005.

The medical use of Botox for migraines is not yet approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration but is approved for neurological disorders such as cervical dystonia (also known as spasmodic torticollis), blepharospasm, and strabismus. Migraine headache is also a neurological condition. The fact that Botox is an effective therapy for certain neurological syndromes indicates that there really is a positive connection between Botox and migraines.

Orgasm is supposed to be a pleasurable and positive activity for most people, but it can be less enjoyable for others who discover that it triggers coital headaches. For sufferers, sexual activity of any type can result in coital headache attacks.

Medically speaking, a headache, or cephalalgia, is a symptom of various conditions of the head and sometimes the neck too. They can be classified into two main groups: primary or idiopathic, and symptomatic, although there are other ways of classifying them as well; for example by severity or by area.

Basically, primary headaches have a known or unknown reason, whereas symptomatic headaches are frequently caused by a previous trauma. Primary headaches include amongst others: migraine, tension headaches, cluster headaches and coital headaches.

Coital headaches, also called coital cephalalgia or sexual headaches, is a rare, but severe type of headache that starts in the nape of the neck during sexual intercourse, but before climax. It can occur in all conditions where climax is the expected result. The pain can move to behind the eyes and can then become even more severe. Typically the pain will last from a few minutes to an hour or so, but it has been known to last for days in the worst cases.

Men are three times more prone to coital headaches than women and the age groups most at risk are those between 20 and 25 and 30 and 44. Nobody really knows why this should be. Coital headaches affect about one percent of the population, although this figure could be a lot higher because of people being embarrassed to talk about it.

Coital headaches are benign, meaning that they have no long-term ill effects, as far as we know. It seems that people taking sexual stimulants, like Viagara, are about 10% more at risk to a bout of coital headache. In fact, besides the obvious, temporary pain, the worst effects of coital headaches are varying levels of dizziness, confusion and stiffness of neck.

However, it is still worth seeing a doctor though, especially in the early cases, just to exclude the more serious causes of headaches, such as brain tumours and blood clots. However, the doctor can do rather little to help by way of therapy. He could suggest a complete abstention from any form of sexual practice for a period ranging from days to weeks or he may suggest trying taking medication some time before sexual foreplay commences.

Some of the headache medications that may be taken are indomethacin, imitrex, zomig and propranolol, although if the headaches persist, your doctor may prescribe daily preventive medication. People suffering from frequent coital headaches may obtain a positive response to migraine preventive medications, such as beta blockers or verapamil. Non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as ibuprofen may also be helpful. Coital headaches and migraines are also more likely to occur if the person is in poor physical health.

Nevertheless, the treatment for coital headaches for a lot of people can be as simple as bringing your weight up or down to the normal weight for your size. Coital headaches can also be cured in some sufferers by an increased level of exercise, although this could bring on exertion headaches in some people.

The good news is though that most headaches related to sex are not serious in nature. In fact, different studies actually suggest that orgasm can relieve headaches and migraine in some cases. This means that for some adults, refusing sex may actually be the reason that delays headache treatment.

The pain involved with a migraine can almost drive a person crazy. The veins and cells surrounding the brain swell up when a headache occurs. The nearby nerves are then being pushed against which actually creates the pain.

Studies prove that once a headache or migraine sets in, the brain requires much more oxygen than it has been receiving.

In addition, research also reveals that damage remains after migraines called lesions. One specific lesion has also been found in those who suffer Alzheimer’s.

While Alzheimer’s has been connected to migraines, even more studies are revealing links between Alzheimer’s and sleep apnea.

This does pass the logic test that various conditions either coexist or contribute to one another. Ive written articles exploring links between migraines and sleep disorders. These conditions are both worsened if not created due to a lack of oxygen delivered to the brain. Alzheimers is also linked to an oxygen starved brain.

As Alzheimer’s can contribute to poor sleep, any sleep apnea or other sleep disorders can be worsened.

Some very encouraging news is that studies have found that people who are treated for sleep apnea, are also finding relief for Alzheimers symptoms especially when oxygen therapy is involved.

Cognition and memory both show good improvement. This is great news as these are aspects seriously affected with Alzheimers.

Better sleep also lessens the occurrences and symptoms associated with migraines. By acknowledging links amongst certain conditions and of course obtaining treatment, a person’s quality of life can increase dramatically.

I am excited to announce that my all natural Alzheimer’s program will be released soon. I also recommend my Stop Snoring and Headache and Migraine Programs. These easy to implement exercises all focus on improving the oxygen delivered to the brain.

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Living with a headache is hard enough but when it spreads to your neck and restricts movement it is so much worse.

No one wants to stop for a headache and neck pain, so below are my three top tips for managing the pain.

1.Drink Plenty Of Fluids ” It is believed that as many as ninety five percent of all headaches are caused by de hydration. Water is free, so you should use it as your first medication.

2. Heat and Cold - It is important to release the muscles in your neck to alleviate this pain. The best way to achieve this is with hot and cold compresses. Alternate these until the muscles start to relax and then gently move the head around to stretch the muscles.

3.Review Your Lifestyle - Changing your life is a long process, but there is no doubt that headaches are a lifestyle symptom. Headaches can be caused by stress, environmental factors or even by certain foods. It is important to isolate what causes your headaches. A good way to do this is the keep a diary. For every headache you should write down where you where, the environment (hot, cold, office, dinner party, etc) and also what you had eaten that day or the night before. Eventually a pattern will emerge - don’t expect to see this after just a couple of headaches it can take a while.

Headaches and neck pain can feel like a life sentence, but with careful management you can change you life in such a way as to reduce these symptoms.

Taking positive steps is important. Once you start to take back control then you may want to look into some of the alternative therapies which are available. Changing your life is always better than medicating your life.

Always bare in mind that a healthy lifestyle and a relaxed and happy mood will help your headaches and neck pains.

Aradigm Corporation (OTC BB: ARDM.OB) (”Aradigm”) announced that Zogenix, Inc. was granted approval of the Sumavel™ DosePro™ (sumatriptan injection) needle-free delivery system which enables subcutaneous delivery of sumatriptan without a needle for the treatment of acute migraine. Aradigm is entitled to a $4 million milestone payment upon first commercial sale, and royalty payments upon any sales of products in the U.S.

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Traditional treatment offered by chiropractic doctors can help a multitude of problems. Offices offer so much more than just “popping” joints or “cracking” the spine, and nowhere is this more true than when discussing chiropractic and headaches. Headaches are a very common problem (although not normal) and chiropractic is a proven way to obtain relief of the associated pain. In fact, research has shown that patients who were treated for headaches by their chiropractor had better results than those treated under a traditional medical doctor. There are several different types of headaches and the common treatments for each vary slightly.

The easiest type of headache to treat is known as a tension headache. Tension headaches are caused by physical or emotional stress. Stress triggers the body’s fight or flight mechanism. If there is no release, that settles in the muscles as tension and can then result in a tension headache. A chain reaction is triggered in which tension leads to body imbalances which then cause headaches. With chiropractic and headaches, any therapy that releases tension, including muscle and joint manipulation and massage, can vastly reduce symptoms. Patients often find relief in just a few visits. It is also very easy for the practitioner to help the patient recognize the cycle. There are many tension releasing exercises that a patient can then do at home to relieve their symptoms without another visit to the doctor.

Another type of headache is the migraine headache. Migraine headaches are characterized by intense pain accompanied by extreme sensitivity to light and sound. Some patients also experience a halo effect. Migraines are difficult to treat using traditional medical techniques. These therapies often just treat the symptoms of pain and sensitivity and neglect to explore the root of the problem.

Studies suggest that migraines are caused by impaired vascular flow. In educating a patient on the benefits of chiropractic and headaches, a practitioner may offer concentrated therapies focusing on the neck and spine to decrease the extreme symptoms. Patients may need continued care for this type of headache. However, while migraines can be a chronic condition, they can be well managed under the care of a chiropractic doctor and with proper care, doctor visits can be vastly reduced.

Chiropractic offices offer so much more than just manipulating joints and muscles. Therapies commonly ascribed to chiropractors are still offered and effective, of course. However, when exploring chiropractic and headaches, a patient will probably be surprised to find alternative and cutting edge complementary therapies as well. These include things like massage, cold laser therapy, ionic cleansing, and even spinal decompression. Chiropractors receive ongoing training and are constantly on the look out for anything that will help their patients get out of pain and achieve a comfortable daily life.

Most children who suffer from chronic daily headache may outgrow the disabling condition, according to research published in the July 15, 2009, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. Nearly 1.5 percent of middle school children are affected by chronic daily headache, which includes chronic migraines and tension-type headaches.

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