MUSIC IT CAN BE UNPREDICTABLE,
PAINFUL, AND INTERFERE WITH EVERYDAY
LIFE.
WHETHER THAT'S GOING TO WORK, SPENDING TIME WITH FAMILY,
OR ENJOYING SOCIAL ACTIVITIES.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A MIGRAINE.
OUR GUEST THIS MORNING WILL HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND THIS
NEUROLOGICAL DISORDER AND DISCUSS SOME TOOLS AVAILABLE FOR
MIGRAINE SUFFERERS.
SHE'S HEADACHE SPECIALIST, BOARD
CERTIFIED FAMILY PHYSICIAN AND SPOKESPERSON FOR TEVA
PHARMACEUTICALS, DR.
SUSAN HUTCHINSON.
GOOD MORNING DOCTOR.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
NO THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
DOCTOR, LET'S START WITH CLARIFYING A MIGRAINE VERSUS A
HEADACHE.
SIMILAR, NOT SIMILAR?
MIGRAINE IS AN ACTUAL NEUROLOGICAL CONDITION AND IT
CAN LAST FROM 4 TO 72 HOURS, AND IN THAT, TYPICALLY THE PERSON
HAS A MODERATE TO SEVERE HEADACHE.
IT'S OFTEN DESCRIBED AS THROBBING, PULSATING.
IT'S OFTEN WORSENED WITH ACTIVITY,
AND VERY OFTEN THERE'S NAUSEA.
THERE CAN BE VOMITING, SENSITIVITY TO LIGHT,
SENSITIVITY TO NOISE, AND IT'S OFTEN UNPREDICTABLE.
AND HOW COMMON IS IT DOCTOR?
IT'S ACTUALLY QUITE COMMON.
REALLY?
36 MILLION AMERICANS ANNUALLY, AND THAT'S OVER 10% OF THE
POPULATION.
AND THEN IF YOU LOOK AT WOMEN VERSUS MEN.
AFTER PUBERTY, 3 TO 1 WOMEN GET
MIGRAINES MORE THAN MEN.
I'D LIKE ADD TOO THAT THE ATTACKS
CAN VARY FROM PATIENT TO PATIENT AND EVEN WITHIN 1 PERSON THE
PRESENTATION OF THE MIGRAINE CAN BE DIFFERENT.
YOU ALSO HAVE SUFFERED FROM MIGRAINES
PRACTICALLY YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.
YOU KNOW EXACTLY THE IMPACT IT HAS.
I KNOW VERY MUCH THE IMPACT MIGRAINE CAN HAVE.
AND I ALSO HEAR COUNTLESS STORIES FROM MY
PATIENTS ABOUT HOW MIGRAINES AFFECT THEM.
WHAT'S INTERESTING IS EVEN IN BETWEEN MIGRAINE
ATTACKS THE PATIENT CAN BE AFRAID - WHEN IS HER NEXT ATTACK
GONNA BE?
AND I REMEMBER A YOUNG WOMAN BEING SO AFRAID THAT A
MIGRAINE WAS GONNA RUIN HER WEDDING DAY.
YOU'RE KIDDING, NO.
SHE'S NOT THINKING ABOUT THE FLOWERS, NOT EVEN THE DRESS.
SHE'S WONDERING, AM I GONNA HAVE A MIGRAINE THAT DAY.
SO IT'S A VERY DISABLING CONDITION.
SO IT CAN HAVE IMPACT ON A PERSON'S
WORK LIFE, SOCIAL LIFE, FAMILY LIFE.
EVERYDAY LIFE.
YES.
WHAT TRIGGERS IT DOCTOR?
THERE ARE MANY TRIGGERS.
NOW WHEN YOU LOOK AT WOMEN, IN PARTICULAR,
HORMONES ARE THE MOST COMMON TRIGGER.
UPS AND DOWNS IN HORMONES AND THAT DROP IN
ESTROGEN, JUST BEFORE A WOMAN'S PERIOD IS THE MOST COMMON REASON
FOR MENSTRUAL MIGRAINE.
AND THEN IF YOU LOOK BACK, BECAUSE MEN
GET MIGRAINES AS WELL, VERY COMMON TRIGGERS WOULD BE STRESS,
LACK OF SLEEP, DISRUPTED SLEEP, CERTAIN FOODS, PRESERVATIVES,
ADDITIVES, WEATHER CHANGE, AND TRIGGERS VARY FROM PERSON TO
PERSON.
WE'RE GONNA END THIS ON A HIGH NOTE BECAUSE THERE IS
HELP FOR PATIENTS WITH MIGRAINES.
SO STAY RIGHT THERE DOCTOR CAUSE WHEN WE COME BACK
WE ARE GONNA HEAR FROM SOME MIGRAINE SUFFERERS AND WE'RE
GONNA DISCUSS TOOLS AND RESOURCES.
YES.
RESOURCES OUT THERE TO HELP YOU GET THROUGH
THIS.
SO THERE'S A SLOW BUILD AND THEN IT'S LIKE BOOM IMPACT.
IT'S LIKE YOUR BRAIN SEEPING OUT OF YOUR EYE SOCKETS.
MUSIC WELCOME BACK.
EVERYONE.
WE'RE DISCUSSING MIGRAINES WITH HEADACHE
SPECIALIST AND BOARD CERTIFIED FAMILY PHYSICIAN, DR.
SUSAN HUTCHINSON, WHO ALSO SUFFERS
FROM MIGRAINES.
NOW BEFORE THE BREAK, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT
TRIGGERS.
WE RECENTLY ASKED VARIOUS MIGRAINE SUFFERERS ABOUT
THEIR MIGRAINES.
HERE'S WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY.
SO MY TRIGGERS ARE MOSTLY ENVIRONMENTAL, FOODS,
PEOPLE, STRESSES.
THE BIGGEST THING FOR ME IS WHEN I DRINK
SOMETHING THAT I REALLY WANT, LIKE A RED GLASS OF WINE, AND I
KNOW IT'S GONNA COME AND I TRY AND TALK MYSELF OUT OF IT.
BUT IT HITS HEAD ON.
WHEN I START TO FEEL A MIGRAINE COMING ON I
START TO FEEL VERY SENSITIVE TO LIGHT SO I TURN THEM DOWN, AND I
ALSO FEEL VERY SENSITIVE TO SOUND, SO I OFTEN TURN ON THE TV
OR HAVE PEOPLE SPEAK QUIETLY.
THERE'S LIKE A TINGLING SENSATION THAT COMES.
SO THERE'S A SLOW BUILD AND THEN IT'S LIKE
BOOM IMPACT.
IT AFFECTS EVERY PART OF YOUR HEAD.
THERE'S NO LIKE, AND YOU'RE TENDER ON
EITHER SIDE OF YOUR TEMPLE, ALL OVER YOU'RE TENDER.
DOCTOR, THERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES AND I'M
SURE YOU'VE HEARD THIS MANY TIMES BEFORE.
I HEAR IT EVERYDAY IN MY OFFICE.
AND IN FACT, AS A MIGRAINE SUFFERER, I'VE HAD
THESE KIND OF EXPERIENCES.
AND I REMEMBER SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
I WAS IN MY PRACTICE SEEING A
PATIENT, ALL OF SUDDEN THIS THROBBING, POUNDING HEADACHE OF
MIGRAINE CAME ON.
OUT OF NOWHERE.
ALL OF A SUDDEN A WAVE OF NAUSEA CAME
ON.
I ACTUALLY HAD TO EXCUSE MYSELF, LEAVE THE ROOM, I HAD TO
VOMIT.
OH MY GOSH.
CLEAN MYSELF UP AND COME BACK.
SO YES, I KNOW FIRST HAND JUST HOW DISRUPTIVE
MIGRAINE CAN HAVE.
WHETHER IT BE YOUR WORK LIFE, PERSONAL LIFE,
FAMILY LIFE.
LET'S TALK ABOUT SOME THINGS THAT PEOPLE CAN DO
TO HELP DEAL WITH THIS.
IS IT SOMETHING IN TERMS OF MAYBE
KEEPING A JOURNAL AND FINDING OUT WHEN YOU HAD A TRIGGER.
DOES THAT HELP?
YES, ABSOLUTELY.
I THINK EVERY MIGRAINE SUFFERER
SHOULD KEEP A DIARY OR JOURNAL.
IT CAN BE VERY HELPFUL LOOKING AT PATTERNS.
FOR EXAMPLE, A WOMAN MIGHT NOTICE THAT EVERY
TIME IT'S HER PERIOD - BOOM SHE HAS A MIGRAINE.
THERE YOU GO.
OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT NOTICE, GOSH THEY FINALLY GET TO SLEEP IN ON
THE WEEKEND AND THEY HAVE LET DOWN MIGRAINE.
SO YES, AND THAT DIARY OR JOURNAL CAN BE VERY
HELPFUL TO TAKE WITH YOU TO YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER.
I'M CURIOUS TO ASK - IS THERE A CURE?
OH I WISH THERE WAS.
THERE ISN'T.
NO, UNFORTUNATELY, THERE IS NO CURE.
WE'RE STILL UNDERSTANDING COMPLETELY WHAT CAUSES MIGRAINE.
IS IT GENETIC?
YES, WE THINK IN MOST CASE, PEOPLE INHERIT A
GENETIC PREDISPOSITION FOR MIGRAINE.
OK, SO NO CURE BUT WE'RE GONNA STICK THE HOPE HERE.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES, MAYBE THAT CAN HELP?
LIFESTYLE CHANGES THAT CAN HELP WOULD BE, AND I KNOW
FOR ME PERSONALLY, EXERCISE IS CRITICAL.
AND FOR MANY OF MY MIGRAINE SUFFERERS THAT ARE IN
MY PRACTICE, LIMITING ALCOHOL.
REALLY.
CAFFEINE IN SOME CASES.
I THINK SLEEP IS CRITICAL.
LOOKING AT YOUR DIET.
FOR SOME PEOPLE THERE MIGHT BE CERTAIN
FOODS, TRIGGERS.
SO YES, I THINK LOOKING AT LIFESTYLE CAN BE VERY
IMPACTFUL.
AND ARE THERE TOOLS AND RESOURCES OUT THERE FOR
MAYBE MIGRAINE SUFFERERS THAT WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION OR
TO LEARN MORE?
ABSOLUTELY.
IN FACT AS A MIGRAINE SUFFERER AND
A HEADACHE SPECIALIST, I'M VERY PLEASED TO NOW BE WORKING WITH
TEVA PHARMACEUTICAL AND ONE OF THE RESOURCES IS A NEW WEBSITE
CALLED MORETOMIGRAINE.COM.
THEY'LL FIND INFORMATION ABOUT MIGRAINE CHARACTERISTICS,
MIGRAINE TRIGGERS, AND MY TIPS ON UNDERSTANDING MORE ABOUT
MIGRAINES.
AND IN ADDITION, THERE CAN BE A LOT OF GOOD
INFORMATION WOMEN CAN LEARN AS WELL AS MEN, AND THEN THAT CAN
BE VERY IMPACTFUL WHEN THEY GO TO THEIR OWN HEALTHCARE PROVIDER
TO GET THE HELP THEY NEED.
AND I DO WANT TO NOTE, AND I ALWAYS
DO, THAT NO MATTER WHAT, SEE A DOCTOR FIRST BEFORE YOU DECIDE
TO DO ANYTHING.
ABSOLUTELY.
OK.
SO DOCTOR FOR YOUR VIEWERS OUT THERE WHO MAY BE SUFFERING FROM
MIGRAINES OR MAY KNOW SOMEONE, WHAT IS THE MESSAGE HERE TODAY?
FOR ME THE MESSAGE IS TO TELL THEM DON'T GIVE UP HOPE.
THERE'S SOME WONDERFUL RESOURCES LIKE
THE MORETOMIGRAINE.COM.
EMPOWER YOURSELF, LEARN MORE ABOUT
MIGRAINE AND THEN GO AND SEE YOUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDER.
AND I WANT YOU TO SAY THE WEBSITE ONE
MORE TIME.
MORETOMIGRAINE.COM.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME.
GREAT INFORMATION.
THANK YOU.
AND FOR INFORMATION ON MANAGING YOUR MIGRAINE, AGAIN, THAT'S THE
WEBSITE SHE JUST SAID IT, MORETOMIGRAINE.COM.
GREAT INFO THERE.
AND VISIT OUR WEBSITE THEBALANCINGACT.COM.
MUSIC