LPGA Tour Pro Diana D'Alessio Takes Swing at Menstrual Migraines

PARtnering Against Menstrual Migraine Campaign Will Raise Awareness of Widespread, Treatable Condition

CLIFTON, N.J., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour Professional Diana D'Alessio is teaming with Endo Pharmaceuticals and the National Headache Foundation to launch the PARtnering Against Menstrual Migraine campaign, an educational initiative to raise awareness about menstrual migraine and how women can effectively manage this condition. The campaign will feature free migraine screenings with headache specialists and appearances by D'Alessio at information booths during select LPGA events in 2008.
Click HERE to read the entire press release.

For a menstrual migraine tracker, quiz and more information on the condition go to www.partneringagainstmenstrualmigraine.com.

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Brooks

Serotonin Syndrome in the News

MedlinePlus, a service of the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health defines Serotonin Syndrome:

Serotonin syndrome is a life-threatening drug reaction that causes the body to have too much serotonin, a chemical produced by nerve cells.

And cites the cause:

Serotonin Syndrome most often occurs when two drugs that affect the body's level of serotonin are taken together at the same time. The drugs cause too much serotonin to be released or to remain in the brain area.

An example of this is taking a Selective Serotonin Receptor Agonist also known as a Triptan while you are taking a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) or Serotonin and Norepinephrine Reuptake Inhibitor (SNRI). In other words using Imitrex aka Sumatriptan (a Triptan) while taking Prozac (an SSRI) or Cymbalta (an SNRI) can cause Serotonin Syndrome.

It is believed that changes in serotonin is involved in causing Migraine attacks. More about it can be found HERE. This information has been around for a while so.....

Why is Serotonin Syndrome in the news?

In the May 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Georgetown University researchers and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration detail 11 cases of Serotonin Syndrome associated with the use of triptans alone that were reported to the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (AERS)."

Offie Soldin, an associate professor of medicine and oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center and the study's lead author said:

The FDA has already issued an advisory and an alert that when triptans are used in combination with SSRIs, there is a possibility of serotonin syndrome. The news here is that it doesn't have to be in combination, triptans alone can cause serotonin syndrome

Soldin also stressed that this is very rare and unlike to happen saying:

...you just need to stop taking the drugs when it does happen. If you're taking these medications and you have strange muscular, mental or hyperactivity symptoms, contact your doctor.

More information can be found in this Washington Post article.

How To Integrate Exercise Into a Life Filled With Migraines

Check out the May 12th edition of the Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival posted over at Diana Lee's site Somebody Heal Me. The topic for this edition is "How to integrate exercise into a life filled with migraines."

Don't know what a blog carnival is? A blog carnival is a collection of links to a variety of a blogs on a central topic. The Headache & Migraine Blog Carnival provides both Headache and Migraine Disease patients and people who blog about headache disorders with unique opportunities to share ideas on topics of particular interest and importance to us. Visit this month's carnival for a collection of informative entries on how other Migraineurs fit exercise into their lives.

Kid NEVER Sleeps!

Pain keeps me awake a lot and I rarely get more than six hours of sleep at night. After I read about three-year-old Rhett Lamb, I consider my six hours precious.

Rhett NEVER sleeps. I mean NEVER -- not a nap, not a snooze, zero, zilch, nil, nothing EVER. He's been awake for the last three years since the day he was born. Dad gave up his job to take care of him. Mom works extra to pay for his medical bills. Both mom and dad share the night shift because someone has to be awake with him at all times. Doctor's say Rhett can't sleep because of chiari malformation. To learn more about Rhett click HERE.

Pain Medication Does Not Lead to High Risk of Addiction

Using strong pain medications, including opioids, for long-term, chronic pain puts you at high risk of addiction, RIGHT? Srinivasa Raja, MD, a professor of anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins University Medical School says that is WRONG.

Raja presented the lecture: From Poppies to Pill Popping: Is There a "Middle Way"? at the 27th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Pain Society (APS) Raja reported that less than 3% of all chronic pain sufferers, with no history of drug abuse of any kind, will show signs of abuse or dependence. He urged clinicians not to allow this small percentage to prevent them from prescribing pain medications to patients who are more likely to benefit from them than be hurt by them. Raja also said:

We also are dealing with unfounded accusations in the media that increased prescribing of opioids for severe chronic pain is responsible in large part for reported upswings in the abuse of pain medications

Raja stressed the importance of communication between doctor and patient, the importance of patient monitoring to identify addictive behavior, and the importance of monitoring patients to see if doses can be lowered as pain control improves. He also suggests alternative treatments such as cognitive behavior and physical therapy to supplement pain medication whenever possible.

His lecture asked federal and state regulatory agencies to aim for state-to-state consistency in regulating controlled substances and called for a crack down on illegal internet pharmacies and prescription thefts and forgeries. He applauded teen drug awareness campaigns as a means of preventing this type of drug abuse. Raja's also had a message to the pharmaceutical industry and said:

the key challenge is to match clinical needs for less addicting pain medication with drug development priorities. “There are novel analgesic formulations in various stages of development that we hope can be prioritized and expedited for clinical use

Raja cited two outdated beliefs about pain that were later disproved by scientific evidence. The first, a commentary published in the Journal of the American Medical Association fifty years ago that said cancer patients shouldn't use opioids due to the possible risk of addiction and secondly, the belief, twenty years ago, that infants shouldn't receive anesthesia because they didn’t feel pain. Both beliefs are now abandoned and Raja feels that the fear of addiction in pain management should be abandoned too.

sources: Chronic Pain Meds Unlikely to Cause Addiction and Risks for painkiller abuse do not outweigh benefits in chronic pain

May is Stroke Awareness Month - Do You Know the Warning Signs?

Did you know Migraine increases your Stroke risk? Information regarding the Migraine - Stroke connection can be found in MAGNUM's article Migraines: Myth Vs. Reality:

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, "migraine can sometimes lead to ischemic stroke and stroke can sometimes be aggravated by or associated with the development of migraine." Twenty-seven percent of all strokes suffered by persons under the age of 45 are caused by Migraine. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in this country. In addition, twenty-five percent of all incidents of cerebral infarction were associated with Migraines, according to the Mayo clinic. Most recently the British Medical Journal reported that after evaluating 14 major Migraine & stroke studies in the U.S. and Canada that Migraineurs are 2.2 times greater risk for stroke than the non-migraine population. That risk goes up to a staggering 8 times more stroke risk for women Migraineurs on the pill!

Can you recognize ALL five correct Stroke symptoms? Can you identify an incorrect Stroke symptom? Do you know when you need to call 9-1-1 when someone appears to be having a Stroke? If you answered "no", you're not alone.

Results of the 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey that was used in 13 states and the District of Columbia (DC) to examine public awareness of Stroke warning symptoms and the importance of seeking emergency care were examined in this week's issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report article Awareness of Stroke Warning Symptoms --- 13 States and the District of Columbia, 2005. Out of 71,994 participants only 16.4% of respondents could recognize all five correct symptoms, identify an incorrect symptom and recognize the need to call 9-1-1.

May is Stroke Awareness Month. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) developed the Know Stroke, Know the Signs. Act in Time campaign to educate the public about recognizing Stroke symptoms. If you don't know these five symptoms, take the time to learn them. If you already know them, teach them to someone else. At the very least, print them and attach them to your refrigerator so that your family can learn them.

• Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg (especially on one side of the body)
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding speech
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

These five symptoms can also be found HERE.

The NINDS says you may not realize you're having a stroke and you may not be able to call 9-1-1 on your own. The people around you may not know you're having a Stroke and just think you're confused. Don't waste precious time. Arriving at the hospital within 60 minutes after experiencing symptoms can greatly reduce Stroke damage. If you or someone you know is having a Stroke call 9-1-1 IMMEDIATELY.

Migraine and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) linked?

A small study has shown that Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may be more common in Migraine sufferers than in the general population. 32 of the participants had less than 15 Migraines per month and 28 had more than 15 per month. The study showed PTSD was more frequent in those experiencing more than 15 Migraine attacks per month and concluded that PTSD may be a risk factor for Migraine.
To read the article click HERE.

A study last year showed that almost one in every five US soldiers returning Iraq was being diagnosed with Migraine. Questionnaires completed by almost 2,200 US Army soldiers within the first 90 days of returning from a year of combat duty in Iraq were evaluated. 19% were found to suffer from Migraine, 32% tested positive for depression, 22% met the standard for PTSD, and 13% tested positive for anxiety. 50% of those who suffered with Migraines and 27% of those who did not were also clinically depressed. 39% of the Migraine sufferers and 18% of non-Migraine sufferers also had PTSD. 22% of those with Migraine and 10% of those without experienced anxiety disorders.

The study author Maj. Jay C. Erickson, M.D., a neurologist at Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis, in Tacoma, WA said that this information should serve as a wake-up call to both military and civilian doctors to evaluate for psychological troubles when a patient suffers with Migraine.
Click HERE to read this article.


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