Women and Migraines: How Big is the Problem?
By GalTime .com. Posted on .
A physical examination is necessary before a prescription could be given and follow up monitoring for complications is necessary. A newer treatment that is having some success in preventing migraine is Botox injections,” advises Sellman.
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While Sellman points out that medication used to prevent migraines is usually reported to be effective, he also suggests that lifestyle changes be made to prevent migraines.
“Migraine headaches can be prevented in part by a healthy lifestyle. Patients should be encouraged to eat small frequent meals to avoid hunger.
Personal stress should be reduced as much as possible. Lack of sleep can cause a headache disorder to worsen. A frequently underappreciated cause can be too much sleep. Therefore do not sleep 10 hours on a weekend if headaches are a problem,” he says.
Migraines can be triggered by a variety of conditions and situations and are generally acknowledged to be similarly unpredictable in their affect on individuals.
One fact that migraine suffers (and anyone who has experienced the effects of debilitating physical pain) do acknowledge is the significant limitations these headaches place on day to day life.
Barbara Kasoff, President and CEO of Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), speaks to the stresses caused by migraine headaches and the facts that individuals who experience migraines (especially women) have to deal with as a part of everyday life.
“Migraines affect women in a much greater proportion, and while, incapacitating to all, the ripple effect is much more dramatic for them. When a migraine strikes a woman, unfortunately way too frequently her obligations can't just be put ‘on hold.’ Family obligations continue on – children still need to get to that important soccer game and snack and dinner are a must for them; days off at work are precious and, if a business owner, responsibility to staff and payroll are always top of mind. Migraines are often difficult to ‘power through’ and the frequent result is added stress to family and business life. As is the case with many medical issues, more funding needs to go to research.”
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