Putting Our Heads Together

Submit YOUR Migraine and Headache Poetry Now!

Now is the time to submit your poetry about Migraines, Cluster Headaches, and other Headache Disorders for the 2013 Putting Our Heads Together Migraine and Headache Poetry Contest. This is the 11th year for this contest, and we'll be accepting entries for this year's contest through midnight on Friday, May 24.

The new American Headache and Migraine Association will be judging this year's entries, and we'll be announcing the winners the first part of June in observance of Migraine and Headache Awareness Month.

All poems submitted by the deadline and meeting contest rules will be published on HelpForHeadaches.com. New this year — All poems submitted by the deadline and meeting contest rules will be published in a Kindle book with all proceeds going to the American Headache and Migraine Association. No Kindle? No worries! The reason we've chosen to do this e-book on the Kindle platform is it's versatility. There are free Kindle apps for desktop computers, laptop computers, tablets, and smart phones — for Windows, Apple, or Droid.

Contest rules and criteria include:

Subject must be headache or Migraine related, but may be metaphoric or abstract.
Form: Rhymed, free-verse, most forms of poetry, but not prose.
Poetry must be original and written by you. Submission of poetry written by someone else will result in disqualification.
All poems must be unpublished work, never before published anywhere. Once submitted for the contest, they may not be published anywhere else, including on personal blogs, personal web sites, and online forums until after the winners are published and announced in June. Publication of poems elsewhere before our publication of the poems and announcement of the winners will result in disqualification.
Length: Maximum of 60 lines, no more than 80 characters per line (including spaces and punctuation). Please make special note of the 80 characters per line. This means LINES, not paragraphs.
Number of entries: Please limit entries to no more than three poems per person.
Age: Poems written by persons under 18 years of age must be submitted by a parent or legal guardian.
"Family-friendly" language required. No profanity or other potentially offensive language.
Deadline: Midnight, Friday, May 24, 2013. Submissions received after this date will be deleted.

For more information and links to the submission form, please visit the contest information page.

Live well,

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Posted by Teri Robert on May 21, 2013 at 01:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Thoughts on a Migrainey Sunday

It's a rainy Sunday, and I'm waiting for this weather-triggered Migraine to stop.

Thought I'd take a minute to say hello to my Migraine and Headache family. So, "Hello." I hope you're having a good day.

Next month is Migraine and Headache Awareness Month. Please watch this blog and others for information to pass on and Awareness Month activities that you can easily participate in to help raise awareness and reduce stigma.

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Posted by Teri Robert on May 19, 2013 at 11:17 AM in Awareness and Advocacy | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Handling Life Changes Brought About by Migraines or Headaches

There's absolutely no doubt that Migraines, Cluster Headaches, and other Headache Disorders present challenges in our lives that we sorely wish we could avoid or ignore.

Over the years, there have been times when it seemed as if those challenges were going to beat me. That was just not acceptable. We all spend our share of time going through a range of responses that those challenges elicit from us. The important thing is what we do with those emotions and how we cope with the challenges. This, of course, is something we all know; we just have to remind ourselves from time to time — at least I do — because they don't just dissolve in some magical, mystical mist.

For myself, I've found the most successful ways of handling these changes comes down to what I call Migratude . . .

Continuing to learn about the Migraines and Headaches I have helps reduce my fears about them, which helps me cope better with them and handle the challenges they impose on my life more easily and with more grace.

Another key issue for me is maintaining a positive, proactive, constructive, and creative attitude — both about managing my Migraines and Headaches and about living with them. When that attitude starts slipping, handling the challenges is . . . well . . . more challenging.

How's YOUR Migratude? Do you have thoughts about Migratude or other ways of handling these challenges? PLEASE post a comment below and share them with us!

Live well,

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Posted by Teri Robert on May 14, 2013 at 10:44 AM in Awareness and Advocacy | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Migraines, Support, and Unnecessary Rudeness

One of the most essential aspects of living with Migraine disease is having a good support system. This is true at any age, but may be even more important for children, teens, and young adults.

The Internet provides us with more opportunities to give and receive support than ever before, which can significantly improve our health and our quality of life.

There are, however, unique problems with online communication and groups formed for support. There are two that tend to raise their ugly heads with increasing frequency:

Written communication online lacks hearing a person's tone of voice and seeing their facial expressions. This can lead to people misunderstanding what they're saying and how they're saying it.
This is truly sad, but too many people will say rude, obnoxious, hurtful things to people online that they wouldn't dare say to their faces. They forget that the people they're talking to are real people, not just Internet entities.

Let me give you an example...

Because of the work I do, people tend to add me to Facebook groups without asking or telling me. I've been getting notifications of posts to one such group for some time now. Yesterday, I went to the group to see what it was and why I'd been added. I clicked on the link to see the list of members and find the group administrator. She wasn't one of my Facebook "friends," but I clicked to go to her Facebook page anyway. She has her privacy settings set so that you can't see what's on her page unless you're FB friend, so I couldn't tell anything about who she is or why she might have added me to the group.

So, I went back to the group and posted, "Why was I added to this group. People shouldn't be added without being asked." Well! That started a firestorm. People thought I was being "snarky," even though I was just asking a simple question, and they quickly posted some incredibly nasty comments to me.

It turned out that the group was an online support group set up to help a young woman who's having severe problems with Migraines. The members who posted so nastily saw their comments as "having her back," and herein lies an enormous problem.

Having someone's back doesn't have to be done by being unnecessarily rude and nasty toward other people. Nor is having someone's back an excuse for such behavior. In fact, it makes the whole group, including the young Migraineur, look really bad. People with Migraine and other headache disorders need to stick together, not tear into each other.

I implore everyone to think twice before saying something rude and obnoxious and consider...

Are you sure you understand what the other person was saying and how they meant it?
What would be accomplished by responding meanly and rudely?
Even if the other person was rude, do you want to be that kind of person?
Wouldn't it be more productive to be kind and polite and try to turn the other person around?

The bottom line is that living with Migraines and headaches is difficult enough. None of us needs extra stress from misinterpreting what other people say or being the target of nastiness and rudeness. So, let's just not do it.

Live well,

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Posted by Teri Robert on May 07, 2013 at 12:09 PM in Awareness and Advocacy, Commentary, Migraine Disease, Migraine Support | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

American Headache and Migraine Association Launches

I'm beyond excited today to announce the launch of the American Headache and Migraine Association (AHMA), a patient-focused and patient-driven nonprofit organization!

The AHMA exists to EASE the burden of Migraine and other headache disorders through Education, Awareness, Support, and Engagement.

There are some programs in place, and others will be determined by AHMA members. AHMA will be holding an annual patient conference, the first one scheduled for November in Scottsdale, Arizona.

For more information, see the AHMA blog, Introducing the American Headache and Migraine Association.

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Posted by Teri Robert on March 11, 2013 at 11:32 AM in Awareness and Advocacy, Nonprofit Organizations | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Coping with Migraines Begins with Migratude

To say that living with Migraines is difficult would be an understatement. Migraine disease impacts every aspect of our lives, and coping with Migraines becomes an art for those with frequent Migraines.

With more than 50 years of Migraines behind me, I've concluded that the best way for me to cope well with Migraines is by building my Migratude.

What Is Migratude?

Our aptitude for learning about
and coping with Migraines
+
Our attitude toward
Migraine management and
living with Migraines
=
Migratude!

Why coping begins with Migratude . . .

It's easier to cope with Migraines if we keep learning about our Migraines. Doubt and unanswered questions lead to tension and anxiety - hardly conducive to coping well.
Learning all we can about our disease helps us be better prepared to work as treatment partners with our doctors. Good relationships with our doctors also reduce tension and anxiety because we have them firmly on "our side."
We sometimes have problems with the attitudes others have toward Migraines. If we can develop and keep our own positive and constructive attitude, it's easier to help others understand, and it's easier to cope with them.

Migratude serves me well. I hope you'll develop YOUR Migratude!

Live well,

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Posted by Teri Robert on March 09, 2013 at 01:20 PM in Awareness and Advocacy, Coping with Migraines, Migraine Disease | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Can Sexual Activity Relieve Migraine and Cluster Headache Attacks?

How often have we wished for Migraine and cluster headache treatments without side effects?

Researchers in Germany have recently published results from a study that show one such possible "treatment" that works for some people with Migraines and clusters - sexual activity.

Yes, you read that right - sexual activity. Here are some highlights of the study:

43% of Migraine patients reported relief from sexual activity.
73.1% of cluster headache patients reported relief from sexual activity.

The study authors stated two clinical implications:

Sexual activity can abort Migraine and cluster headache attacks in some patients.
Sexual activity is used by some patients as acute headache treatment.

Obviously, this doesn't work for everyone, and there are times when Migraine and cluster attacks are so severe that sexual activity just isn't possible. Still, the study is interesting, and the results give us something to consider.

For more information on the study, see Treating Migraines and Cluster Headaches with Sexual Activity.

Live well,

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Posted by Teri Robert on March 08, 2013 at 10:30 AM in Cluster Headache Treatment, Migraine Treatment | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Ask Migraine Specialist Dr. Rob Cowan a Question

Dr. Rob Cowan, a magnificent Migraine and headache specialist and director of the Stanford Headache Center is accepting questions about headache disorders through 5 p.m., Pacific time, tomorrow (Friday, March 8).

Selected questions will be answered on the Stanford Medical blog Scope.

Dr. Cowan is a perfect person to answer Migraine and headache questions. He's a wonderful specialist, has Migraines himself, is a published author on the topic, and is active in advocacy efforts on behalf of patients with Migraine and other headache disorders.

To ask Dr. Cowan a question, Tweet it with the hashtag #AskSUMed or post it in the comments section of this Scope blog entry - Ask Stanford Med: Director of Stanford Headache Clinic taking questions on headache disorders.

Live well,

Get the latest Migraine and headache news, informational articles, tips for living well, and more in my free weekly newsletter. To subscribe, CLICK HERE.

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