The "Gentle Dentist" and his philosophy.

I have Google News Alerts set so that I receive emails about news and new blog entries related to Migraine disease. They're generally interesting, and help me learn and stay up-t0-date. There are times, on the other hand, when one of the catches my eye for another reason -- doubting what I'm reading or even the reason someone wrote it in the first place.

Case in point, is a Blog Alert I received about half an hour ago. The title was "Migraine headache treatment," and it led to a blog titled "The Gentle Dentist." The description on the blog reads, "Press Releases and Ask The Dentist Q and A. This particular blog entry is of the Q & A variety, and the question was about Imitrex and the person asking the question having read that "there may be something I can do about it that doesn't involve drugs."

In his response, "The Gentle Dentist" states that, "Medications such as Imitrex have been used to help, but only in about 50% of the cases is there a resolution from the pain." Hmmmmmmm. That figure seemed low to me, so I did a bit of research. According the the University of Maryland, "Unfortunately, recurring headaches with sumatriptan develop within the first 24 hours in 20% to 40% of people who have taken the drug... Studies on the newer agents (triptans) have reported pain relief within two hours in between 60% and 91% of patients." That would seem to contradict the dentist blocker, but let's not go on just one source.

On the American Council for Headache Education site, I found this, "About three-quarters of migraine sufferers will report significant improvement within an hour after taking sumatriptan by injection. One-half to two-thirds will have a good response 2-4 hours after taking the oral form of sumatriptan.

The Gentle Dentist goes on to say, "There is a new dental device that has been approved by the FDA to treat migraine headaches and has been actually shown to be more effective than the medications." He's referring to the NTI-TSS, developed by Dr. Jim Boyd. The NTI device is excellent. However, what the blogger dentist doesn't mention is that it's not for acute treatment, bur for prevention, and is effective for a subset of Migraineurs, those with triggers related to the temperomandibular joint and the effect it can sometimes have on the trigeminal nerve. The main web site for the NTI-TSS device, www.nti-tss.com, states, "In a large percentage of migraine sufferers, the motor root which travels within the conduit of the (sensory) third division is hyperactive, commanding tremendous amounts of potentially damaging activity from the jaw muscles during sleep. This results in a bombardment of noxious (negative) information going back to the sensory nucleus, thereby sensitizing it, making the patient far more susceptible to migraine attacks."

Comments were closed on the Gentle Dentist's blog, so I couldn't leave him a comment there. If I could have, I'd have

• asked him to check his statistics on the success rate of Imitrex
• suggested that it was a bit narrow of him to only mention one of many Migraine treatments
• pointed out that it would be helpful to say that the device is appropriate for a subset of Migraineurs, not all.

But, since he's not open for comments, I'll have to make my comments on my own blog. :-)

******************
Notes:

The Gentle Dentist can be found on his own blog.

My info on Imitrex success rates came from:

• ACHE
• The University of Maryland Medical Center
  

The Daily Headache

UGH! A daily headache or Migraine isn't something I'd wish on anyone. BUT, there is a great blog entitled "The Daily Headache." If you haven't read it, you're missing out on a great blog written informatively and with superb wit and humor.

The so-called "Migraine personality" was debunked years ago. Well, at least that's what I thought. Now, some fools in Italy who call themselves doctors are bringing it up again.

I'm not going to write more on this because Kerrie at The Daily Headache already said what I'd say. So, I'll just suggest that you go read her blog entry. Thanks, Kerrie!

Leading Migraine Author and Advocate Joins the Team at The HealthCentral Network's MyMigraineConnection.com

ARLINGTON, Va., Feb. 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The HealthCentral Network, Inc. today announced that Teri Robert, prominent Migraine patient, author and advocate, will join the MyMigraineConnection.com team as Lead Expert Patient. Robert, who has personally struggled with Migraines, will educate, support, and empower patients through regular articles and blogs on THCN's Migraine site. MyMigraineConnection.com provides targeted clinical information and resources, as well as a community of patients, like Robert, who share the details of living with a disease from a personal perspective.

"Optimal health care can be achieved only when patients are educated about their health, and patients and physicians work together as treatment partners in an atmosphere of mutual respect," said Teri Robert. "MyMigraineConnection.com provides visitors with advice and insight from expert voices and people who have actually dealt with Migraines, so individuals are not only informed, but given the support they need to actively manage and participate in their health -- I'm excited to be an active part of that community."

"The expert voices on our sites are essential because they have first-hand experience and years of commitment to help others manage and take control of their health," said Chris Schroeder, CEO and President of The HealthCentral Network. "Teri Robert's vast experience and dedication to Migraine education and support is an incredible addition to MyMigraineConnection.com."

After a life-long struggle with Migraines, Robert's career as a writer and advocate started at About.com, where she was the Guide to Headaches and Migraines for nearly seven years. During this time she released her first book, "Living Well with Migraine Disease and Headaches." Published in 2005 by Harper Collins, it remains a top selling book in the field. Robert is also a well known patient advocate, and was awarded the National Headache Foundation's Patient Partners Award in 2004 for her "ongoing patient education, support and advocacy." She is the Support Advisor for MAGNUM, the National Migraine Association currently collaborating with THCN on Internet resources for Migraine sufferers, and an active member or advocate for the following organizations: O.U.C.H., the Organization for Understanding Cluster Headaches; The American Heart Association's Go Red for Women initiative; and the American Diabetes Association.

Robert is also dedicated to staying up-to-date on developments in Migraine research. She studies medical journals and books, attends medical conferences on a regular basis, and has earned continuing education hours from the American Headache Society, the Primary Care Network, and the Center for Health Care Education.

About The HealthCentral Network
The HealthCentral Network, Inc. has more than 30 general health and highly specific condition and wellness web properties, each committed to offering a voice in everyday and personal language people can understand and connect with at critical points in their lives. Each site provides timely, interactive, in-depth, and trusted medical information, personalized tools and resources, and connections to vast communities of expertise for people seeking to engage in, manage and improve their health.

The award-winning, multimedia experience combines medically-reviewed articles from doctors and researchers, as well as news, information, video and extensive engagement from people who have great experience and empathy in specific health areas. The Company recently expanded its health and wellness offerings with the acquisition of FoodFit.com, a leading healthy eating and active living Web site, and produces the Medical Breakthroughs television, seen around the country. The HealthCentral Network received top recognition from The International Health and Medical Media Awards with a 2006 FREDDIE Award for MyDiabetesCentral.com and was awarded the Health Care Standard of Excellence WebAward from the Web Marketing Association.

Founded in the late 1990s, The HealthCentral Network, Inc. was acquired in 2005 by a team of blue-chip investors, including Polaris Ventures, Sequoia Capital, The Carlyle Group and Allen & Company. With a management team that combines decades of experience in interactive media and medical, science and news journalism, The HealthCentral Network aims for the highest standards of quality, relevance and community for patients and their caregivers.

SOURCE The HealthCentral Network, Inc.

The Demise of Wikipedia's Migraine and Headache Pages

It's sad, really. The Wikipedia pages about Migraine disease and various forms of headaches such as tension-type and cluster headaches were, at one time, excellent resources. What they've become is just more flotsam on a sea of questionable Web content.

Wikipedia is a good concept -- a sort of online encyclopedia that anyone can edit. And therein lies the problem. Anyone can edit. The "policing" of editing isn't well monitored by anyone other than those doing the editing. On the Migraine and headache pages, some editors have become quite territorial. God forbid that you add an external link or make a minor edit if you don't have a long history of edits to your name. God forbid that you be new or an actual expert in the field with limited time. The more territorial (and bitch) of the editors will rip you to shreds on the "Talk" pages or worse -- accuse you of spamming and plaster it all over the talk pages to ruin your reputation.

Point in case: I noticed that author, advocate, and lay expert Teri Robert has a modest list of edits to these pages as well as having created the Hemicrania continua page. At some point, she added a link to some content on HelpForHeadaches.com. That offended a nurse who edits under the ID THB, who proceded to post to more than one page, "Teri Robert spamming book." Even when Teri apologized to this ahem, person, she continued to quite rudely berate Teri. Now, a civil human being would have accepted her apology and offered to help her work better within the poory communicated "rules." Of course, a civil human being wouldn't have been so pissy about it in the first place.

As a cluster headache sufferer, I took a look at that page today. A new statement has been added, "Sluder's neuralgia(syndrome) and cluster pain can often be temporarily stopped with nasal lidocaine spray. If successful, outpatient nasal septoplasty and splinting can resolve the condition." There is no citation for this asertion of fact. Where is THB now? It will be interesting to see if anyone does add a citation for this supposed fact as I've talked with two headache specialists about it. The more polite of their responses was, "That's BS if ever I've seen it. There's just no way that treatment could "resolve" the condition."

I feel rather sorry for the many people who have earnestly and diligently worked on Wikipedia pages. The way Wikipedia is run moves it from my list of "dependable content" to "questionable content to be read for amusement value only."

Oh, and to THB, I'm really sorry that you're so unhappy that you take it out on other people the way you do. Miserable circumstances don't have to make you act like a miserable person. That's a choice.

Shalom,
Abi

Looking for Migraine & Headache Writer Teri Robert?

OK, I'm biased. Virtually everything I know about Migraine disease I learned from Teri Robert. Reading her articles taught me that Migraines are a disease; that I have not only the right, but the responsibility to ask my doctors questions AND get some answers, that I do not have to live with nearly daily Migraines. She's the reason I capitalize the word Migraine. So, I'm biased. Teri is my hero. I want to grow up to be Teri Robert. (Well, not literally. She's only a few years older than I am, but you get the point.)

I first discovered Teri's writings and Herculean patient advocacy efforts on About.com. Last weekend, I was dismayed to find her picture gone from her site there and "Apply Now" where her name had been. Whatever About.com did to make her decide to leave or didn't do to entice her to stay, it's their loss. I, for one, won't be returning to their site or their forum since I won't find her there.

Fortunately for all of us, a quick email to Teri revealed that she is well and that after she resigned from About.com, she went to MyMigraineConnection, which is part of the HealthCentral Network. She told me she'll be doing mainly the same things there that she did at About.com -- "writing articles and other content, blogging, and hanging out on the forum." Yesterday, "Teri Robert's Blog" had a new entry - "New Year's Resolutions for Migraine Doctors."

So, if anyone is looking for Teri, now you know where to look! :-)

Shalom,
Abi

A good question for Migraineurs...

What could someone else give you to make your life with headaches or Migraines easier?

What gift would you give yourself?

These are the questions Teri Robert asked on her site at About.com. They're great questions, and she has some wonderful suggestions.

Check it out!

Shalom,
Abi

People who blog about Migraine disease...

People who blog about Migraine disease and speak as if they're an authority offering educational information should do at least a bit of research before blogging. Incorrect information can be highly detrimental, confusing more people than it helps.

This morning, I ran across a blog entry entitled, "Migraine headaches come in two varieties." Not only does this person think that Migraine with Aura and Migraine without Aura are the only two "varieties" of Migraine, he or she still thinks that "Rapid changes in the flow of blood to the head" are the cause of the Migraine. Researchers have now shown that genetics and overactive neurons in the brains of Migraineurs are the cause of the disease, and that the blood flow changes are part of the Migrainous process, i.e. more a symptom than the cause.

Please, if you're reading blogs or searching the Internet for information about Migraine disease, know who wrote the information you're reading and that they actually know what they're talking about.

Leading patient advocate Teri Robert does know what she's talking about. You can count on anything she writes to be well researched and accurate. If you want to know about the types of Migraines or the cause of Migraine, visit one of her sites:

• Help for Headaches and Migraine
• MyMigraineConnection.com
  

Learning about this disease is critical. Let's learn what's correct.

Shalom,
Abi

Why do people fall for this stuff?

A Google News Alert sent me to check out another blogger's entry, "Easy Steps to Become Migraine Headache Free" this afternoon. Groan. Here we go again. Someone else writing that stress is the Big Bad Wolfe and that controlling our DISEASE is easy.

According to Javier Fuller, who wrote this little ditty, controlling "Migraine Headaches" is as easy as chiropractic adjustments, biofeedback, dietary control, and finally, "think about other pleasant ideas, do physical and breathing exercises or go for a brisk walk and ease your tension." According to fuller, "Following the above disclosed measures, you will soon find yourself migraine free."

Oh, yeah! NOT. I've done all of those things. I walk daily, meditate, do all the breathing exercises. I've tried chiropractic adjustments. Did nothing for me. I've done biofeedback. I employ dietary control. I'm not Migraine-free.

I did some checking to see who Javier Fuller is. He writes articles posted to a site called EzineArticles.com. His bio says, "I like reading and writing." It's a shame he doesn't like researching what he writes. He writes on other issues too, life-changingly important issues such as "Wanna Buy Cheap LCD Television?" and "Choose Wedding Songs To Your Heart's Delight." Enough said.

Shalom,
Abi