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09 August 2023

Assuaged Foundation Student Team: Migraine Disease

The Assuaged Public Health student team speaks about MIGRAINE DISEASE- Migraine is a neurological disease with different symptoms and treatments depending on the severity. 

Assuaged is a non-profit organization that advocates for public health and provides training for students. This workforce development NPO connects students with the services and training they need to pursue remote or online paid careers.

The student team at Assuaged reached out to me to discuss migraine and we had such a wonderful conversation! Please enjoy the video!



Slide contributors: Najia Jackson, Jessica Clanin, Angela Wagenhoffer, Taylor Yslas, Aaron Clarence, Kathryn Jordan, Lydia Fox

Guest speaker - Jaime Sanders 

Video edits by - Alexander Misailov of M Video Productions - mvideoproductions.com

Presentation scheduled by - Jayashree Salian


Learn more about Assuaged below:

Check out their website: https://www.assuaged.com

Browse their products: https://www.beyourhighest.com

See stakeholder Jeff Hoffman's charity cause: https://www.worldyouthhorizons.com


JOIN them on SOCIAL MEDIA!  

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01 February 2023

What Should You Expect At Migraine World Summit 2023?

Please note: This message contains an affiliate link. The event is free to watch live. If you decide to purchase a copy of the interviews, we may receive a portion of the proceeds to help us continue our essential work in migraine and headache advocacy.


What can you expect from the 2023 Migraine World Summit?

Relief. Hope. Community. Strategy. Advocacy.

A plan of action and the nudge you need to follow through.

You will hear from 32 of the world’s leading experts—free of charge. Equally important, you will find camaraderie with thousands of others for whom migraine disease is an unwelcome companion. This is more than a meeting, workshop, or convention; it’s also a community.

Like you, all of us living with migraine disease want answers, control, and the information required to reduce our migraine frequency. We all want to improve our quality of life.

Migraine World Summit is about linking options to actions.

World-leading experts in the field of migraine will give you options for reducing migraine days, understanding triggers, using non-medicinal and pharmaceutical approaches for prevention and treatment, and much more. Anyone, or a combination of several, can be life-changing.

But only if you take action. It’s that step—taking action—that makes the difference. In 2022, 93% of Migraine World Summit viewers left the Summit with an intent to take at least one action toward improving their condition, like trying a non-medicinal treatment, investigating a new drug therapy, or making a lifestyle change. In a survey conducted by the Migraine World Summit, 58% of viewers reported a decrease in overall migraine days since they started participating in the Summit¹.

The Migraine World Summit is empowering. It’s knowledge you can use immediately to become a powerful and effective advocate for yourself with physicians, employers, insurance companies, family, and friends. You do not have to “just live with it.” You do not have to accept that it’s “just a headache.” You do not have to believe that “there’s nothing more to do.”

Think of the Migraine World Summit as an array of opportunities for addressing your migraine disease. It’s your opportunity to gain control, feel optimism, and find relief.

We look forward to seeing you at the Migraine World Summit, March 8-16.

Get complimentary access when you register today:

http://www.migraineworldsummit.com/?afmc=37



¹ 2022 Migraine World Summit Feedback Survey, conducted April 2022 among 1,022 viewers of the 2022 Migraine World Summit

22 December 2022

Trudhesa®... A New Hope for an Old Drug

Sara Sacco, M.D., is a neurologist at the Carolinas Headache Clinic in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the lead author of the prediction of response analysis abstract presented at the American Headache Society (AHS) Annual Scientific Meeting. Impel Pharmaceuticals showed information about Trudhesa® (dihydroergotamine mesylate [DHE]) nasal spray (0.75 mg per spray). They looked at how well they could predict how patients would respond to their migraine medicine, how patients used Trudhesa®, and its benefits over an extended period in a 52-week open trial.

02 May 2022

Navigating the Healthcare System as a Black Woman with Migraine

 


    In a 2016 study of 222 White medical students and residents, about 50% held false beliefs about biological differences between Blacks and Whites, including that a Black patient has thicker skin and less sensitive nerve endings thus feeling less pain than a White patient. These beliefs date back to when slave owners used them to justify the abuse and mistreatment of enslaved people. Unfortunately, it has continued into modern-day healthcare resulting in People of Color receiving inadequate pain treatment.

    I have been through many instances of implicit and racial bias, especially in the treatment of my migraine disease. My experience, unfortunately, is not rare. Many People of Color deal with racial and implicit bias in the healthcare system. Sarah Fiarman shared how we can combat implicit bias in an article she wrote for the journal Disrupting Inequity. “Deconstructing our unconscious bias takes consistent work. We can’t address it once and be done. We need to recognize these unwanted, deep-rooted beliefs and limit their influence on us. Then our actions will match our intentions.” 

I wrote an article for highlighting the stark contrast between my experience receiving healthcare in a diverse community health center when I was young and my experience navigating the systemic racism embedded in healthcare today. Read the full article on Healthgrades.com.


08 February 2022

Avulux Glasses for Migraine #sponsored

I received this item to review as part of my blog, 'The Migraine Diva'.  All opinions are my own and are in no way influenced by the company.




Do bright lights hurt when you are having a migraine attack or headache? What does it mean when you experience light sensitivity? Photophobia, another term for light sensitivity, in its literal definition means "fear of light". You may not have an actual fear of light, but photophobia is used to describe those who experience pain when exposed to light or who are light sensitive.


Photophobia is usually caused by ophthalmic (eye) or neurological (central nervous system) disorders, but it can also be caused by certain medications. Some of the conditions other than migraine and headache that can cause photophobia are dry eye disease, fibromyalgia, TBI, concussion, and post-concussion syndrome.


Photophobia affects around 80% of people living with migraine. It is one of the criteria used to diagnose migraine and is thought to be a predictor of debilitating headaches about 98 percent of the time. Between migraine attacks, individuals experiencing migraine are more sensitive to light than the general population. Furthermore, those with chronic migraine are more sensitive to light than people who have episodic attacks (Doran, 2016).


The Link Between Light and Pain


Why does bright light hurt and is there a known biological and physiological link between light and pain? Researchers found that when intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) are exposed to light in the upper blue light range, it can cause pain to those who are light sensitive (Noseda et al., 2010).


A separate study showed that larger and more inflamed electrical signals are sent to the brain by blue, amber, and red wavelengths of light (Noseda et al., 2016). The same study found that green light lowers activity in the pain center of the brain, the thalamus, and has the potential to reduce pain in some people. The pain and impact of photosensitivity can be lowered when the amount of light around the green spectrum that enters the eye is reduced. Avulux has been successful in accomplishing that goal with Avulux® Migraine & Light Sensitivity Glasses.


Photosensitivity and Me


One of the more intrusive and consistent symptoms of migraine for me is light sensitivity. How much it affects me varies but it is always something I need to be prepared to deal with. So many versions of light are painful, such as sunlight, fluorescent lights, flashing/flickering light, headlights, and the light from devices. You don't realize how much it bothers you until you notice how unavoidable light is.



The first time I put on my pair of Avulux glasses, I instantly felt relief in my eyes although I didn't "notice" how fatigued and hurting they were due to the constant daily pain of intractable migraine. The pain in and around my eyes has become so normal that I have forgotten how much it affects my ability to function normally. I audibly gasped at how much relief I felt and I have never had that kind of reaction to any migraine product... EVER.


They go everywhere with me. I opted for the Lilu Frame with Clip-On. You’re able to put your prescription lenses into the Avulux frames locally and they’re accompanied by a titanium clip-on fitted with the Avulux lenses. As I wear glasses often, this option proved to be the most beneficial for me. A lot of my week is spent in front of a screen, so I need to be able to protect my eyes from the strain of looking at a laptop for hours.


These glasses make getting through meetings and interviews as well as hours doing research much less painful and triggering. No matter where you may be with migraine Avulux proves to help alleviate the painful symptoms of light sensitivity. I highly recommend getting yourself a pair.


Save on Your First Pair of Glasses!

Use the discount code MIGRAINEDIVA to save $25 on your order. You can access the Avulux website directly from my blog at the top of the page.






Works Cited

Avulux. (2017). How to overcome photophobia: A light sensitivity guide. Avulux. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://avulux.com/pages/how-to-overcome-photophobia-a-light-sensitivity-guide#part-10 

Doran, M. (2016, March 23). Photophobia: Looking for causes and solutions. American Academy of Ophthalmology. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.aao.org/eyenet/article/photophobia-looking-causes-solutions

Noseda, R., Bernstein, C. A., Nir, R.-R., Lee, A. J., Fulton, A. B., Bertisch, S. M., Hovaguimian, A., Cestari, D. M., Saavedra-Walker, R., Borsook, D., Doran, B. L., Buettner, C., & Burstein, R. (2016, May 17). Migraine photophobia originating in cone-driven retinal pathways. OUP Academic. Retrieved January 27, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/aww119 

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