Putting Our Heads Together

Do we ask questions about the right things?

Earlier today, I was sitting here laughing at a commercial depicting a man asking a sales person question after question about a new cell phone. Can you relate to that one? I certainly can.

The commercial then shifted scenes to another familiar situation -- the same man sitting in his doctor's office. Did he have questions for his doctor? Unfortunately, not. You can watch that video HERE.

Do you ask your doctor questions about your Migraine and headaches or other issues? If not, why not? Some people don't ask questions because they just don't think of them when they're at their doctor's office... some don't ask questions because they're a bit intimidated... there are many reason.

Please think about this for a minute. We literally put our lives in our doctors' hands. If we can ask questions about our cell phones, we absolutely need to ask questions about our health and health care. If you think of questions before going to the doctor, sit down and type them out, leaving space between them for your to take notes. Then take two copies to the doctor with you -- one for you to use, one for your doctor to follow.

Ask questions. It's our right. It's our responsibility.

Live well,

Try Treximet for Your Migraines -- FREE

Treximet is the newest Migraine abortive medication available. It can't be considered totally "new" because it starts with Imitrex, the first of the triptans, and adds naproxen sodium. For some people, this conbination works better than Imitrex or another triptan alone.

We all know that trying new Migraine abortive medications can be very expensive. Sometimes, we can get samples from our doctors, but sometimes they run out.

Well! If you'd like to try Treximet at no charge, or if you're already using Treximet and would like a discount on your prescription refills, I have good news for you....

For a limited time, you can print coupons for a free prescription of 9 tablets or a discount on refilling your prescription.

Interested? To print your coupons, just go HERE.

Be well,

Migraine Truth - A Great New Blog!

When I'm looking for Migraine and headache informaton, usually, I love the Internet. But, there are days when I think people should have to apply for a license and agree to certain terms and conditions before registering a domain.

We've all seen the sites that make me feel this way:

• Sites based on old information or on no real information at all - just one person's unproven theory.
• Sites that are full of MISinformation. I have no idea where some people get this stuff.
• Sites hyping "cures."
• Sites selling products that might be good, but are we to buy them based on testimonials written by strangers?

One woman has started blogging because she's, "tired of misconceptions, misunderstanding, and outright lies!" Arabella is a breath of fresh air and gives us information in brief, sometimes humorous blog entries.

Check out her blog, Migraine Truth. I think you'll like it!

Go to Migraine Truth now.

Kreative Blogger Award

This afternoon, I'm touched to share with you that M.J., who writes the blog rhymes with migraine, has presented me the Kreative Blogger Award.

M.J. has been blogging about Migraines only a short time, but in that time, her blog has become one of my favorites. It's always honest, informative, and inspiring. Thank you, M.J.!

Along with receiving this award, I'm to list six things that make me happy and give the award to six other bloggers. So, here goes...

Six things that make me happy:

1. My "traditional family" -- husband,two sons, two daughters in-law, nine grandchildren (yes, nine!), and two cats.
2. My "Migraine family" -- The online Migraine community who never fail to band together to help each other despite their own pain.
3. Reading.
4. Writing.
5. A soothing cup of hot tea.
6. Knowing, at the end of the day, that my work has helped someone.

Six bloggers I want to give the Kreativ Blogger Award to (in alphabetical order):

1. Abi of Abi's Migrainous Wanderings
2. Arabella of Migraine Truth
3. Eileen of My life with Migraine
4. Karen of Chronic Pain Voices and ChronicPainConnecton.com
5. Kerrie of The Daily Headache
6. Nancy of MyMigraineConnection.com

Bloggers have become an integral part of the online health information system. Kudos to all the great bloggers our there, and thanks again, M.J.!

Medication Prices and Insurance Companies

My husband worked for a major manufacturing company for 33 years before being forced into early retirement. Trained as a physicist, he spent most of his time working on computerized instrumentation. The last few years he worked were not pleasant for him, but he stuck it out. One reason he stayed was to ensure that we'd have health benefits, including prescription drug coverage, after he retired. The new Medicare prescription plans changed it somewhat. The mail order prescription plan that continued after his retirement, along with the premiums we pay, became his Medicare drug plan. It's my regular prescription insurance until I reach Medicare age, when it will become my Medicare drug plan.

Anyway, he stuck it out so we'd have the coverage, and we still pay our monthly premiums as well. We are "encouraged" to use the mail order plan instead of local pharmacies by having to pay a larger percentage of the prescription cost if we persist in using local pharmacies. THAT may be about to change, for me anyway.

A friend of mine uses Wal-Mart's $4 generic prescription program. She told me it's even better if you buy a three-month supply of your meds. It's $10 for a 90-day supply. If you take more than the average amount of a medication, it can go as high as $20 for that 90-day supply. Hmmmmmmmm. Our copay on a 90-day supply of a generic medication is $16 OR 25% of the price of the prescription, whichever is more. That means that I have several prescriptions that will actually cost us less if I DON'T use our insurance. It's not as if Wal-Mart is bigger and sells more medications than our mail order company. It's one of the largest, if not THE largest, of all of them.

It just seems to me that there's something fundamentally wrong with this picture. A man works for the same company from college graduation to retirement. One of the reasons he works so hard is to ensure that he and his family will have benefits after retirement. He continues paying insurance premiums after retirement. Yet, many prescription medications are LESS expensive when they are paid for out-of-pocket, withOUT using insurance.

Don't get me wrong. I'm very grateful to have insurance coverage. This prescription price issue, however, just seems WRONG.

Well, that's my gripe for the day. How is YOUR day going? :-)

Yes, I Capitalize Migraine

A few people have asked my why I capitalize the word "Migraine." A few have pointed out to me that it's technically incorrect to do so. All the style guides say that only diseases and conditions named after people (such as Alzheimer's) should be capitalized. I realize that, but this is an advocacy and awareness issue for me.

• To make the word Migraine stand out from the word headache. Too many myths and misconceptions about Migraine disease still exist. One of the most aggravating misconceptions is that Migraine is "just a bad headache." To see if you can tell truth from misconception, see our Dispelling Migraine Myths Quiz.
• To raise both patient and public awareness. More attention is typically paid to capitalized words.
• To indicate that Migraine is a potentially serious disease. More and more, we're learning that Migraines may not be harmless. Take a look at the recent article Yes, Migraines Can Cause Brain Damage.
• Just on general principles. I figure that any disease that causes so many people so much pain and so many problems should be capitalized.

If you've been wondering why I capitalize Migraine, now you know. I realize it's technically incorrect but don't care. It's my little rebellion.

"Migraine Expressions" - A Must-Have Book!

There are many ways to raise awareness. Sometimes, art and literature can reach people who seem to be otherwise unaffected. Migraine Expressions is a powerful new tool for raising awareness about Migraine disease.

If you have Migraines, you'll find yourself in the pages of this impressive book. If you don't have Migraines, this book can help you better understand what it's like to live with Migraine disease.

Edited by Betsy Blondin, Migraine Expressions is 192 pages of Migraine disease put on paper -- poetry, prose, drawings, paintings, photographs -- all created by Migraineurs. It's both terrifying and inspiring, full of both horror and hope.

Please, go to www.MigraineExpressions.com to learn more or to purchase a copy of Migraine Expressions.

To offer you more information about Migraine Expressions, here's a recent press release...

How Spirituality Helps Us Cope With Migraine Disease - July Blog Carnival

Check out the May Headache Blog Carnival, How Spirituality Helps Us Cope with Migraine Disease.

What's a blog carnival?
Generally  speaking, a blog carnival is a collection of links to a variety of a blogs on a  central topic.

The Headache & Migraine Disease Blog Carnival has been created to provide 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.

Thank you to Diana Lee of Somebody Heal Me for creating and running this carnival!

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