There are many migraine sufferers worldwide. However, the lack of confirmatory scan or blood test poses a major barrier to their diagnosis, which must be based on their account of the pain. As a consequence, language is of utmost importance in the diagnosis of migraine. This book deals with this relation between words and migraine, and considers how persons with migraine make their pain ‘readable’ and how fictional texts ‘perform’ migraine. Its analysis utilises the theories of Wittgenstein (‘beetle in the box’), Foucault, de Saussure and Scarry, as well as works of fiction including Hustvedt’s The Blindfold, Lasdun’s The Horned Man and Yalom’s When Nietzsche Wept.
From the renowned neurologist and bestselling author of Awakenings and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat comes a fascinating investigation of the many manifestations of migraine, including the visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs can experience. “So erudite, so gracefully written, that even those people fortunate enough never to have had a migraine in their lives should find it equally compelling.” —The New York Times The many manifestations of migraine can vary dramatically from one patient to another, even within the same patient at different times. Among the most compelling and perplexing of these symptoms are the strange visual hallucinations and distortions of space, time, and body image which migraineurs sometimes experience. Portrayals of these uncanny states have found their way into many works of art, from the heavenly visions of Hildegard von Bingen to Alice in Wonderland. Dr. Oliver Sacks argues that migraine cannot be understood simply as an illness, but must be viewed as a complex condition with a unique role to play in each individual's life.
Draws on the latest scientific findings to identify the unique characteristics, chemical makeups, and structural differences of migraine-prone brains, offering insight into the role of the central nervous system while outlining a comprehensive program to reduce the frequency and intensity of headaches. Reprint.
With more than one in ten Americans -- and more than one in five families -- affected, the phenomenon of migraine is widely prevalent and often ignored or misdiagnosed. By his mid-forties, Andrew Levy's migraines were occasional reminders of a persistent illness that he'd wrestled with half his life, though he had not fully contemplated their physical and psychological influence on the individual, family, and society at large. Then in 2006 Levy was struck almost daily by a series of debilitating migraines that kept him essentially bedridden for months, imprisoned by pain and nausea that retreated only briefly in gentler afternoon light. When possible, Levy kept careful track of what triggered an onset -- the "thin, taut" pain from drinking a bourbon, the stabbing pulse brought on by a few too many M&M's -- and in luminous prose recounts his struggle to live with migraines, his meticulous attempts at calibrating his lifestyle to combat and avoid them, and most tellingly, the personal relationship a migraineur develops -- an almost Stockholm syndrome-like attachment -- with the indescribable pain, delirium, and hallucinations. Levy read about personalities and artists throughout history with migraine -- Alexander Pope, Nietzsche, Freud, Virginia Woolf, even Elvis -- and researched the treatments and medical advice available for migraine sufferers. He candidly describes his rehabilitation with the aid of prescription drugs and his eventual reemergence into the world, back to work and writing. An enthralling blend of memoir and provocative analysis, A Brain Wider Than the Sky offers rich insights into an illness whose effects are too often discounted and whose sufferers are too often overlooked.
A cultural, social, and medical history of migraine. For centuries, people have talked of a powerful bodily disorder called migraine, which currently affects about a billion people around the world. Yet until now, the rich history of this condition has barely been told. In Migraine, award-winning historian Katherine Foxhall reveals the ideas and methods that ordinary people and medical professionals have used to describe, explain, and treat migraine since the Middle Ages. Touching on classical theories of humoral disturbance and medieval bloodletting, Foxhall also describes early modern herbal remedies, the emergence of neurology, and evolving practices of therapeutic experimentation. Throughout the book, Foxhall persuasively argues that our current knowledge of migraine's neurobiology is founded on a centuries-long social, cultural, and medical history. This history, she demonstrates, continues to profoundly shape our knowledge of this complicated disease, our attitudes toward people who have migraine, and the sometimes drastic measures that we take to address pain. Migraine is an intimate look at how cultural attitudes and therapeutic practices have changed radically in response to medical and pharmaceutical developments. Foxhall draws on a wealth of previously unexamined sources, including medieval manuscripts, early-modern recipe books, professional medical journals, hospital case notes, newspaper advertisements, private diaries, consultation letters, artworks, poetry, and YouTube videos. Deeply researched and beautifully written, this fascinating and accessible study of one of our most common, disabling—and yet often dismissed—disorders will appeal to physicians, historians, scholars in medical humanities, and people living with migraine alike.
"English," wrote Virginia Woolf, "which can express the thoughts of Hamlet and the tragedy of Lear, has no words for the shiver and the headache. . . . let a sufferer try to describe a pain in his head to a doctor and language at once runs dry." Despite Woolf's astute observation and the apparent dearth of writings on such subjects, editor Kathleen O'Shea has managed to gather a wide selection of helpful excerpts, chapters, poetry, and even a short play in this anthology--all with a view toward increasing our understanding and ending the stigma attached to migraines and migraine sufferers. Unlike clinical materials, this anthology addresses the feelings and symptoms that the writers have experienced, sometimes daily. These pieces speak freely about the loneliness and helplessness one feels when a migraine comes on. The sufferer faces nausea, pain, sensitivity to light, and having the veracity of all these symptoms doubted by others. O'Shea, a professor of literature and a migraine sufferer herself, also includes an original essay of her own reflections. Offered as an alternative not only to medical writing but also to self-help books and internet blogs, So Much More Than a Headache addresses a real omission in the available works on migraine, provides a resource for those who may have underestimated the depth and range of writing on this subject, and challenges the cultural bias that dismisses migraine as "just a headache."
'A fantastic and much needed resource for all those suffering. Dr Katy Munro's experience and knowledge through this book will help all those who read it' Dr Rupy Aujla, The Doctor's Kitchen 'Dr Katy Munro is the single best migraine expert our family have ever met [...] This book brings hope to every migraineur' Miranda Sawyer, Guardian & Observer Journalist ***** Despite being one of the most common and debilitating conditions in the world, migraine is still widely misunderstood, stigmatised and misdiagnosed. Migraine is much more than 'just a headache', it's a genetic, neurological brain disorder, and it's time patients got the healp they really need. Managing Your Migraine is the practical go-to guide for understanding and treating migraine. In the book, headache Specialist and GP Dr Katy Munro will give you expert advice on: · Understanding your migraine phases and triggers · The impact of food, exercise and sleep on migraine · Rescue plans for acute attacks · Migraine preventers · Migraine in children · Managing your mental health with migraine If you're a person with migraine, or know someone struggling, this book will provide helpful strategies for alleviating your symptoms and managing your migraine. Drawing on her medical expertise, her own personal experience with migraine and the stories of her patients, Dr Munro will empower you to get to know your own migraine and build an effective treatment plan that will help you live your life more fully. Part of the Penguin Life Experts series.
“Earle’s writing is vulnerable, vivid, brave and impactful. He works to connect the dots by sharing his inner turmoil, digging in the dirt, in his search for answers to the migraine condition. He gives voice to this invisible condition and reaffirms to those migraine sufferers, who share similar pains, fears and anxiety, that they are not alone.” -David Sandler, LICSW
Migraine is so common, it affects 1 billion people worldwide - 50 million in the U.S. alone, with a $78 billion price tag. The Migraine Enigma provides a unique perspective with thorough yet concise insight into the darkness of migraine disease - with optimism for a brighter, healthier, pain-free future for migraine sufferers.A neurologist specializing in migraine disease with more than 30 years of experience, Stephen Landy, MD, has teamed up with a patient - a longtime migraine sufferer - to write a remarkable migraine book unlike any other: with a physician's and a patient's perspective. It's relatable and understandable by all, with real-life stories, experiences, facts, and a bit of humor.Each clinically relevant chapter is concise, readable, comprehensively addresses migraine and is primarily patient oriented. Also included are details about how migraine is "More Than Just a Headache," migraine prevalence, gender differences, triggers and pathology, the spectrum and comorbidity of migraine, the very latest up-to-date developments, medications and other treatment options available now, some of which are not well-known, resources and support and more. Each chapter is packed with critical information and useful takeaways, many of which are actionable right away.The Migraine Enigma is for anyone directly or indirectly affected by migraine.
