Migraine

hey teri,
i think i have found a purpose for me. when i decided to get pregnant and finally did last year, i researched migraines and pregnancy till my eyes crossed. i was on message boards talking to other pregnant women all the time. there is so much mis information out there. pg women are really at a loss and just suffering needlessly. they are told to just take tylenol and deal with it. neuro's dont want to touch these patients because of the liability to the baby. and OBs are frustrated b/c they don't treat migraines and shouldn't be expected to. anyway im just wondering if you have any ideas on how i get get some info out there on options to these women. you seem to be such a great advocate for migraineurs so i thought you might have some ideas.
thanks,
JJ

JJ,

I think a couple of reasons there isn't more written about pregnancy and Migraine are...

Doctors don't agree on what is and isn't safe during pregnancy. Some think pregnant women shouldn't take anything that's not category B unless it's for what they consider a life-threatening condition.

Second, it's changing so fast. I spoke with Dr. Elizabeth Loder, a Migraine specialist and professor at Harvard's School of Medicine, when I was in DC, and she was saying that a book she wrote just a few years ago was far out-of-date already.

As for getting info out there -- that's tough. Of course, you'd want to put information on a site that you know is dependable and accurate. That leaves you the choice of offering content to sites you trust or doing a site of your own. Most of the sites I consider dependable and accurate don't accept content other than from people who are regular contract writers and / or advocates. The print route isn't much easier. I know some good writers who have tried to get Migraine articles into women's magazines, but been turned down.

You might try setting up a blog specifically for the purpose.

Wish I had more suggestions for you. Don't give up on it though. Keep thinking about how you might accomplish your goal.

I've had other people ask me how to get into writing about Migraines like I do, and I never quite know what to tell them. I kind of fell into it at first while looking for help for myself. I only know of two jobs like mine -- this one and the one that I left at About.

thanks for the advice Teri. i encountered the same thing. no one could agree on what is safe. my OB said never to take any triptans. but i found women whose OB's said other wise. i didn't take that chance. it broke my heart because here they are carrying a baby for nine months, so uncomfortable and then getting migraines on top of that. (that was me) and all their dr. would say is put a cold compress on your head. ummm that doesn't help much when you are throwing up! throwing up leads to dehydration, dehydration leads to preterm labor. btw i had a migraine and went to the ER a day before i went into preterm labor. i didn't even know dehydration can cause preterm labor.
i don't want to put info out there that isn't safe. i just feel like i want to do something. i want them to know that their are options for relief like biofeedback. i almost, and i know there are other women out there that don't have kids because of this and that stinks!
i'll have to think about it.
thanks again, hope you are well.
JJ