Migraine Contest

It's that time of the year again!  It's time for the annual Migraine Poetry contest. Wait!  No experience is necessary.  You could have never written a poem before and still be a winner.

There are many ways to win, but the most important way you can win is that by writing a poem you can express your take around Migraines. It can be from your own experiences, things you have observed around Migraines, about being a caregiver - really anything to do with Migraines and Headaches.

There are a few ground rules which can be found on the Putting Our Heads Together Poetry  Contest page. Here are some of the basics:

• Subject must be headache or Migraine related, but may be metaphoric or abstract.
• Form: Rhymed, free-verse, any form of poetry, but not prose.
• Length: Maximum of 60 lines, no more than 80 characters per line (including spaces and punctuation).
• "Family-friendly" language required. No profanity or other potentially offensive language.
• Deadline: Midnight, Friday, May 24, 2013. Submissions received after this date will be deleted.
• All poems must be written in English.
• Entries must be presented complete with spacing, punctuation, and correct spelling. Do not enter in all caps. We cannot retype entries.
• ALL entries must be made via the online submission form. No exceptions.  
• See Putting Our Heads Together for the complete set of rules. 

The winners will be announced and the poetry published on Putting Our Heads Together the first week of June, 2013, in observance of National Migraine and Headache Aware Month.

Join the fun!  Enter your poem by midnight, Friday, May 24, 2013.

Good luck!

Nutrition for Migraine Giveaway Winners

March was National Nutrition month. I had a giveaway for some great items to help us eat healthier.

The winners of these great items are: Cindy Aiton and PPerna.  Congratulations and enjoy eating healthier to help you Migraines.

Thank you to the makers of Excedrin® Migraine!



Disclosure: I am a paid Excedrin® Migraine blog ambassador. Compensation has been provided by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., the makers of Excedrin® Migraine; my journey for a Migraine-free experience is my own.

American Headache & Migraine Association

Did you know that there is a new Migraine patient organization that was formed under the American Headache Society (AHS)? The American Headache & Migraine Association - or better known as the AHMA.

The AHMA was launched last month and is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that is under the authorization of the American Headache Society which is a professional organization for physicians and allied health professionals.

Education, Awareness, Support and Engagement is the goal of the AHMA – to EASE the burden of Migraine and other Headache disorders.

You can join the AHMA organization too! By becoming involved with the AHMA in its early stages, you can help influence and direct the course of AHMA programming to help ensure they meet your needs and those of other members.

Right now, the awesome events and programs that are in place are:

• A members-only support and information forum.  It can be accessed by joining the AHMA.
• A free, members-only patient conference!

The conference is scheduled to be held on Sunday, November 24, 2013 in Scottsdale, Arizona. This conference is right after the AHS physicians’ conference which will allow some of these brightest and most caring physician experts present to us patients on a variety of topics that are important to Headache Disorder patients, their caregivers and loved ones. The AHMA is working very hard to not only give us access to these presentations, but to make the event as affordable as possible.

Many of the great leaders in the Migraine community are on the AHMA Board of Directors. Here is a list of the Board Members and I hope you’re as impressed as I am:

Chair: Teri Robert; Co-Chair: Dr Paul Winner
Chair Elect: Ellen Schnakenberg; Co-Chair Elect: Dr Bert Vargas
Vice Chair: Bob Wold; Co-Vice Chair: Dr Rob Nicholson
Treasurer: Julie Zellner McDonald; Co-Treasurer: Dr Rebecca Wells
Secretary: Diana Lee; Co-Secretary: Dr Rob Cowan

Membership dues for the AHMA are very reasonable. Here are the types of memberships available and the respective dues:

• $15 per year:  Standard Membership
• $250: Lifetime Membership
• $0: Active Duty Military and Immediate Family; Disabled Veterans and Immediate Family
• $25: Family Membership for two or more members in the same family at the same address
• Looking to establish and set dues for a Lifetime Family Membership category is currently in the works.

Please visit EaseHeadacheMigraine page to join AHMA.

The AHMA is already blogging, tweeting and Facebooking! You can like or follow the AHMA (if you haven’t done so already) at:

• Twitter: Twitter.com/AHMAOrg
• Facebook: Facebook.com/AHMAorg
• AHMA Blog: AHMABlog.com

Have you ever hung out with other people who are just like you and have some of the same struggles you face all of the time? I’ve had the opportunity to do this on a couple of occasions and even attended another Migraine event where I was able to talk to some of the Migraine experts afterward. There is no experience like this and I still look back on these events as with very fond memories. In many ways, it was also very rejuvenating.

I actually met one of the Migraine experts, a couple of weeks ago, that will be presenting at the conference in Scottsdale this year. He was so witty and a pleasure to be around. I can’t wait to hear him speak at the conference if I can make it there!

There is so much for you to gain by joining the AHMA. You can make a difference.

Awareness Relaxation

I have been stressed out about so many things lately like so many of us are. It just does not seem to stop.

I needed something relaxing to do so I could try to step down a little. I have always enjoyed crocheting, but really haven't done it in a very long time. I just picked up my needle again today after many years.

I wanted to create purple Migraine awareness ribbons. My grandmother taught me to crochet, but I don't know how to read 'crochet' or anything like that so I typically crochet whatever comes instinctually for me.

I ended up making the purple ribbon above (actually a couple of these ribbons). I'll probably be making a whole bunch more and will decide what to do with them afterward. I have a few ideas, but I'll see what I end up doing with them. In the meantime, I will try to 'chillax' and crochet in between all of my stress that is...

What do you like to do to step it down? What do you think I should do with my ribbons?

Nutrition for Migraines; Giveaway

Did you know that March is the National Nutrition Month?  This is a good time to try to identify any food triggers you have and eat healthier.  There are many foods that can potentially trigger Migraines and it’s important to identify your food triggers. 

I went on a Migraine food trigger elimination diet a few years ago and can’t speak high enough about it.  I don’t think I would have found half the triggers I did without going on it.  By knowing what our food triggers are and eliminating these food triggers, can help reduce the frequency of our Migraines.

My elimination diet cut my Migraines down by at least half while I was on it.  The elimination diet also forced me to eat healthier which is something I still need to be cognizant of doing.

Last year, I ended up using the MyMigraineTriggers^TM app, developed by the makers of Excedrin^® to track my Migraines and try to identify additional triggers.  I also added foods I suspected to the section ‘Did you consume any of the following?’ of the app which will gather my data into reports and charts that I can easily share with my doctor.  I actually just added another food to this app yesterday to track!

I will be having a few giveaways this year and my first giveaway is around items that can help us with getting our nutrition.  Here are the items I will be giving away this month:

The Veggie-Peel – what I found fascinating about this peeler is that it has a chamber that will hold peels as it is used.  Since my last medication change, I’ve had horrible munchies so I’ve been trying to eat more vegetables.  I can shave carrots with this peeler and all of the shavings are held in this chamber until I am done!


Avo Saver – this gadget will help reduce a cut avocado’s exposure to air which will greatly slow the oxidization process so the avocado half will last longer.

Dressing Emulsifier – One of the food triggers I found while on my elimination diet was soy.  If you’ve ever looked at the ingredients that go into salad dressings in the store, it is extremely difficult to find a dressing that does not contain soy.  Even most of the ‘olive oil’ dressings will have soy!  The Emulstir will help mix up and store delicious salad dressings.  You would fill it with oil (a non-trigger oil!), vinegar (also a non-trigger vinegar!) and whatever spices/herbs you want.  The squeeze handle makes it easy to blend.


Emson Two Tier Microwave Steamer Food Cooker – Steamed vegetables will retain more vitamins and nutrients than other means of cooking veggies.  This gadget allows you to cook/steam two dishes at once!


There will be two winners for this ‘nutritional’ giveaway!  By entering a comment on this post or emailing me directly at migrainepuppet at gmail dot com, you will be entered into a drawing to receive one of two great giveaways which include the Veggie-Peel, Avo Saver, Dressing Emulsifier and Emson Two Tier Microwave Steamer Food Cooker described above.  The winners will be announced in April.

Registered dietitian Kerri Gans offered some valuable information about potential Migraine food triggers:

• There are many foods and drinks that can trigger Migraines and it’s important for folks to determine which foods are potential Migraine triggers for them.  By tracking our triggers, we can avoid them which can minimize our Migraine attacks.

• Tyramine is a common trigger that is found naturally in some foods like aged cheese and red wine.  It’s formed from the breakdown of protein as foods age.  A good rule of thumb is that the longer a high-protein food ages, the higher the tyramine content.

• Alcohol increases blood flow to the brain which can trigger Migraines and headaches.

• There are other potential common Migraine triggers which include artificial sweeteners (such as aspartame) chocolate, citrus fruits, coffee or tea, tannins (like red-skinned apples or pears) caffeinated soda, foods that contain MSG and nuts.

• Foods rich in magnesium, such as kale and broccoli, support healthy brain function.  Try swapping kale for romaine in your salad to increase your magnesium intake.

I wish you the best of luck if you enter this giveaway – it’s easy - either add a comment to this post or email me.

Excedrin^® Migraine is the #1 neurologist recommended over-the counter brand for Migraine relief. It offers convenient and effective relief for Migraines and was the first non-prescription medicine approved by the FDA to treat all the symptoms of a Migraine.


Disclosure: I am a paid Excedrin^® Migraine blog ambassador. Compensation has been provided by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., the makers of Excedrin^® Migraine; my journey for a Migraine-free experience is my own.

One Bite

There are times when we become so overwhelmed with everything that is going on in our lives that we don't know where to turn or what to do next.  This definitely does not help us cope with our Migraines.  That was me last year.

Although I had always preached it and even used it in the past as a general question to my team at work, I needed a friend to remind me of what I had to do to get through a period in my life when too many big things were going on at the same time. 

"How do you eat an elephant?"  That question said enough for me to take that much needed step back to look at the bigger picture of everything so I could start moving forward again.

If you had to eat an elephant, it would immediately seem so overwhelming to see this big obstacle(s) in front of you where so many thoughts and stresses would be running through you and it would seem like an impossible task for you to handle which definitely does not help anyone, but especially you and your Migraines.  My elephant was too big of an object for me to see around which made it difficult to move forward.  An elephant doesn't help when trying to regain some semblance of control over your Migraines.

The best way to eat an elephant is "one bite at a time". You need to break everything down into smaller, more manageable pieces or make them more bite sized. It's much less stressful this way and although stress is not a trigger, it can help exasperate your Migraine triggers or increase an existing Migraine - neither of which any of us need. 

My friend's little reminder helped me to refocus my elephant; to put my many obstacles back into perspective and then manageable pieces where I was able to start progressing again.

One bite at a time. Don't try to swallow too much at one time; break it up.