Sometimes it can be a real struggle to manage Migraines with the stress that comes along with the holidays. The makers of Excedrin® Migraine wants to help some of my readers to enjoy your time with friends and family by sharing helpful hints and giving two of my readers the chance to win a $100 American Express Gift card. Plus you can enter a sweepstake on their Facebook page for a chance to win daily prizes and one nice grand prize.
We all look forward to the sights, smells, foods, drinks and merriment associated with the holiday season. However, sometimes the things we cherish the most about the holidays can trigger a Migraine.
This is one reason why the makers of Excedrin® Migraine invites you to "Take a Holiday from Headaches" with some helpful steps provided by Dr Keri Peterson, MD to try to help us avoid some of our triggers:
o Stick to your regular routine. Eating, sleeping and exercising as you do the rest of the year can help reduce the chances of getting a headache or Migraine.*
o Manage your time and plan ahead. Coordinate plans and responsibilities in advance with relatives and friends, compose set menus when hosting a party and try to purchase gifts early so you’re not rushing at the last minute.*
o Stay in ventilated spaces. As you browse through the mall, watch out for those scented candles or perfume if you are sensitive to smells.**
o Eat and drink in moderation. Eat, drink and be merry, but try not to consume sweets or alcoholic beverages in excess, as they could trigger Migraines.**
The holiday time can also mean lots of traveling so be sure you take your Migraine medications with you. This would include more than enough preventives for your time away, your abortive medication, rescue meds and OTCs like Excedrin® Migraine.
With all of the stresses that come with the holidays, the makers of Excedrin® are hoping to help alleviate some! Visit Facebook.com/Excedrin from now through January 1, 2014 to enter the "Take a Holiday from Headaches" sweepstakes, where you'll be eligible for a chance to win daily prizes including gift cards to popular retailers and one lucky grand prize of $25,000 to help shopping, travel and other holiday expenses which adds to the holiday stresses and possibly exasperate a headache or Migraine triggers. See official rules at https://excedrinhosweeps.icgrouplp.com/OfficialRules.aspx
In addition to the sweepstakes, Excedrin® Migraine is offering two of my readers the chance to win a $100 American Express Gift card by leaving a comment on this post by midnight on December 24th. Please leave me a way to reach out to you if you are chosen as a winner. If you prefer, you can email me separately with your email address after posting your comment.
Good luck!!
* Can be sourced to Cleveland Clinic
** Can be sourced to Headaches.org
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
Smile for Migraines
I searched some of the charities we can choose from to donate to and they include charities like the American Headache Foundation, National Headache Foundation or Migraine Research Foundation. I looked for AHMA (American Headache and Migraine Foundation), but didn't see it on the list. I hope it will be added in the future.
It's so easy to choose one of these foundations. When selecting for a charity, you can search on the words 'Headache' or 'Migraine'. That's what I did to find these charities!
The more we can do to help with research and education around Migraines, the better off we'll all be. I haven't tried this new site yet, but can't wait until I have to go shopping again!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Purple Gold Star
You see, she has a little sister who has had chronic Migraines and headaches for over five years. It's horrible to see her with head pain all of the time and she’s not even a teenager yet.
For her Gold Star project, she plans on doing something around Migraines. She wants to bring awareness around them and if possible, raise money while doing it. She has a few ideas around what she wants to do, but is very open to any helpful hints; things that have worked for you, your ideas or just your encouragement would help.
Last summer, her sisters (she has three younger sisters) and her set up a lemonade stand. They ended up raising an incredible amount of $50! Not only that, but they donated that money to the Migraine Research Foundation to help with research. How awesome is that!!
I hope you are half as proud as I am of my niece and she, luckily, does not even show any signs of Migraine at this point.
What helpful hints do you have to offer for my niece?
Thank you!
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Back-to-School Giveaway and Sweepstakes
Can you believe it’s back-to-school time already? Time flies by so quickly anymore. What I can’t believe is that this is the first time in over twenty years that I am not getting ready for back-to-school!
Some of my friends have already started school, while others are getting ready to start right after Labor Day. There is so much to do to get ready for school. I can remember my biggest and most important back to school prep with my son. He had just finished his first semester of college and was getting ready for his second. The biggest difference here was that this was his first time going back to school after discovering he had Migraines.
There was so much to prepare him for going back to school this time. Given that he would not come home while at school, I not only had to make sure he had all of his school supplies, but had a good Migraine education base, knew how to help himself and had all the medications and supplements he would need for the semester. Excedrin® Migraine works great for my son so I made sure this was included when he went back to school.
According to a recent survey by the makers of Excedrin®, about 41% of parents* and 43% of their children say getting themselves back on a schedule is at the top of their list of things that can cause them stress during the back to school season.
This same survey also indicated parents’ feel that their children’s schools need new or upgraded supplies such as pencils, paper, computers, software and gym or sporting equipment.
Sweepstakes
In response to the survey results, the makers of Excedrin® launched the “Help Your School Excel with Excedrin” sweepstakes which is a fun way for five individuals to win $10,000 for their child’s school. For more information about the sweepstakes, please visit the Excedrin Facebook page www.facebook.com/excedrin or see the paragraph below for the abbreviated sweepstakes rules.
NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT OF ANY KIND IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Runs 8/15/13 at 9:00:00 AM CDT to 9/15/13 at 11:59:59 PM CDT. Must be 18+, a legal resident of the 50 U.S./D.C., & have a valid email address & Facebook account. See www.facebook.com/excedrin for rules. To enter for free, hand-print your full name, address, phone number, date of birth, email address, and name of school, and mail to: “Help Your School Excel With Excedrin® - Free to Enter”, PO Box 11387 South Bend, IN 46634-0387, postmarked by 9/16/13 and received by 9/23/13. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Novartis Consumer Health, Inc.
The sweepstakes is a chance for you to help your school!
Giveaway
In keeping with the back-to-school theme, my September giveaway package is to help parents stay organized, hydrated and Migraine-free so you adjust to the new hectic school and activity schedules as you spend more time on-the-go.
• A 2013-14 academic planner and pen
• A magnetic memo board
• An aluminum tumbler
In order to enter the back-to-school giveaway, please post a comment (family friendly language and no advertisements) to my blog through Monday, September 9th. I will need to be able to reach you if you are a winner so please feel free to email me your email address so I can contact you if you do win. It would be great if you could share your back-to-school stories too. Comments need to be submitted by Monday, September 9th to be eligible for the giveaway items.
Good luck with the giveaway and the “Help Your School Excel with Excedrin” sweepstakes!!
* Parents that can name at least one thing that might cause a headache during the back to school season
Disclosure: “I am an Excedrin® Migraine brand ambassador. One iPod Touch to test the My Migraine Triggers mobile app was provided by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., the makers of Excedrin® Migraine; my journey for a migraine-free experience is my own.”
Sunday, July 21, 2013
36 Million Migraine Campaign
It was kicked off on a Today Show interview with Cindy McCain. Cindy is the wife of Senator John McCain. She has been a Migraineur for more than 20 years and is the official spokesperson for this campaign.
The campaign is looking to raise money to spend directly on better treatments and more research for a potential cure of Migraine disease. The goal is to raise $1 for each of the 36 million Americans with Migraines. In the interview, Cindy said; “People are afraid to talk about it (Migraine)”. “Their coworkers think they’re faking it.” “Their family thinks they’re faking it.” “We’re kind of the child that gets the leftovers in Migraine.”
Did you know that there is only one innovative drug that has been designed for Migraine in 50 years?
There are several ways you can help this campaign reach its goal. You can:
• donate on-line
• fill out a .pdf donation form
• text 36mill to 50555 now to donate $10 via your cell phone bill #36millmigraine
Don’t forget that some corporations have a matching donation program. You may want to check with your HR department about your company’s matching gift policy. If your company participates, you can obtain a matching gift form from your employer. Donations to the American Migraine Foundation are tax-deductible.
There are 8 core Message Points about the 36 Million Migraine Campaign and Migraines:
• The 36 Million Migraine Campaign is the first of its kind. It is dedicated to increasing our nation’s research investment in Migraine and raising public visibility.
• 36 Million Americans have Migraine which is one of the world’s most prevalent and disabling medical disorders.
• Migraine research is vastly underfunded by government, industry and the voluntary health sector. Can you believe it’s less than 1/20th of 1% of the National Institutes of Health budget? That’s only about $16 million a year which is dismal.
• Cindy McCain chairs the campaign and partnered with the American Migraine Foundation to lead the ambitious, much needed campaign.
• Migraine is not ‘just another headache’. It is trivialized by way too many people and has been around for at least the last 7,000 years.
• Even though Migraine can be a severely disabling and painful disease, people without Migraines view the disease as episodic and not usually fatal; therefore not a funding priority.
• I’m going to be a little paranoid here and say they were talking about me with this seventh core message – People with Migraine often ‘play down’ its pain and impact on their lives, fearing it will threaten their employability or reliability.
• Migraine is not taught in medical school. Oy. Most physicians received little to no training in Migraine which keeps it from being properly recognized as a serious medical condition and/or treated effectively.
These are all reasons why the 36 Million Migraine Campaign is so important. As the campaign says, together we will all be pioneers – because no one has ever tackled Migraine funding on a scale like this before.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Tracking Migraines; June Migraine Giveaway
Roughly 36 million people in the United States suffer from Migraines1. Migraines are more than a headache and are typically associated with nausea, the pain is usually unilateral and there is typically sensitivity to light and sound. A Migraine can be severe and debilitating.
Along with the long travels on a plane and then bus tour, I will be surrounded by many of my Migraine triggers. I will do my best to limit my exposure to them while trying to enjoy as much of the area as possible. As my June Giveaway, Excedrin Migraine is giving away a few items which would be very helpful on a trip such as this one. Here is a list of the giveaway items:
* Aero Snooze – A three-piece set which includes a TSA compliant carrying pouch with an Excedrin branded soft nylon eye mask and foam earplugs to help travelers drift to sleep.
* Memory Foam Travel Neck Pillow – This u-shaped travel pillow is made of memory foam to provide support that correctly aligns your neck and spine, while supporting your head in soft comfort.
* Tritan from Eastman Water Bottle w/straw – A 25-oz bottle is made of durable Tritan material, BPA free and meets FDA requirements. This Excedrin branded bottle is impact and shatter resistant and does not retain odor and/or taste.
All of these items would help me on the trip I am planning; they could help calm down some of my know Migraine triggers. Fatigue and stress can help exasperate Migraines in some people. Migraine triggers vary from person to person and some of the triggers I am concerned with while on my trip will be:
* Diet – certain chemical in food and beverages can trigger Migraines. I will need to try eating more fresh and fewer processed foods on the trip.
* Hydration – It will be a long ride to the Grand Canyon and I have to stay hydrated or I will be on a long bus ride and not enjoying anything.
* Weather changes – I’m not sure what to expect weather wise on the trip, but it will be the beginning of winter and I have heard that Arizona is a good place for Migraineurs – I guess I’ll find out!
* Hormones – although it doesn’t affect all women, it’s not uncommon for women with Migraines to have increased Migraines before or during high hormone change times of the month when we have a drop in estrogen.
I am lucky in that at least I know some of my Migraine triggers. Novartis Consumer Health, Inc, the makers of Excedrin® Migraine found an overwhelming majority of women Migraineurs (93%) wish they knew more about their Migraine triggers while only 11% track their triggers regularly2.
June is Migraine Awareness Month. Since the end of last year, I’ve been using the MyMigraineTriggersTM iPhone app which was developed by the makers of Excedrin® to help track Migraine triggers which includes different foods. The app gathers various data into reports and charts that can be easily shared with our doctors.
Excedrin® Migraine is the #1 neurologist recommended over-the-counter brand for Migraine relief3. It offers convenient and effective relief for Migraines for many of my nieces and was the first non-prescription medicine approved by the FDA to treat symptoms of a Migraine.
In order to be entered into the June Migraine giveaway, please post a comment to my blog by June 30th 2013. I will need to be able to reach you if you are a winner so please feel free to email me your email address so I can contact you if you are a winner. Two winners will be selected. Good luck!
1American Headache Society, June 2012
2This research was conducted between September 7 and September 13, 2012 via an online survey of 1000 women in the US. To qualify for this survey, respondents had to indicate that they experience Migraine headaches at least 4 to 6 times per year and have a smartphone or tablet device
3Anti Migraine data, Wolters Kluwer 2012
Disclosure: “I am an Excedrin® Migraine brand ambassador. One iPod Touch to test the My Migraine Triggers mobile app was provided by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., the makers of Excedrin® Migraine; my journey for a migraine-free experience is my own.”
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