The Migraine Brain: Your Breakthrough Guide to Fewer Headaches, Better Health

The Migraine Brain: Your Breakthrough Guide to Fewer Headaches, Better Health

Now in paperback, this groundbreaking book by renowned Harvard neurologist Bernstein launched on the Today show to great acclaim and sales. It’s the only book to present the newest science on migraine headaches as well as offer a comprehensive program to treat them—and will change the lives of migraine sufferers forever. Thirty million Americans get migraines, often with excruciating headache pain. Dr. Carolyn Bernstein, a migraine sufferer herself, explains that certain unique chemical and structural differences in “the migraine brain” and central nervous system cause the many symptoms associated with migraines. Even though migraines cannot be completely cured, readers can decrease the number of migraines they experience and lessen their intensity with the personalized wellness program that Dr. Bernstein provides. Readers learn their own patterns and triggers and how to prevent, abort, and stop migraines. Packed with the latest clinical and pharmacological research, as well as lively anecdotes, celebrity interviews, and quizzes and questionnaires, The Migraine Brain has been hailed as “the ultimate migraine resource” by Nieca Goldberg, M.D. "Dr. Bernstein's program has helped hundreds of her patients master migraines, and her book can help you, too." -- Mehmet C. Oz, M.D., coauthor of You: Staying Young and You: On a Diet " The Migraine Brain is the most complete and up-to-date resource and is a must for all migraine sufferers and anyone who lives with them. It is thorough, easy to understand, and well organized. The ultimate migraine resource." -- Nieca Goldberg, M.D., author of Dr. Nieca Goldberg's Complete Guide to Women's Health "At last! The Migraine Brain offers real hope, help, and compassion to migraine sufferers everywhere." -- Pauline W. Chen, M.D., author of Final Exam: A Surgeon's Reflections on Mortality "As a family doctor, I welcome this wonderful book, which can help patients reduce the impact of migraine on their lives. The Migraine Brain explains the subject well and makes understandable a complex condition. It is comprehensive and filled with practical tips for feeling better." -- Erica Swegler, M.D., 2006 Texas Family Physician of the Year " The Migraine Brain is a godsend. As a former migraine sufferer, I wish I'd had this book years ago!" -- Christiane Northrup, M.D. "This up-to-date book will be a highly valued guide...[Bernstein's] credentials make her an empathetic authority. [E]mpowering." -- Library Journal "Bernstein approaches the reader as she might patients -- creatively, scientifically, and sympathetically -- offering a range of tactics and treatments to help migraine sufferers control and mitigate their pain." -- Publishers Weekly Carolyn Bernstein, M.D., graduated from Boston University Medical School and is an assistant professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and a staff neurologist at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A board-certified neurologist, she is the founder and medical director of The Women’s Headache Center at the Cambridge Health Alliance. She lives in Newton Highlands, Massachusetts. Elaine McArdle is an award-winning journalist and a frequent contributor to The Boston Globe , Boston Magazine , and many other publications. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Migraine Brain Your Breakthrough Guide to Fewer Headaches, Better Health By Carolyn Bernstein Free Press Copyright © 2009 Carolyn Bernstein All right reserved. ISBN: 9781416547693 INTRODUCTION "I'd Rather Die Than Get Another Migraine!" Melissa is a waitress in her mid-thirties who has suffered from excruciating migraines since she was a little girl. A few months before she became my patient, she gave birth to her first child. I asked how her labor had gone. "I hate to say this," she confided, "but it was a piece of cake compared to what I'm used to." When she went into labor, Melissa told me, the obstetrician instructed her to let him know when the pain got really intense so he could give her an epidural. Before she knew it, her daughter was born -- without any anesthetic. "When people say childbirth is one of worst pains there is, I'm sorry, it's not!" Melissa said, shaking her head. "For someone used to having migraine pain, childbirth doesn't even come close." Terry is a businessman in his mid-sixties who has suffered from migraines for thirty years. Several times a month, he gets a horrible pounding in his head, vomits repeatedly, and can barely move. Last year, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and began extensive chemotherapy. "You know something?" he said to me. "I've never missed a day of work from the chemo. But migraines? I get so sick I can't walk. I can't tell you how much work I've missed from migraines." Gwen is a high school teacher in her forties who has suffered from devastating migraines since she was a teenager. During an attack, she experiences intense throbbing and pounding down the s