• 2008
  • Free Press
Formats
  • Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle

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

You know that your migraine isn't just a headache. But you may not know that migraine actually is a neurological disease. Affecting one in five women, one in twenty men, and one in twenty children, it's a debilitating, complex, and chronic condition that manifests in a combination of symptoms that can include excruciating head pain as well as other distinctive physical and emotional effects. Yet it's also a disease that you can get control of, improve, and manage, as Dr. Carolyn Bernstein has discovered in her seventeen years as a Harvard Medical School faculty member and practicing neurologist.

Praised for her excellence and compassion, the founder of the Women's Headache Center near Boston, and a migraine sufferer herself, Dr. Bernstein has helped hundreds of her patients get better. Now, with The Migraine Brain, the most comprehensive, up-to-the-minute book on migraines ever written, you will be able to do the same—reduce the frequency and intensity of your migraines, learn how to prevent and curtail them and how to recover from them more quickly, and mitigate migraine's effects on every aspect of your life: in the workplace and at home and during sex and travel. Every migraine is different because everyone who gets a migraine has a distinctive "Migraine Brain" with its own sensitivities and triggers. That's why it's so important for you to develop a personalized wellness plan to radically reduce the number and severity of your migraines.

Dr. Bernstein also explains why migraines happen, why they are so often misdiagnosed, and why so few people get the right treatment for them. She reveals the latest research that shows that Migraine Brains share a hypersensitivity to stimuli—the Migraine Brain can actually look different from others on a brain scan—and is more likely to experience a cascade of neurological reactions that give rise to the common clusters of migraine symptoms. This breakthrough medical knowledge makes treatment and recovery possible with new migraine-specific drugs as well as with complementary treatments such as yoga, biofeedback, and an exercise regimen.

With the extraordinarily thorough recommendations of The Migraine Brain in your hands, you will be fully equipped with all the latest information you need to understand migraines and to help your family and co-workers understand that migraine isn't just a headache: it's a serious, yet treatable disease.

Praise for The Migraine Brain

"With journalist McArdle, [Dr. Carolyn Bernstein] presents a clear and comprehensive analysis of the migraine brain. Noting that there are about 30 million migraine sufferers in the U.S., Bernstein reveals that migraine is a complex neurological disease that affects the central nervous system. 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

"This up-to-date book will be a highly valued guide...[Bernstein's] credentials make her an empathetic authority. [E]mpowering." Library Journal

"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

"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

"The Migraine Brain is a godsend. As a former migraine sufferer, I wish I'd had this book years ago!" Christiane Northrup, M.D.