More than just a headache

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carojcooper Posted: 4 Sep 2012 2:25 PM

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I know there have been some excellent articles lately about stress in the workplace, and I don’t want to dilute any of this but as it’s National Migraine Week this week, I thought this was a good time to bring this to the attention of employers too.

I don't normally write about personal stuff but as a long-term sufferer I thought this was a great opportunity to educate those who are affected by friends and colleagues or employees who suffer from migraine. Also to promote some of the excellent achievements from the National Migraine Centre in London who have a worldwide reputation for treatment and research into migraine, and have certainly helped me.

Migraine affects 1 in 5 of the population and every day in the UK 190,000 suffer a migraine attack. The World Health Organisation ranks it as one of the 20 most disabling conditions, however it is the least publicly funded neurological illness relative to its economic impact (it costs the UK economy in the region of £7 billion).

My migraine hell started in my early teens and I remember whilst at university some of my fellow students reporting that they thought I was dying when they first saw me with a migraine attack.

Mercifully when I'll was working in Florida for 14 months I can only recall one migraine attack; maybe I was just a little bit more relaxed while I was there. Frustratingly the one attack I did have was when I was visiting friends and I certainly wasn't fit to drive home and missed work the next day. My boss simply could not comprehend that a ‘headache’ could prevent me from getting to work.

Then as I moved into management positions initially my migraine attacks became more frequent. Although I had a certain amount of empathy from the company I always felt that there was an element of suspicion that my ailments weren’t genuine. A consultation with the company doctor at the time confirmed this as “classical migraine” and from then on in my colleagues were a little more understanding.

If you have friends or family who suffer from migraine you're probably already aware of just how debilitating it can be. But if you're an employer and it affects someone's reliability and quality of their work you may not be quite so understanding. Migraine is not simply a headache, and pumping yourself up with painkillers does nothing to alleviate the symptoms, and in fact in many cases can make things worse, especially nausea and sickness.

Talk to your employee about any known triggers to a migraine attack. Quite often it might be a combination of triggers that bring on an attack rather than just one. In my own case there are a few things that I am wary of and in the past as an employee it could sometimes be difficult to avoid without letting others down. Of course the net result is you let them down any way if you then end up being ill.

Here are a few triggers that I'm aware of which can crop up in the workplace:

• Low blood sugar, made worse by skipping or working through the lunch break
• Dehydration so not having access to water
• Interruption to sleep patterns, so made worse by shift patterns for example working a late shift followed by an early shift
• Extremes of temperatures, e.g. Overheating in stuffy rooms or hot kitchens
• Changes in barometric pressure or weather and/or extreme cold temperatures
• Flickering lights
• Undue stress or worry, which is often okay until people relax and then the migraine hits and on the first day of your holiday or at a weekend, so you come back to work feeling as though you never had a break.

If any of your team suffer from migraine and have not sought professional help, then do them (and yourself) a favour and refer them to the migraine centre. More details below.

Extent of the Problem of Migraine

• Every day in the UK 190,000 suffer a migraine attack
• 90,000 in the UK miss school/work every day because of migraine
• Migraine affects 1 in 5 of the population
• Migraine is most common between the ages of 30-50, and in women.
• More than ¾ of sufferers report that their activities are limited by their condition
• Most sufferers say migraine interferes with family and social relationships
• Migraine is more common than diabetes, epilepsy and asthma combined
• The World Health Organisation ranks migraine as one of the 20 most disabling conditions.
• 1 in 3 neurologist referrals are for headache
• Migraine is the least publicly funded neurological illness relative to its economic impact
• Over ⅓ of sufferers face difficulties and discrimination at work because of their migraines
• Less than half of migraine patients consult a physician

National Migraine Centre has for 32 years provided treatment to sufferers of migraine and cluster headache as well as education to healthcare professionals. Patients can self-refer and are asked to donate towards the cost of their appointment as the Clinic receives no NHS funding. The clinic is based in London and open to those from all over the UK, however hopes to setup outreach clinics in the future to improve accessibility for sufferers around the country.

Migraine treatment has come a long way in the last ten years, but recent developments show there is more that can be done. The current approach is for treatment that targets the head (as opposed to the whole body with drugs). These treatments include; Greater Occipital nerve block injections, Botox injections (recently approved by NICE - The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, and due to be offered by the NHS from mid September), and handheld devices giving electrical or magnetic stimulation of the brain.

For information regarding the charity and its work:

Rebecca Sterry, National Migraine Centre. 22 Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6DX.

Tel: 0207 251 7806/07716 426896 rebecca.sterry@nationalmigrainecentre.org.uk

Website: www.NationalMigraineCentre.org.uk Registered Charity no 1115935.