BY TOM W000

Support group begins
for sufferers of the
"invisible condition."

THE DE TRO IT J E WIS H N EWS

RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER

42

E lien Blau spent much of the past
20 years in bed, incapacitated by
chronic head pain. She consult-
ed one physician after another:
neurologists, acupuncturists, in-
ternists, chiropractors.
A dietitian told her the prob-
lem was eggs.
"Eggs? I don't eat eggs," said the 44-
year-old resident of Bingham Farms.
Ms. Blau is one of more than 45 mil-
lion Americans who suffer from chron-
ic headaches. The disorder, often called
the "invisible condition," has ambigu-
ous causes, but its symptoms are
painfully acute.
Ms. Blau experienced throbbing at
her left temple. Other sufferers com-
plain of "facial" headaches with pain
centering around their eyes and nose.
"It's the worst. You can't understand
it until you experience it yourself," Ms.
Blau said. "You can't open your eyes.
You go into a dark room, a pillow over
your head. I missed at least two to three
days a week."
Five years ago, Ms. Blau met Dr. Sey-
mour Diamond, executive director of the
Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago
and creator of the National Headache
Foundation.
In addition to putting Ms. Blau on a
strict diet, Dr. Diamond treated her with
the monoamine oxidase inhibitor,
"nardil," which serves to overcome in-
tractable migraines in many individuals.
"I got a lot better. While I had my
headaches, I weighed 105 pounds. After
seven months of treatment, I gained 30
pounds," she said. "I have my life back."
Driven to help other headache suf-
ferers, Ms. Blau researched the topic so
thoroughly that others in the local Jew-
ish community began consulting her
about their own conditions.
Recently, Ms. Blau accepted when
Dr. Diamond offered her the job of "sup-
port group coordinator" for the Nation-
al Headache Foundation. As such, Ms.
Blau is starting peer-led groups in a
dozen U.S. cities.
The mission is to establish monthly
forums open to headache sufferers and
family members who want to learn

f

She knows the answer: "Most people
more about the disorder — causes, treat-
ments and cures. Participants also will don't think headaches are a real illness.
be encouraged to discuss the daily frus- They are told, 'It's all in your head.'
trations of living with chronic head pain. That's why we need a support group.
Fortunately, Ms. Blau has a husband People need validation that their
who was sympathetic to her trauma, headaches are real."
In fact, there are several very real
she said. But some spouses aren't so un-
derstanding, especially when sufferers types of headaches triggered by a wide
have to miss events and family simchas. range of very real factors, according to
"A lot of people are uneducated about the National Headache Foundation.
headaches and a lot of women get a lot Chronic headaches seem to be genetic.
of flak from their husbands because they Ms. Blau's mother suffered, so did her
can't go to the show, for instance — or sisters. The National Headache Foun-
the family vacation has to be canceled," dation reports that individuals have a
Ms. Blau said. "It puts a lot of stress on 50 percent chance of suffering from the
the marriage, which increases the disorder if one parent has it — a 75 per-
headaches, which increases the stress, cent chance if both parents suffer.
Most sufferers experience tension-
which increases the headaches ...
There's a support group for everything type headaches, triggered by stress, fa-
tigue or hidden depression. The
else, why not headaches?"

"migraine" is a type of vascular
headache, caused when blood vessels in
the scalp expand and contract. The re-
sult is throbbing pain.
Another type of vascular headache is
called the "cluster." Cluster headaches
come in groups — usually in the spring
or fall — and can last for days, even
months, before remitting for a while.
Notwithstanding the number of tele-
vision commercials for sinus headaches,
they are relatively rare and most often
accompany the flu.
"Many people who think they have
sinus headaches actually may be suf-
fering from muscle contraction
headaches or migraines," reports the
National Headache Foundation.
The TMJ — temporomandibular joint

HEAD page 44