Migraines 'a quality of life issue'

By Kathleen Duffy, The (Cherry Hill, N.J.) Courier-Post Updated 2d 4h ago

Waking up with a throbbing headache is frustrating, stressful, and, for some people, completely debilitating. While sufferers can tend to manage tension-type headaches on their own, migraines are a different story.

"The best way I can describe a migraine is feeling like you have brain freeze and the flu all at once," said Alene Brennan, a 32-year-old certified health coach and yoga instructor in Mount Laurel, N.J.

When a migraine strikes, life can come to a sudden stop.

"The best way I can describe a migraine is feeling like you have brain freeze and the flu all at once," said Alene Brennan, a 32-year-old certified health coach and yoga instructor in Mount Laurel, N.J. "It feels like a constant brain freeze and the flu in the sense that you don't even have the energy to pick your head up off the pillow.

"They are definitely more than just a headache that you get after a stressful meeting," she added.

Brennan is one of the 43 percent of women who experience migraines during their lifetime, according to Dr. Loretta Mueller, director of the Headache Center at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's School of Osteopathic Medicine .

http://yourlife.usatoday.com/health/medical/story/2011-11-14/Migraines-a-quality-of-life-issue/51192718/1