case study
Teri Robert
TERI ROBERT WAS 6 YEARS OLD WHEN SHE HAD HER FIRST MIGRAINE. Although the migraines became more frequent during college, they were largely manageable until her early 30s. A neurologist then“ knocked them back to just a few a year” with Inderal ®, which kept Robert’ s condition stable until she hit 40.“ In about 2000, they kept getting worse and worse. I was in bed five or six days a week, and at that point my doctor had retired,” Robert recalls.“ You have no life if you’ re in bed with a migraine nothing treats.”
She says she finally“ got pissed off” and decided to take action. She’ d had luck finding information about her diabetes on the Internet, but reliable migraine sites were harder to come by.“ I saw lots of conflicting information,” she says.“ But … I realized I wasn’ t alone.” Not long after that, she was hired to create a migraine website for About. com, and through the discussion forum there, she discovered the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia. It was eight hours from her house,“ but that was a life changer,” she says.
The health care professionals there began a holistic approach— including medications, lifestyle changes,“ everything,” Robert says— and she began making progress within about six months.“ It took four years to get where I am now, which is eight to 12 weeks between migraines,” she says.“ It was far away and insurance didn’ t cover all the charges, but it was worth every minute, every mile and every dollar. There isn’ t a cure, but a good preventive regimen is the next best thing.”
Robert says her physicians at the Center had been suggesting yoga for a long time, but other health issues— including a weight problem and glaucoma( and her belief that yoga was for the skinny and pretzel-like)— prevented her from trying it. But they finally convinced her to test out a yoga DVD in the privacy of her own home.“ A doctor at the Center said I could find one I’ d be comfortable with, and she was right,” Robert says. Now Robert practices yoga every other day, alternating with tai chi.“ I just needed to quit being so closed-minded,” she says.“ I like [ yoga’ s ] concentration on breathing. Breathing right is essential when you’ re in pain.”
Robert also sees a parallel between the discipline and focus needed for yoga and the dedication required to manage a headache disorder.“ You can’ t use an external locus of control, telling the doctor to fix it,” Robert says.“ Migraine is a disease just like diabetes or thyroid, but there’ s lots we can do for ourselves to manage it.”
Although Robert’ s migraines are now well controlled, she knows yoga is still benefiting her overall health.“ The healthier you are, the less vulnerable you are to your migraine triggers,” she says.“ Migraines don’ t exist in a vacuum. They’ re impacted by everything else going on in your body.”
She hopes other headache and migraine sufferers will overcome their reservations about yoga more quickly than she did.“ Once your doctor says OK, go for it,” she says.“ If you have limitations, that doesn’ t mean you can’ t do something. You just have to find a way— otherwise I’ d still be lying in bed five or six days a week.” www
For more advice on living with headache and migraine, visit Teri Robert’ s website, www. helpforheadaches. com.