Customer Reviews

Migraines for Dummies

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4 star:		(2)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you just had the first headache of your life and wonder whether or not it is a migraine maybe this book is for you, but even then you would be better off going searching on the web for information. For anybody who suffers from migraines (I have had them for 25 years by now), this book offers little help. In fact, it is a complete waste of your headache-free time. It touches on different subjects in the most superficial way and adopts a "happy-go-lucky" tone whatever the subject. Migraines are not fun or funny so the tone of the book is completely inappropriate, e.g. "the big Kahuna Migraine pitches a tent in your head to stay for a while" or "For a moment, forget about medium- to hard-driving terminator prescription drugs and all those totally groovy over-the-counter meds." Some of the recommendations don't even make sense or the authors contradict themselves: you do not want to watch TV with a migraine, or have soft music playing or flowers that smell in your room! Medications and their side-effects are treated rather lightly, in an inappropriately "funny" way - as if you are supposed to get a laugh out of the "positive" side effect of Botox of smoothing out your wrinkles, or that you might lose weight while taking Topamax. If your migraines are so bad that you have to resort to these medications, the chirpy sense of humor of the authors eludes you, especially given the serious side effects of the latter medication. Maybe somewhere in those 300 pages is buried some helpful information, but by the time you get to page 300 you will feel like a dummy because of the tone of the book and not because you are having a migraine. My recommendation is, search the web for the sites of the various headache associations to find helpful information presented in a way much less insulting to your intelligence and to find a good neurologist with expertise in the treatment of headaches.

I agree with the review that reads, "Save yourself the headache . . ." This book is far too general. If you read the brochures in your doctor's office and some informative information on the web, you already know more than you'll find here.

If you want a good, thorough book on migraines, consider "Headache Help: A Complete Guide to Understanding Headaches and the Medications That Relieve Them," which you can buy from amazon.com

I read this on a whim.

I have headaches. Some ok; some really bad. People would offer advice and suggest migraine meds.

Problem is the fact I really didn't have any ideas on what to weigh or consider.

This book is good in that it will help with the basic question "Do I have Migraines?" In my case, I am lucky to be a lite migraine sufferer. Some of the explanations from the book helped me examine cause and effect of the headaches. In some cases, they are simple stress headaches be it from too much work, bad posture at the computer for long periods of time, etc.

Probably the best thing I got from was looking for triggers and measuring the body for when something bad was about to happen. Sometimes it gets worst when you try to tough it out.

I will say again that this is a book for those that want to know more but don't really know what to do or where to begin searching.

If you are one of the unfortunates that suffer from frequent migraines, then you probably already have an arsenal of knowledge and probably would not get much from this book.

Some of the writing, made me skip as some of the ideas are repeated.

Overall, it's not a bad book especially when considering the Dummies books tend to be a little weak. I am a little more informed on the subject matter as the book named some sites on the web were I could get more information.

First this book isn't a Doctor (neurologist) so if you don't have one and suffer Migraines Please find a Doctor. I lucked out an found a Neurologist who also suffers Migraines. He was a God send. This Book refers back to what my Doctor told me. I am on medications but went from TWO "MIGRAINES" a week to one or less a month. When I was recommended this Neurologist by my Family Doctor, I had a Migraine for Three Weeks. My Life is now Liveable. This book helped confirm what my Neurologist said and in small bite sized pieces. The Doctor also prescribed of all things a Natural supplment that has not reduced the Severity but the Frequency. That is MIGRELIEF made by Quantum ([...]). What I eat seemed to make the Migraines worst. Preventing the onset of a Migraine started by me changing my Diet. The healthy things I ate were some of the triggers to onset. This book is helpful. Here is a site my Doctor uses ([...]) . I am not saying this book alone will heal anyone. Without a good Neurologist you might keep having Migraines. I am now at the point I can sell all my Migraine Books. I am living again and not hiding in a dark room waiting for the migraine to stop. Remenber a Banana that is ripe (Eatable and not bitter) can bring on headaches.
I hope this helps someone.

This book was not only helpful, but enjoyable to read as well. I would definitely recommend this book to migrane sufferers or anyone trying to understand migranes. It's nice to not only gain beneficial information, but enjoy the way the information is relayed and given. I give kudos to author's presentation and writing style given the subject matter. I would share this book with anyone who needs their questions answered about migranes.

As a 20-year migraine sufferer, I must have 50 books on the subject including textbooks used in medical schools and costing $100 or more. This book gives a great overview and introduction to the person who is trying to find out where to start to take charge of their own medical treatment for Migraine and what questions to ask your Doc to see if he really knows what he is talking about. Most don't. This is a "First Step" book and not a book full of answers, but it will help you find more definitive information and save you wasting your time and money on a Doc who hasn't got a clue as to the discoveries about Migraine using Positive Emission Tomography since the late 1990's. Everything "taught" MDs about Migraine prior to about 1995 is just simply UNTRUE and this book will help you find sources for the latest material.

My mother has been a Migraine Suferer for over 70 years, and she has tried everything for her debilitating migraines. She was quite impressed with the information contained in this book by Diane Stafford. For the migraine sufferer, she indicated that all the information that you might need was included in this book. She also indicated that it was a refreshing outlook, easily understood and helpful in terms of where to look for more information. She indicated to me that she would recommend this book to anyone suffering from Migraines.

This "dummy" book really caught me by surprise, because I was expecting mediocre and got excellent instead. It covered so many relevant issues about migraines, that it should be helpful to anyone who suffers from mild to severe migraines, and also to those close to that person. Buy this book with confidence.

I bought this book on the recommendation of my Neurologist. I was surprised at how much information was offered in a simple to understand format. It is a good reference for someone who suffers from Migraines like I do.

I bought this book for my son-in-law who tells me it is chock full of information. He suffers terribly with migraines and assigned me to search the Net for information. His doctor doesn't offer him so much. I bought this book because Football for Dummies was very useful to me.