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Where can I get help and information?

One goodthing aboutheadaches andmigraine isthatthey are so common that there is a wealth of Information and support available. The list below is not comprehensive, and by investigating some of these you will find a ‘snowball’ effect, with morę and morę information and advice coming your way. Advice is always variable in ąuality and in ąuantity. Not everything you find will be 100 per cent trustworthy, and it is often impossible to police or validate the information you might have access to. The internet presents such a problem. While it can be a valuable source of good-quality, up-to-date information, it also can be the best place to find ‘ąuacks’ trying to sell you a fake cure (which in some cases can even make the problem worse) and scaremongers who will frighten you with headache horror stories. By all means use the internet to seek advice, but try to be choosy about which sites you take advice from. Look for some indication that medically ąualified personnel are involved, such as by visiting sites run by university medical schools. Avoid sites clearly intended to sell you something, or at least always remember that this is primarily the reason for their existence. If in doubt, be sceptical.

Specialist organisations

The Migraine Action Association, Unit 6, Oakley Hay Lodge Business Park, Great Folds Road, Great Oakley, Northants NN18 9AS. The Migraine Action Association (formerly known as The British Migraine Association) is a charity which, among other things, provides information, publishing leaflets that are distributed to doctors, clinics, libraries and so on. You can visit their website at www.migraine.org. uk.

The Migraine Trust offers information in the form of factsheets, and advice can be found on their website at www.migrainetrust.org.

Books

TheMigraineHandbook, byjennyLewis, London: Vermilion. Areadable and thor-ough lay guide to migraines endorsed by The Migraine Action Association.

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