In February 2011, CBS Reporter Serene Branson was reporting live at the Grammy Awards when her speech became slurred and incoherent.  As the video soon went viral, many speculated that she’d suffered a stroke or worse.

In fact, Branson had suffered a complex migraine, a special type of migraine with aura where marked neurological symptoms can occur.  In many cases, including Branson’s well-publicized episode, the individual is unaware that anything unusual is happening.

If you didn’t know migraines could cause confused speech or auras, you’re not alone.  That’s why Branson has partnered with the National Headache Foundation to launch the “More Than Just a Headache” campaign during National Migraine Awareness Month this June.  The goal is to educate the public on the personal and societal costs of migraines, which affect approximately 30 million Americans and one out of four women.  In fact, women are disproportionately affected, with three times as many women sufferers.

Here at PatientsLikeMe, our membership numbers help illustrate this statistic.  With 1,596 migraine patients as of today, 88% of them are women, and 12% are men.  What else can you learn from our migraine patients?  Here are a few quick facts.

What are the top treatments?

• The most widely used prescription drugs reported by our migraine patients include Topamax, Lamictal, Keppra, Klonopin and Ibuprofen.

What are the major symptoms?

• The five most common primary symptoms reported by our migraine patients include Fatigue, Pain, Anxious Mood, Depressed Mood and Headaches.

What’s the latest forum question?

• Chronic daily migraines and association with fibromyalgia?

Do you suffer from migraines as well?  Share your own “Migraine Moment” to help the Branson and the National Headache Foundation raise awareness about this chronic and debilitating condition.

In honor of this month’s Mental Illness Awareness Week, here’s a snapshot of what’s happening in our PatientsLikeMe Mood community. Launched in 2008, the community now has more than 18,000 patients. Below are some interesting facts about the community, so please read and share on!

DID YOU ALSO KNOW…

• You can search for patients under 15+ diagnosis categories, including depression, bipolar, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, addiction to tobacco, addiction to alcohol, eating disorder and more.
• In a PatientsLikeMe research study recently published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, we revealed:
  • 26% of responding mood community members agreed or strongly agreed that using the site had reduced thoughts about self harm
  • 23% agreed they had decided to start therapy or counseling after interacting with others on the site
  • 22% agreed they needed less inpatient care as a result of using PatientsLikeMe.  (See our “Patient Voice” report, video and member interview on inpatient therapy).
• Members’ experiences on the treatment Amitriptyline was used in an award-winning paper presented at Medicine 2.0 last year.

How are our members treating their condition?

• Patients are using more than 1700 treatments, including prescription drugs, supplements, over-the-counter medications, life-style modifications, therapies, and more.
• The top lifestyle modification reported by our patients is positive self talk; and sleep is the #1 exercise cited.
• The most widely used prescription drugs reported by members are Lamotragine, Clonazepam and Bupropion; the top 3 supplements are Omega 3 Fish Oil, Multi-Vitamins, and Vitamin D.

What are their major symptoms?

• The 5 most common primary symptoms reported include: Back Pain, Dizziness, Headaches, Hyperventilation, and Muscle Tension.

What are they talking about?

• Some of the top topics “tagged” in our forum discussions to date include specific treatments (like Lamictal, Lithium, Wellbutrin and Seroqul), as well as borderline personality disorder, coping, anger and journaling.

At PatientsLikeMe, we believe in getting to know the person, not just the patient.  To celebrate the launch of the new epilepsy community this week, we sat down (virtually) with 3-star member, Blueyedgoddez.  Here’s what she has to say about her experiences living with epilepsy:

	(PatientsLikeMe) First, welcome to the PatientsLikeMe epilepsy community!  Cool username, btw. How did you choose it?
	(Blueyedgoddez) I have blue eyes and I sometimes feel like a goddess, as silly as that may sound.  I don’t mean a goddess as in a rich snob or anything. I mean it like an earth child, that sort of thing.
	(PatientsLikeMe) When were you diagnosed with epilepsy? What was that like?
	(Blueyedgoddez) I had seizures since infancy, however i was officially diagnosed at the age of six. When I was a child, it was difficult in certain ways. Mostly because I knew I could never enjoy certain things that children enjoy – i.e., video games (at that time the resolution of the games were too high, the graphics would induce seizures), rollercoasters, the gravatron (at the carnival), any type of flashing party lights, among other things. As an adult, it’s not that much easier. I can’t drive under no means because where I live you need to be seizure-free for 5 years and I never am. So that’s a challenge having to depend on people or public transportation. Plus, where I work my co-workers aren’t as understanding as people were when I was a child. The people I work with tend to say I use my epilepsy not to do things. How could anyone say I use Epilepsy to my benefit?  To me it’s very hurtful. It makes no sense. Also one other thing that seems to bother me as an adult is having children. I was told it’s going to be very difficult. As you can see by now, it’s a journey having epilepsy. However, in the end, you learn to live, laugh and love – despite all your perils.
	(PatientsLikeMe) How does epilepsy impact your every day quality of life?
	(Blueyedgoddez) The disease in itself isn’t what really effects my day to day activities, however it’s more the side effects from the medication to treat my epilepsy. Everyday I’m bound with multiple side effects such as, fatigue, headaches, depression, anxiety, aches and pains, nausea, the list could go on. Some days I wake up fine, others not so fine. I have my good days and bad days.
	(PatientsLikeMe) What inspired you to join the PatientsLikeMe epilepsy community?
	(Blueyedgoddez) I joined because I didn’t want to feel alone anymore. Simply put. And I know that I could be helpful with my life experience of having epilepsy to someone else just like me, more or less. That’s why I’m here to be helped and to help others. I have a voice and I intend on using it.
	(PatientsLikeMe) Thank you for using that voice and sharing your story and experiences with our community!