Migraines on the rise across all services

[unhappycamper]

Source: Army Times

Migraines on the rise across all services
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Jul 25, 2008 16:28:43 EDT

The number of people in the military diagnosed with migraines for the first time increased 27 percent from 2001 to 2007, leading to more missed work time.

“Migraine, and headaches in general, are important health concerns for the military services because they often have sudden, unpredictable onsets; are relatively common among young adults; are potentially debilitating; and are operationally and medically costly,” wrote Christopher Martin of the Military Health System, in a report from the Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center

“Among male soldiers, incidence rates of migraine increased nearly 60 percent from 2002 to 2007, a period of continuous U.S. Army combat operations in Afghanistan and Iraq,” he said.

Martin theorized that the increased number of headaches may be connected to post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and depression.

Read more: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_migraineheadaches_072508w/

[hobbit709]

1. The government doesn't think that STRESS could have something to do with that?

Just plain stress will do that, much less the aggravated stress of PTSD, etc.

[undeterred]

2. These men and women may miss out on sleep

and fatigue certainly contributes to migraines too.

[Phred42]

3. Another bad link - here's on that works

http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/07/military_migraineheadaches_072508w/

[Warpy]

4. Post head injury headaches are often confused with migraine

although it's like confusing having your throat cut left to right with right to left, the outcome is the same. They're hideously painful and the initial head injury doesn't have to be a dramatic one for post traumatic headaches to occur.

However, as any of us migraineurs can tell you, stress often increases the number and severity of migraines we have. It's certainly possible that latent disease has been triggered in people who have no history of either migraine or head injury from the stress of multiple deployments to hell.

This is just another reason to end this war now, get our children home, and concentrate on trying to make them whole again.

[loves_dulcinea]

5. the reason i got out of the navy

was because of the stress headaches.
after i got out, they just stopped happening.

[livingon]

6. Glad you are going well now.