Letters

Sunday, Oct. 20, 2002
    • The New Science of Headaches

    Thank you for giving those who have migraines a voice. We often suffer in silence, unnoticed, in a dark room with our eyes closed.
    DANIELE BIENVENUE
    Granby, Que.

    Moments after sitting down to read your cover story on headaches [HEALTH, Oct. 7], I felt a familiar twinge in my head. I put down the magazine, had a shot of nasal spray and sat back to wait. Within minutes, an unseen hand twisted the dial on the rheostat in my head. Forty-five minutes later, the pain retreated as quickly as it had arrived, leaving me limp and exhausted. For cluster-headache sufferers like me, such episodes have a huge impact on our daily lives. No one seems to know where cluster headaches come from, why we get them or how to treat them effectively. Articles like yours, although focused primarily on migraines, are helpful in bringing attention to a segment of the population of headache sufferers that most people are unaware of.
    PAUL A. ANDERSON
    Indianapolis, Ind.


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    Your reporting on migraines closed on a note of optimism, a feeling that I suspect is not shared by many who must endure migraines. For all the advances of the past few years, the reality for many of us who suffer from migraines is a minimum of several days of absolute pain each month. The new medicines may help to some extent, but the rebound effect of more headaches is a constant problem. For we who have endured the pain of migraines for decades, the cure cannot come soon enough. And while medical professionals may be more sophisticated than they were years ago, many doctors still have no conception of the intensity of pain experienced by migraine sufferers.
    CHRIS STERN
    Hoboken, N.J.

    No matter how interested or passionate you are about something, when you are dealing with a migraine, life must stop. But most of the world does not see this as a debilitating health condition. As you noted, many people treat headache sufferers "as if they were having it on purpose to avoid work." It took me years to feel comfortable telling my husband I had a migraine. Now he knows it is no joking matter. Thank you for giving those who have migraines a voice. We often suffer in silence, unnoticed, in a dark room with our eyes closed.
    DANIELE BIENVENUE
    Granby, Que.

    I've had migraines for 19 years. for 17 of those years I suffered needlessly because I had always thought that a true migraine included auras [visions of jagged lines and bright lights shortly before the pain sets in]. I'm glad you set the record straight by noting that only about 20% of migraine sufferers experience auras. It is sad that misinformation and misunderstanding about headaches and their effects on everyday life are rampant. Your reporting will no doubt help bring about a better understanding.
    LEAH ZUEGER
    St. Paul, Minn.

    Drugs may offer a temporary solution to migraines, but we need long-term results. Professionals who may help with headaches are chiropractors, dentists and ophthalmologists, to name a few. Let's find the cause, not a method to mask the problem.
    JEREMY E. BANKOS, D.C.
    Hawthorne, N.J.

    Native Son Gone Astray

    No one kidnapped american John Walker Lindh and forced him to join the Taliban [NATION, Oct. 7]. He alone made that choice. His parents allowed him to explore his spirituality half a world away, in a region not known for its liking of America. Lindh was just a teenager, and his parents thought he could handle the experience. But he became a fanatic. Of all the Islamic groups he could have chosen to align himself with, Lindh joined the Taliban, and he probably trained at an al-Qaeda camp. I sympathize with U.S. soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, as well as with people in other countries who have been victimized by the Taliban regime and al-Qaeda. I have no sympathy for John Walker Lindh.
    HILLARY FLEMING
    White Plains, N.Y.

    So one can't blame Lindh's mother and father for being the America haters that some of us suspected they were. But someone must have fostered the uncertainty in this young man that led him to fall in love with a religious group that is intent on ending Western civilization. And somewhere along the line, Lindh's Taliban buddies must have let on that killing Americans was the point of the rigorous training he received in Afghanistan. Maybe we should go back to telling our children that the U.S. is the greatest nation on earth and that our culture is superior to all others. That way there won't be any confusion when it comes time to defend it.
    MICHAEL O'BRIEN
    Hoffman Estates, Ill.

    "The making of John Walker Lindh" was an excellent story about a confused young man who did not have the parental guidance necessary to help him grow up. As someone born during the Great Depression, I never had the luxury of trying to "find myself." I knew exactly where I was — in deep trouble, and I had to dig my way out. I guess I had a better start than Lindh did.
    GEORGE GLAWE
    Medina, Ohio

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