July 21, 2011--Michelle's Migraines
Now that she is the Republican presidential front runner, Michele Bachmann and her family are coming under closer scrutiny. Her husband Marcus, for example, has been shown to believe that gayness is a lifestyle choice and not a inborn condition and thus at his Christian counseling businesses homosexual clients, among other things, are led to pray away their gayness.
And just yesterday it was reported in the New York Times and elsewhere that the candidate suffers from migraine headaches of such severity that she at times needs treatment in emergency rooms. She claims that though she does get intense migraines they would not interfere with her serving as president and commander in chief.
Of course if she were to become president, at all times she would have her own personal physician right there in the White House as well as on Air Force One. But access to treatment is not the point--rather the question remains would she be able to serve effectively as president 24/7, 365 days a year.
This is because not all migraines are the same. Some are fairly mild, consisting mainly of one-side-of-the-head headaches while others are totally disabling. The fact that she has had to have treatment in ERs suggests that her version may in fact be more of the incapacitating kind.
Unfortunately I know a great deal about these. I have suffered with disabling migraines all my life.
In my case the first symptom of the onset of an attack is blurred peripheral vision. It progresses quickly so that in about half an hour my vision is so blurred and disorienting that I can barely see, I certainly can't read, and because the resulting dizziness is so severe I need to lie down.
Next, numbness in the fingers of my right hand begins to manifest itself. Over and hour or so that numbness works its way up my arm , shoulder, and then reaches my face. It halts when half my face is totally numb and without feeling. My tongue is affected and so I am unable to speak. The effects of this can last a number of hours. Then, again beginning with my fingers it begins to retreat. During this time, my disorientation is such that my thinking is affected.
Nausea, vomiting, and a massive left-side headache are next. This too can last for two or three hours at which time I need to take to bed and fortunately always seem to manage to fall asleep. The sleep is very deep, can last for many hours, and it is very difficult to be roused. When I do awake, the headache has substantially passed but for up to another day there is a lingering residue of pain. I can function at that time but with difficulty.
At times in my life I have been afflicted by migraines at least once a week. Others, sadly, get them more frequently. Happily, there are now medications that at times are able to limit some of the symptoms, but not always. Again, it depends on the nature of each individual's vulnerability.
Bachmann and her spokespeople, including her son who is a physician, say that she is not disabled by her migraines. But one of her advisers, who did not want to be identified, says that she "carries all sorts of pills" for her migraines and at times is "incapacitated." Bachmann's campaign denies this.
Her doctor son says, "She is probably not going to run a mile, but in terms of being able to engage, she can comprehend and assess information--without a doubt."
If she gets closer to the Republican nomination, we will have to know a lot more about this because if she has migraines in any way similar to mine, I for one would not want her handling those 3:00 AM phone calls because one verified cause for the onset of a migraine is severe stress. And we know about stress and the presidency.
According to the Times (article linked below) Bachmann has "blamed the headaches on uncomfortable high-heeled shoes." Her son says that she wears them all the time but doesn't get migraines all the time.
Before voting for him we probably should have known about John Kennedy's Addison's Disease and the side effects of the meds he took every day to treat it. We probably should have known about the extent of Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's Disease before voting to reelect him. Hopefully Michele Bachmann's migraines are relatively infrequent and mild. Maybe all she has to do is wear flats. But knowing more about her condition is a fair concern.
And just yesterday it was reported in the New York Times and elsewhere that the candidate suffers from migraine headaches of such severity that she at times needs treatment in emergency rooms. She claims that though she does get intense migraines they would not interfere with her serving as president and commander in chief.
Of course if she were to become president, at all times she would have her own personal physician right there in the White House as well as on Air Force One. But access to treatment is not the point--rather the question remains would she be able to serve effectively as president 24/7, 365 days a year.
This is because not all migraines are the same. Some are fairly mild, consisting mainly of one-side-of-the-head headaches while others are totally disabling. The fact that she has had to have treatment in ERs suggests that her version may in fact be more of the incapacitating kind.
Unfortunately I know a great deal about these. I have suffered with disabling migraines all my life.
In my case the first symptom of the onset of an attack is blurred peripheral vision. It progresses quickly so that in about half an hour my vision is so blurred and disorienting that I can barely see, I certainly can't read, and because the resulting dizziness is so severe I need to lie down.
Next, numbness in the fingers of my right hand begins to manifest itself. Over and hour or so that numbness works its way up my arm , shoulder, and then reaches my face. It halts when half my face is totally numb and without feeling. My tongue is affected and so I am unable to speak. The effects of this can last a number of hours. Then, again beginning with my fingers it begins to retreat. During this time, my disorientation is such that my thinking is affected.
Nausea, vomiting, and a massive left-side headache are next. This too can last for two or three hours at which time I need to take to bed and fortunately always seem to manage to fall asleep. The sleep is very deep, can last for many hours, and it is very difficult to be roused. When I do awake, the headache has substantially passed but for up to another day there is a lingering residue of pain. I can function at that time but with difficulty.
At times in my life I have been afflicted by migraines at least once a week. Others, sadly, get them more frequently. Happily, there are now medications that at times are able to limit some of the symptoms, but not always. Again, it depends on the nature of each individual's vulnerability.
Bachmann and her spokespeople, including her son who is a physician, say that she is not disabled by her migraines. But one of her advisers, who did not want to be identified, says that she "carries all sorts of pills" for her migraines and at times is "incapacitated." Bachmann's campaign denies this.
Her doctor son says, "She is probably not going to run a mile, but in terms of being able to engage, she can comprehend and assess information--without a doubt."
If she gets closer to the Republican nomination, we will have to know a lot more about this because if she has migraines in any way similar to mine, I for one would not want her handling those 3:00 AM phone calls because one verified cause for the onset of a migraine is severe stress. And we know about stress and the presidency.
According to the Times (article linked below) Bachmann has "blamed the headaches on uncomfortable high-heeled shoes." Her son says that she wears them all the time but doesn't get migraines all the time.
Before voting for him we probably should have known about John Kennedy's Addison's Disease and the side effects of the meds he took every day to treat it. We probably should have known about the extent of Ronald Reagan's Alzheimer's Disease before voting to reelect him. Hopefully Michele Bachmann's migraines are relatively infrequent and mild. Maybe all she has to do is wear flats. But knowing more about her condition is a fair concern.
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:15 AM
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