Anything but pain: New survey sheds light on lengths migraine sufferers would go to make the pain go away
- Actress Jennie Garth teams up with Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. and the National Headache Foundation to raise migraine awareness
- Excedrin® Migraine to host live Facebook chat with Jennie Garth and Dr. Keri Peterson to share thoughts on how to manage migraine pain, October 27th
Parsippany, NJ, October 17, 2011 – How intense is migraine pain? It is so severe that 87% of surveyed migraine sufferers said they would be willing to give up something they value for an entire year in exchange for never having to suffer another migraine. This finding is part of a new survey of migraine sufferers conducted by Novartis Consumer Health, Inc., maker of Excedrin® Migraine, and the National Headache Foundation (NHF).1
The survey also found that migraines often trigger a “domino effect” for the sufferer, with more than eight in 10 (83%) confessing that when they have a migraine their family suffers as much as they do because of the impact it has on their ability to go about a regular routine.
Relief from migraine pain is a priority for migraine sufferers – the survey indicates that the average migraine lasts for 12 hours for those who don’t take any medication. That is why Excedrin® Migraine has teamed up with actress and former Dancing with the Stars contestant Jennie Garth, and well-known Mt. Sinai Medical Center internist Keri Peterson, MD – both migraine sufferers – to help Americans better understand migraines, and to share their tips and stories on how they ease the pain to get on with their lives.
"I have suffered from migraines for years and have been challenged to find ways to relieve my pain," says Garth. "As a busy mom, my priority is to get fast relief from the migraine pain so I can get back to my family and doing the things I love. I’m excited to partner with the makers of Excedrin® Migraine to talk with others about this condition and share helpful tips and ways that I get through the migraine pain."
According to Dr. Peterson, many of her patients who suffer from migraines often complain that their family, friends and co-workers don’t understand just how much pain migraines cause. "When you’re in the midst of a migraine, you just want to make the pain go away,” she says. "That is why in addition to staying hydrated and finding ways to relieve stress, I often recommend an effective over-the-counter medication like Excedrin® Migraine to help provide fast relief so my patients can get on with their day."
Jennie Garth and Dr. Peterson will be hosting a live chat on www.facebook.com/excedrin on Thursday, October 27 at 8 p.m. ET to offer tips and advice on how to cope with migraine pain. The pair will also ask people across the country to share their stories. Visit the Excedrin Migraine Facebook page to participate in the chat.
Excedrin® Migraine is also conducting the "No Time for Migraine Pain" Sweepstakes, which offers migraine sufferers a chance to win weekly prizes, and a grand prize of a three-day/two-night vacation for two at a luxurious hotel and spa to help de-stress, a leading cause of migraines.
Sweepstakes specifics, including rules on how to enter, can be found at The Excedrin Migraine Facebook page.
About Excedrin Migraine
The first non-prescription medicine approved by the FDA to treat all the symptoms of a migraine, Excedrin® Migraine starts to provide patients with migraine pain relief in just 30 minutes. Excedrin® Migraine is the #1 Neurologist recommended over-the-counter pain reliever for migraine pain relief.
For more tips on managing migraines visit www.excedrin.com/migraine or find us on www.facebook.com/excedrin or follow Excedrin on Twitter @excedrin. Always use as directed.
About the Survey
The joint Novartis/NHF survey is an online survey of 1,009 Americans ages 18+ who suffer from at least three migraines per year and take some type of medication to treat the migraines. It offers significant detail on just how much people with migraines suffer – and how eager they are to lessen the pain.
Perhaps this is why a large majority (87% of surveyed migraine sufferers) would be willing to give up something they value for an entire year in exchange for never having to suffer another migraine – some would forgo small luxuries such as video games (59%) or eating dessert (49%) while others would stop dating (41%), using their cell phones (33%) or watching television (29%).
The survey was conducted by Kelton Research. Kelton Research is a market research and strategy consultancy that works with some of the world’s largest and most recognizable brands to help them better understand and connect with consumers. Kelton provides highly customized qualitative and quantitative research for a wide variety of companies across multiple sectors including many in the Fortune 500.
About the National Headache Foundation
The NHF is a nonprofit organization that has pioneered the way headaches have been diagnosed and treated over the last 40 years. No other organization provides such comprehensive educational resources and tools to people with migraine and headache disorders, their families, physicians who treat these diseases, allied healthcare professionals and to the public. The leaders of the organization are world-renowned experts in the field who have pulled together many easy-to-use tools and resources to help people better understand headaches and options for headache care. This information is available on the NHF website at www.headaches.org or by calling 1-888-NHF-5552 (M-F, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT).
Disclaimer
The foregoing release contains forward-looking statements that can be identified by terminology such as "planned," "expected," "will," "potential," "can," "may," "would," "recommend," "expected," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new business opportunities. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such statements. There can be no guarantee that any such business opportunities will develop in the manner, scale or time frame anticipated. In particular, management's expectations could be affected by, among other things, unexpected regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally; unexpected clinical trial results, including unexpected new clinical data and unexpected additional analysis of existing clinical data; competition in general; government, industry and general public pricing pressures, and unexpected reimbursement decisions; the company's ability to obtain or maintain patent or other proprietary intellectual property protection; the impact that the foregoing factors could have on the values attributed to the Novartis Group's assets and liabilities as recorded in the Group's consolidated balance sheet, and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Novartis
Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. is a world leader in the research, development, production and marketing of self-medication products that do not require a prescription. NCH products are designed for the in-home treatment and prevention of medical conditions and ailments as well as the enhancement of overall health and well-being.
Located in Parsippany, New Jersey, Novartis Consumer Health, Inc. is an affiliate of Novartis AG, which provides healthcare solutions that address the evolving needs of patients and societies. Focused solely on healthcare, Novartis offers a diversified portfolio to best meet these needs: innovative medicines, eye care, cost-saving generic pharmaceuticals, consumer health products, preventive vaccines and diagnostic tools. Novartis is the only company with leading positions in these areas. In 2010, the Group’s continuing operations achieved net sales of USD 50.6 billion, while approximately USD 9.1 billion (USD 8.1 billion excluding impairment and amortization charges) was invested in R&D throughout the Group. Headquartered in Basel, Switzerland, Novartis Group companies employ approximately 121,000 full-time-equivalent associates and operate in more than 140 countries around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.novartis.com.
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References
1. An online survey of 1,009 Americans ages 18+ who suffer from at least three migraines per year and take some kind of medication to treat the migraines.
Novartis Media Relations
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Julie Masow |
Milicent Brooks |
e-mail: us.mediarelations@novartis.com |
