Living with Migraines

There are headaches, and then there are migraines — gut-wrenching, brain-throbbing assaults to the head. They're hard for most people to imagine, but for 30 million Americans, they're a fact of life.

Once dismissed as psychosomatic, 'in your head' disorders, migraines are now gaining top billing as a disease and a public health issue. And if there's no cure in sight, at least there are better ways to cope.

This hour, On Point: Living with migraines, and managing the pain.Guests:

Dr. Elizabeth Loder, chief of the Division of Headache and Pain at Brigham and Women's/Faulkner Hospitals in Boston.

Martha Gaie, migraineur since 1984.

Paula Kamen, writer for The New York Times blog "Migraine: Perspectives on a Headache," has had a chronic daily headache for 17 years.