title: Self-help group and medication overuse headache: preliminary data.
abstract: The objective of the study is to investigate the benefits of joining a self-help group for patients with medication overuse headache (MOH). A self-help group is a voluntary gathering of a small number of persons who share a common problem. Little is known about support groups for people with chronic non-malignant pain such as MOH. Eight patients with refractory MOH attended a self-help group twice a month. During the meetings, patients were asked to focus on their headache experiences. Our data showed an increase in resourcefulness in coping with pain and a reduction in cephalalgiophobia. All patients reported general benefits in sharing their headache-related problems. No differences were found for headache frequency or analgesic overuse. To our knowledge, this is the first report on a self-help group for patients with MOH. Joining a self-help group can help patients develop positive attitudes to managing pain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Bologna, via Ugo Foscolo 7, 40123 Bologna, Italy. elisa.sancisi@unibo.it
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sancisi
authors.forename: Marialuisa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rausa
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zanigni
authors.forename: Sabina
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cevoli
authors.forename: Andrea Norcini
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Pala
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nicodemo
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: Pasquale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Montagna
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cortelli
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pierangeli
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D051271:Headache Disorders, Secondary / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome