United States

VeDA supports and empowers vestibular patients on their journey back to balance. We do this through education, advocacy, and by connecting them with vestibular healthcare specialists. Many of the patients we support suffer from vestibular migraine.

“VeDA supports vestibular migraine patients in their journey toward recovery. We believe that by connecting with others we can learn coping strategies and a collective sense of empowerment.”

The U.S. Pain Foundation is the leading advocacy organization for people with pain. Our mission is to empower, educate, connect, and advocate for individuals living with chronic illness that causes pain, as well as their caregivers and clinicians.Through our multiple programs and services, we work to enhance the quality of life for people with pain, improve patient outcomes, address access and affordability issues, and increase public awareness and empathy for the issue of pain. The U.S. Pain Foundation is an independent nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

“U.S. Pain takes part in Shades for Migraine to raise migraine awareness as well as offer support to the millions of individuals living with headache and migraine diseases. The campaign is an opportunity to start a conversation that hopefully breaks down barriers to treatment options, societal stigma, and access to care. U.S. Pain proudly joins the SFM efforts to recognize those living with migraine and create further awareness, understanding and support for the community.”

The Migraine Warrior Blog and its companion Facebook page were created by Patient Advocate Michelle Tracy after being diagnosed with chronic migraine disease at age 19. While trying to find meaning in her pain, Michelle realized that her thoughts and experiences had the potential to help others even as she lay in a dark room, unable to lift her head. Her mission to empathize, educate, and empower the millions of people living with migraine disease has led her to partner with many organizations in the migraine community and to both write and speak about her life as an advocate and migraine warrior, often with a focus on mental health and stigma.

“Migraine is often thought of as an isolating, “invisible” illness which contributes to the stigma surrounding the disease. When people living with migraine disease are able to outwardly acknowledge it with visible cues like sunglasses, it makes the disease itself more visible, raises awareness, and creates connections with other migraine warriors and the people that love and care for them. One of The Migraine Warrior’s core beliefs is that Caring is Curing and the Shades for Migraine campaign is an excellent example of how creating connections will lead to better treatments and, ultimately, a cure.”

Jaime Sanders is a blogger and patient advocate who lives in Virginia with her husband and three children. She has had a life-long journey with migraine disease and lived most of her adult life with depression. From a toddler with abdominal migraine to a wife and mother with chronic migraine, Jaime has learned to turn her pain into empowerment over the past 37 years. Through her advocacy work and blog, Jaime’s mission is to make a very invisible disease visible to the rest of the world and validate the real pain of millions. She works with several non-profit organizations in a collaborative effort to educate, empower and uplift migraine patients and their caregivers. As the Migraine Patient Advocate Coordinator for Global Healthy Living Foundation, Jaime’s role is to help recruit migraine patients into the advocacy role to change legislature and insurance policies to improve their access to care on the state level. Creating migraine and mental health specific content is one of her passions as it helps to keep her connected to those communities while also offering support, compassion and validation for illnesses that are highly stigmatized and misunderstood.

The Migraine Chronicles is where author, editor, and Migraine.com writer Sarah Hackley gets candid about life with intractable chronic migraine. From parenting and relationships to individual responses to new medications and unusual treatments, Sarah takes a frank look at it all. Regular round-ups of other great sites and bloggers included!

Established in memory of our daughter and sister, Danielle, our mission is to raise awareness and provide support and access to treatment for those living with migraine disease, especially young adults and children. On June 21, we are proud to join the Shades for Migraine Coalition at our “Shine Her Light” celebration in Salt Lake City.

The Daily Migraine website is the online home of people with chronic migraine. It is a source of help, hope, and humor derived from the experiences of Lisa Jacobson. It provides a community forum and a huge library of educational and informational resources. We can ultimately use our strength and size to attract worldwide attention, advocate for research, and execute initiatives to help chronic migraineurs get their lives back. Our ultimate vision is a world without chronic migraine.

The Counterfactual Brain is a blog about Beth, a 30-something with a PhD and chronic migraine living in Vermont with her cat named Sophie. She used to be a 30-something living in Boston with a blossoming career in education program evaluation. Then chronic migraine hit. The name “Counterfactual Brain” borrows a concept from research. Beth is constantly wishing she had a clone, one who would experience migraine triggers for her while she didn’t so they could compare the outcomes. Understanding triggers now that her migraine is chronic is a recurring theme in her blog posts, along with other trials, tribulations, and tips on life with chronic migraine. Her hope is to make chronic migraine less scary for others going through the same experience.

“I take part in Shades for Migraine because any activity that I can do to bring attention how migraine disease differs from an everyday headache, how debilitating migraine can be, and how disproportionately underfunded it is, is worth my time and effort. This is a fun and easy way to engage our friends, family, and even pets in the cause, and make everyone a migraine advocate.”

Dr. Alison Alford and her team take care of all aspects of pediatric headache care in an outpatient setting. We also offer acute care for prolonged headaches. In 2016, Dr. Alison Alford opened up her own outpatient clinic because she and her staff are dedicated to assisting those living with headaches and post-concussive symptoms increase their quality of life. Dr. Alford and her staff provide evidence-based treatments and are well versed with cutting edge treatment options. We really take pride in taking our time with each patient and bringing the relationship back between doctor, practitioner, patient, and family members.

“We take part in the Shades for Migraine Solidarity Day because we believe that it is important to advocate for our patients and all those who suffer from migraines and headaches. We also believe that it is part of our mission and duty not only as a doctor but as an organization to raise awareness about the debilitating effects of migraines and how migraines impact individuals’ daily living tasks. We are hoping that by raising awareness this will lead to more funding for research and better treatment options. Dr. Alford also provides concussion care and advocates for increased concussion awareness with a special interest in post-concussive headaches.”

Patient Advocate Foundation (PAF) is the leading direct patient services organization with a mission to eliminate obstacles for patients trying to access quality healthcare. PAF case managers serve as active liaisons between the patient and their insurer, employer and/or creditors to resolve insurance, job retention or debt crisis matters as they relate to their diagnosis of a chronic, life-threatening and debilitating illness. Services are provided free of charge to patients, their caregivers and provider team.

Patient Advocate Foundation has launched the Migraine CareLine — a dedicated phone number that provides one-on-one case management assistance for those with migraine who need help appealing insurance denials, assisting with the Social Security or employer disability process, connecting to financial resources and much more. All services are provided at no charge. 1-866-688-3625 or https://migraine.pafcareline.org/