"Desperate Housewives" star Marcia Cross has long suffered from migraine headaches. Read her bio and learn how she was finally diagnosed and treated for migraines.

Marcia Cross's Migraine Advocacy:

Marcia Cross, a star on the hit television show "Desperate Housewives", is a migraine patient and public advocate for the cause. She is a paid endorser for GlaxoSmithKlein's migraine medication, Imitrex , and she speaks publicly about her journey with migraines.

Early Years:

Marcia Cross was born in 1962 in Marlborough, Massachusetts, and grew up with two sisters, Ellen and Susan. As a teenager she knew she wanted to act, and so she went on to graduate from Manhattan's famous Julliard School.

As a graduate of acting school, Marcia landed her first gigs on soap operas. She went on to land bigger roles in TV movies as well as high-profile night time dramas. One of her biggest roles came when she was cast as the character Kimberly Shaw, a doctor on "Melrose Place." This acting role brought her into the media spotlight and showed her ability to be dramatic yet cheeky.

Recent Years:

More recently Marcia has earned a Master's degree in psychology from Los Angeles' Antioch University. She has had guest roles in other television series, but landed her biggest role yet in 2004 as an uptight suburbanite in the hit series "Desperate Housewives." Marcia is married with infant twin daughters. She is known for her beautiful red hair and elegant red carpet attire.

Marcia's First Experiences with Migraines:

Marcia reports that she experienced her first migraine episode in high school. At the time, not much was known about this neurological illness, and so the school nurse wrote it off as a bad headache and sent her home.

Marcia didn't know for some time that her headaches were migraines. She continued to have them during college, and she had frightening auras beforehand. Symptoms such as visual disturbances, tingling hands, and memory gliches plagued her before the onset of the migraine pain.

Diagnosis and Pain Relief:

Marcia was correctly diagnosed some years later, and it was easy for the doctor to tell her headaches were migraines because of her aura experiences. It would still be some time before Marcia could get some pain relief, though. Several years later, a coworker and fellow actor introduced her to modern migraine medication.

Marcia's Migraine Tips:

Marcia states that she keeps her migraine medication with her at all times. Here are some other migraine tips she suggests to live more smoothly with this condition:

• get enough sleep
• lower your levels of daily stress
• don't skip eating/keep hunger levels down
• pinpoint and then avoid foods and drinks that trigger your migraines

*****For more information on headaches and migraines, read Headache Types and Causes, Migraine Overview, Migraines: Causes and Triggers, Migraine Signs and Symptoms, Migraine Diagnosis and Treatment, and Alternative Migraine Therapies.

******For related neurological information, check out the Neurological ARTICLE INDEX and Blog.

********************************************************************************************************

References:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0189220/bio

http://www.helpforheadaches.com/articles/MarciaCrossInterview.htm