Lindsay Weitzel, PhD
Building Rock Walls Against Migraine
HeadWise Podcast & Videocast
Lindsay has been the host of HeadWise, the Podcast and Videocast of the National Headache Foundation since its inception in February of 2019.
Explore all facets of migraine and other headache diagnoses with leading experts in the field from across the country.
Lindsay’s Philosophy
If you experience chronic migraine your illness is invisible.
If your migraine is resistant to multiple treatments or if you have other co-occurring illnesses (comorbidities) then your situation is complex and likely difficult to treat. It can take a considerable amount of time, energy, and expertise to get you to a healthy place.
You have to become your own expert about how and why migraine, and likely its associated comorbidities, are manifesting in your own body in order to find your best route to wellness.
I believe that every person must
BUILD THEIR OWN PERSONALIZED ROCK WALL AGAINST MIGRAINE
No two walls look exactly alike because no two people experience migraine in exactly the same way.
In this framework:
Half of your rocks are medical strategies: medications, procedures, and evidence-based medical treatments
Half of your rocks are lifestyle strategies: nutrition, sleep, exercise, stress management, and other daily habits that support overall health.
The MORTAR that holds everything together is your mentality: the mindset, resilience, and perspective that help you navigate the challenges of living with a chronic condition.
It is overwhelming when you feel like you are having to take care of yourself within a healthcare system that does not quite seem to understand what you are experiencing and never seems to have a way to fully help you.
My goal is to help people better help themselves through evidence-based education driven by how the illness actually feels to you.
About Lindsay
I don’t just work in the migraine and pain field, it has affected my life since my earliest memory.
I’ve experienced chronic, daily migraine and other atypical facial pain since I was four years old. Migraine (chronic and early-onset) has affected three generations of my family, shaping not only my personal life but also my professional mission: helping people better understand migraine and chronic head and facial pain through evidence-based education.
I earned my PhD in Analytical Health Sciences from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Medical Center and a Master’s degree in Nutrition from Penn State University. Most of my early research work was in the cancer field where it became apparent to me that it was how visible (and measurable) an illness is that determines how much research and attention it receives.
…YET not everything that causes serious suffering is visible or has a marker we can measure it by.
Despite its invisibility and the lack of respect it may receive from some, migraine is the leading cause of disability in women under the age of 50 and the second leading cause of overall disability globally.
Throughout my career, I have been passionate about the gap in understanding that exists between patients and caregivers - particularly in migraine, pain, and invisible illness. Much of my work is devoted to bridging this gap through research, education, advocacy, and elevating patient conversations.
I believe that if your illness is both invisible and complex you often have to BECOME YOUR OWN EXPERT in order to get better.
Public Speaking
Lindsay speaks to patient groups, advocacy groups, and to groups of physicians and other healthcare providers. She combines her personal brand of humor, clinical science education, and lifelong experience with migraine and chronic pain in a way that holds the attention of a broad range of audience members.
She makes sure everyone leaves having learned something new. Some of her speaking titles include:
Building Your Personalized Rock Wall Against Migraine
Bridging the Gaps (Evidence…Provider…Patient…Insurance)
Becoming a Migraine Superhero
Raising Kids with Migraine
To invite Lindsay to speak at your event:
Resume and/or full academic CV available upon request
Super Zoe the Migraine Hero
For kids and adventurous adults!
Zoe is a spunky, awesome kid who happens to have migraine.
When Zoe gets a migraine, she doesn’t know if it will be a SO-SO day or a BUMMER day. When a BUMMER day happens, she has learned that if she does at least one thing that will put her in a better place tomorrow than she is today, it will turn into a SUPER day… a day that she knows she can create.
“My daughter loves this book! She talks about Zoe and even does yoga and meditation with me now! Her mindset on migraine is miles better thanks to Super Zoe the Migraine Hero.” Ashley Hattle, Mother of pediatric migraine patient
Already a Super Zoe fan?
Download these free coloring pages for a fun and empowering distraction tool to use during your next migraine.
Good for every age and every migraine stage.
There is even a page of Super Zoe is battling the INFLAMMO-VILLAINS that lead to her migraine symptoms!
Freelance Work
On-Camera & Commercial Work
Lindsay hosts, narrates, and appears in video content for pharma, healthcare brands, and medical education projects that she believes are important for the migraine community.
As someone who has lived with chronic migraine and built a career in clinical science, she brings instant credibility to any project focused on migraine, headache, or chronic pain — audiences trust her because she's lived it and she can speak to it accurately.
She's comfortable carrying long-form interview formats, hosting panel-style conversations with physicians, and delivering scripted or unscripted content for both patient-facing and practitioner-facing audiences.
Recent work: Lindsay hosted The Brek Room, a video series featuring in-depth conversations with headache specialists including Dr. Tepper and Dr. Diamond on migraine and cluster headache treatment.
Research Work and Data Consulting
Lindsay also works behind the scenes, helping pharma and healthcare teams take their existing data, decks, and materials and shape them into something that actually lands with migraine and chronic pain audiences — both patients and physicians.
She reviews your slides, data visualizations, and patient- or provider-facing materials and tells you, plainly, what will resonate and what will get lost. Her feedback comes from a unique vantage point: she has sat in both seats. She has been the migraine patient trying to make sense of a confusing chart, and she has been the clinical scientist building the chart.
This work typically includes:
Reviewing slide decks, brochures, or patient education materials
Advising on how clinical data should be framed for patient audiences
Advising on how patient-experience content should be framed for physician audiences
Identifying language, tone, or visuals that may miss the mark with either group
Personal Consulting
Individuals suffering from chronic migraine have goals and desires like everyone else, yet even the simplest accomplishment can seem like the loneliest and most frustrating uphill battle.
Lindsay draws from her life-long history of daily migraine with atypical facial pain, and her background as a clinical scientist, to help people with chronic, debilitating migraine overcome their pain and frustration to lead happy, fulfilling lives.
If you feel you are not getting the answers or the relief you need and you still need some guidance you can schedule a call with Lindsay.
Featured Migraine Articles by Lindsay
Lindsay's online headache articles written for people with migraine and chronic head pain.
Support Group
MigraineNation
Lindsay is the founder of MigraineNation, a Migraine Support and Education Group on FaceBook
