Serena Pushes Headache Relief
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — With a new book out and a reality TV series in the works, Serena Williams embarked Monday on her latest project: raising awareness about menstrual migraines. It’s a malady rarely discussed in sports, and Williams was reluctant at first to talk about the headaches that have been a recurring pain for her over the past five years.
"I don’t want Venus Williams or Lindsay Davenport saying, `Oh boy, she has a headache. I’m going to take her out today,’" Serena said.
But Williams changed her mind and agreed to endorse the migraine medicine she has been taking for six months. The deal provides more fodder for detractors who say she should concentrate on tennis, but she insists there’s room in her life for acting, writing, fashion design, hawking headache pills – and winning Grand Slam titles, too.
Is she on a mission to prove the critics wrong?
"I’m on a mission for building my brand," she said with a laugh, "and helping others."
The Serena brand includes a new advice book for preteens she wrote with sister Venus. Shooting began last week for a reality show starring the sisters that will air on ABC Family in July.
And now the most dominating, intimidating player in women’s tennis is pushing headache relief. Seated poolside Monday on a hotel roof 22 stories above South Beach, Williams said she wanted to spread the word that while menstrual migraines can be debilitating, they also can be treated.
For Williams, they start with a dull ache that build to a throb. The back of her eyes hurt and her ears ring. Sometimes she becomes dizzy and nauseated.
"You want to just crawl under your bed and stay there," she said.
Tennis compounded the symptoms.
"I know it doesn’t look like it affected my tennis," said Williams, winner of seven Grand Slam titles. "But especially in the sun, playing with a migraine makes it worse. In Australia it’s not that easy. I remember playing Martina Hingis in Sydney, and I was just out of it."
Williams has been hampered throughout her career by injuries and illness. Knee surgery in August 2003 contributed to an 18-month drought without a major title, and she retired from a match last week at Amelia Island because of a sprained ankle that could prevent her from playing for the U.S. Fed Cup team against Belgium on April 23-24.
But until now, she never spoke of menstrual migraines.
"With people who have to perform at a high level, a lot of times they don’t want others to know they have migraine," said Dr. Jan Lewis Brandes, a neurologist Williams joined in the campaign to raise awareness about the ailment. "We’ve had difficulty in the past getting national celebrity spokespersons."
Williams said she tried various medications that failed to help and was even unsure about the diagnosis.
"Some doctors tell you it’s mental," she said. "One of my doctors actually told me that – `You have to get over it. There’s nothing really wrong with you. You just think it is when it gets to be that time of the month.’ I was thinking, `I’ve got to be more mentally tough.’"
Migraines weren’t the reason Williams went without a major title last year. But she did blame the ailment for at least one defeat: against qualifier Alina Jidkova at Linz, Austria, in October.
"It was the last straw," she said. "I lost to this girl I would never lose to because I had such an incredible headache."
A doctor then recommended she try the medication Frova. Williams said she hasn’t had a migraine since.
"I want to tell women my story," she said, "to let them know there is hope and they should seek help."
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