Congressional physician declares Bachmann ‘in good general health’

Michele Bachmann did not answer questions Wednesday about whether she would release her medical records, but her campaign circulated a letter from the attending physician of the U.S. Congress stating that her migraine headaches were infrequent and could be controlled with “commonly used therapies.”

The Minnesota congresswoman, who announced her bid for the presidency last month in her childhood hometown of Waterloo, has faced increasing scrutiny as she has surged to the top of the polls in the early caucus state of Iowa and some national polls.

This week after the Daily Caller published a story asserting that Bachmann suffers from severe migraines that have required hospitalization in some instances, the congresswoman said in a statement that the headaches “are easily controlled with medication” and that her “ability to function effectively has never been impeded by migraines.”

Late Wednesday, Bachmann’s campaign released a letter from Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician to Congress, stating that Bachmann had a “well-established diagnosis of migraine headaches with aura.” The letter said evaluations by Monahan’s office, as well as a board certified consulting neurologist, included brain scans and detailed lab work, which were normal.

“Your migraines occur infrequently and have known trigger factors of which you are aware and know how to avoid,” Monahan wrote in the letter to Bachmann. “When you do have a migraine, you are able to control it well with as-needed sumatriptan and odansetron,” he said.

The physician added that the Congresswoman is “overall in good general health” and has not needed daily medications to manage the condition or medical attention from his office. When asked what the “trigger factors” are for the headaches, Bachmann’s spokeswoman said in an email that “the letter speaks for itself.”

Bachmann’s strategy for dealing with press inquiries about her health varied during her campaign events Wednesday. After a “backyard chat” with voters in Norwalk Wednesday morning, Bachmann’s aides circled her as she greeted voters, as if to form a protective barrier between Bachmann and reporters who approached to ask questions.

But Bachmann brushed off her spokeswoman, who had planted herself in front of reporters and insisted that the candidate was only speaking to voters at that time, and said she would address a migraine question.

“We were voting last night in Washington DC; we got here at about one o’clock in the morning ? I keep a very rigorous schedule,” she replied. “I feel great. So we’ve answered that. What I’m here to talk about is the debt ceiling and I think it’s been very clear that people in Iowa do not want us to continue government spending and increase the debt ceiling. Everywhere I go this is what people are talking about.”