Bachmann's doctor's says she's in "good general health"
Michele Bachmann's presidential campaign continues to push back against recent suggestions that she experiences chronic, incapacitating migraines, releasing a doctor's letter on Wednesday affirming that the congresswoman's migraines occur "infrequently" and that she is "overall in good general health."
"You have a well-established diagnosis of migraine headaches with aura for which you have had an extensive evaluation by both my office and by a board certified consulting neurologist," wrote Dr. Brian Monahan, attending physician of the United States Congress, in his letter.
"Your migraines occur infrequently and have known trigger factors of which you are aware and know how to avoid," he continued. "You are overall in good general health."
Bachmann, one of the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, was stung by a potentially-damaging story in the conservative Daily Caller website Tuesday suggesting she gets stress-induced migraine headachesthat can incapacitate her for days at a time.
Bachmann acknowledged later that day that she gets migraine headaches but said they are "easily controlled by medication" and would not affect her "ability to serve as Commander in Chief."
In his letter, which came after GOP strategist Karl Rove said Bachmann needed to "get her doctors out there quickly to provide medical records" to clarify how her migraines affect her, Monahan suggests the congresswoman's migraines are manageable with medication.
"When you have a migraine, you are able to control it well with as-needed sumatriptan and odansetran," he wrote.
Sumatriptan is taken either by tablet, injection or inhalant and is designed to alleviate migraine symptoms. Odansetron is an anti-nausea drug.
Tim Pawlenty on Wednesday seemed to suggest that Bachmann's migraines might render her unfit for office.
"All of the candidates I think are going to have to be able to demonstrate they can do all of the job all of the time," he told reporters, according to Politico, adding that "there's no real time off in that job."
Monahan's letter did not address claims that his patient had been hospitalized at least three times in 2010 because of the migraines.
CBS News political correspondent Jan Crawford contributed to this report.
