You take out your Exedrin, Tylenol or whatever for migraines and pour yourself a glass of wine. Wrong move! First of all, researchers have determined that too many over the counter migraine pills or other pain pills can actually make migraines worse. As for the wine, it’s not necessarily a good or safe combination with the medication. In addition, if you look at a list of some of the top things that are migraine triggers, you will find that wine, chocolate and nuts are at the top of the list. If you ever find that you get a migraine after you have one of those substances (or other things particular to you that bring on a migraine), think very carefully about whether or not you should continue eating or drinking any of these items. They are most likely migraine triggers.

I am a migraine sufferer who is also a chocoholic. Thank goodness that chocolate is not a trigger for me. It would certainly be an extremely difficult choice! However, wine – especially red wine – is a major trigger. I am not mch of a drinker but I have a glass of wine on special occasions from time to time. We are talking every few months – one glass. For years I didn’t now what was wrong. I would get home from an awards dinner or a gala of some sort and I would end up with headaches that I cannot explain in words. The pain was so bad at times, I had to be taken to the emergency room where they put me on an I V or gave me a strong shot for pain, for nausea and for sleep. When I woke up 10 to 12 hours later, the headache was usually gone, but I was groggy and felt totally drugged.

After this happened a few times, my doctor and I worked backwards and connected the dots to figure out what was triggering these headaches. We finally nailed it down to one or two things, the number one suspect being the wine. I ate all the other foods without a problem. The only problems that occurred were horrible headaches after a glass of wine. I would get stress headaches and other headaches. At the time, the only real migraine medicine was Imitrix. The doctor made sure I had an ongoing prescription and that I carried them with me in my purse and kept some at home. By stopping drinking any wine, most of the terrible headaches – the worst ones – stopped. If I did get a migraine and took the Imitrix before the symptoms got too bad, the migraine never fully developed.

I rarely get migraines any more. I keep my doctor advised as to what is happening and I have a check up every 3 to 6 months. Migraines are critical to discuss with and deal with your doctor. Many people don’t know that migraines can lead to stroke, aneurysm, eye disorders and more.

Don’t write them off. Find the cause. Work with your doctor. Find the triggers. Find the right medicine – there are many more medications available for migraines than there used to be. Work with your doctor to determine a treatment plan with you including which medication works best for you. Your story – and your migraines – could end happily like mine.

I am a migraine sufferer and have been for years. Some weeks they are not too bad. Others, I have them most days or nights. If I get one during the day, I lie down in a darkened room, take some medication and hope I fall asleep so that when I wake up, usually the mgraine is over, or at least a lot better. That’s a wonderful feeling. The only problem is that once I have taken medication and sleep – especially deeply – during the day, I find myself sitting up in the middle of the night waiting to get tired.

The doctors have given me sleeping pills in the event that this happens, however, when taking a sleeping pill, it is hard to get up in the morning to do what I have to do. That starts a different cycle. Sometimes it creates another migraine, but usually it leaves me extremely tired and needing to sleep more.

When the situation happens backwards and the migraine happens at night, it doesn’t seem so bad. Trust me, it isn’t fun, but when you take the migraine medication and lie down in a dark room and the medication works, usually – at least if the medicine works – I am able to wake up in the morning usually feeling better. Sometimes I take a sleeping pill at the same time since the migraine pill (which is not meant to be a tranquilizer or sleeping pill), and that way I am able to sleep and wake up feeling better – ready to do what I have to do for the day.

Researchers have discovered that because of all the troubles the world is going through these days, especially because of the incredible financial issues that are affecting everyone, migraines are on the rise. People who never or rarely got migraines before are getting them a lot more these days simply due to stress, which then leads to lack of sleep. Working on both and trying to focus on the positive – no matter how small – will help keep the number and intensity of migraines down and your sleep more regular and peaceful.

A stroke is not a sign of old age. My grandmother proved that. Anyone can have one, no matter your age — and, a new study says this is especially true if you suffer from migraines. Those who suffer from what’s called “migraine with aura” have double the risk of stroke or heart attacks. The headache’s preceded by slurred speech, forgetfulness, feeling hot or cold — and then aura. Out of 175 people, nearly one third of those with migraines had signs of blood vessel damage — which can lead to a stroke.

Beth Leslie had gotten occasional migraines for years. She thought of them as a painful imposition, nothing more. Then, one day two years ago, her world tipped sideways. “Everything was spinning. I just kept my eyes closed, because whenever I’d open them I’d get dizzy,” says Leslie, a 24-year-old veterinary technician who lives in Bowling Green, Ohio. “It really freaked me out.”

She went to the hospital, where a doctor told her she’d probably come down with some sort of virus. After two days, Leslie’s condition hadn’t improved, and her boyfriend started pressing the doctors. They agreed to give her a brain scan, and found she’d suffered a stroke, one that centered on her cerebellum, the part of the brain in charge of balance.

Leslie was shocked. Like most people, she’d thought of stroke as a disease of old age. But for those who get migraines, the rules appear to be different. Until recently, scientists saw migraine suffering as a physiological thunderstorm that left few lasting effects. But new research suggests some migraines aren’t so innocuous.
Recent studies show those who suffer from something called migraine with aura have double, or perhaps triple, the risk of stroke or heart attack, compared with people who don’t get migraines at all
In these people — Leslie is one of them — the headache is preceded by a range of symptoms: slurred speech, forgetfulness, feeling hot or cold, and ghostly lights blinking across the field of vision. That last one is the aura. A third of those who experience migraines have these symptoms; generally, this sub-group also has more frequent, and more excruciating, migraines.

“I don’t think migraine is seen as a serious disorder. That’s a mistake,” says migraine researcher David Dodick, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. “Headache is just one manifestation of migraine. It’s a systemic illness.”

The mysteries of migraines
Thirty-five million Americans — 1 in 10 of us — get migraines. They tend to occur regularly, with severe pain on one side of the head. Migraine attacks often include other symptoms, such as nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. Researchers disagree on whether people who get migraines without aura are at higher risk for strokes and heart attacks. So far, almost all of the research of migraine and cardiovascular risk has occurred in those who get auras.

No one knows for sure what accounts for the higher rates of strokes and heart attacks in those who do suffer from migraine with aura, but scientis have several theories that may offer insight. Some researchers blame migraines on chronic exposure to certain neurotransmitters. Most scientists think migraine sufferers’ brains are hyper-excitable — that is, their neurons tend to start firing uncontrollably, with the outburst spreading across the brain over the course of a few hours. This electrical storm causes the brain to release several neurotransmitters, including two chemicals called Substance P and Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP), that produce inflammation and pain in the blood vessels surrounding our brains.

Researchers suspect that over years of repeated migraines, the inflammation from Substance P and CGRP may weaken blood vessels, not only in the head but throughout the body. This damage may raise the risk of stroke or heart attack. During a stroke, the vessels that supply the brain rupture or become blocked; during a heart attack the same thing happens to the vessels around the heart.

In a study of 175 people completed last year, University of Toledo neurologist Gretchen Tietjen — who treated Leslie after her stroke — found that nearly a third of those with migraines had signs of blood vessel damage, almost five times higher than the controls. Tietjen says that while there’s no conclusive proof that Leslie’s migraines played a role in her stroke, they easily could have.

But another group of scientists think the culprit isn’t neurotransmitters, but the vascular system itself. Dodick and others argue that the blood vessels of people who get migraines are inherently dysfunctional, contracting and expanding abnormally in reaction to physical and emotional stress. “People with migraine probably have unusually reactive blood vessels,” says neurologist Richard B. Lipton, a leading migraine researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. In the head, these vascular spasms could trigger migraines. When the veins and arteries in the temple and skull expand and contract too much, they may press on nerves, leading to the excruciating pain. In people who get migraines, these blood vessel seizures may occur throughout the body, without patients much noticing. Over years, these spasms may damage the vascular system.

Over the past five years, scientists have found that PFOs seem to occur in more than half of people who get migraines. In some migraine patients, closing the PFO with surgery seems to lead to a disappearance of headaches. Some researchers suspect the unpurified blood leaking through the PFO contains inflammatory molecules, which set off that electrical storm when they travel up to the brain. (This may be why people with migraine get headaches after eating certain foods like red wine, olives and chocolate. These “trigger” foods may contain the offending chemicals, which in normal people are constantly removed from the blood.)

Kurth, who has spent several years examining connections between migraine and stroke, thinks there may be several lines of connection between stroke, heart disease and migraine.

At the same time, he says, even those who get frequent migraines shouldn’t panic. In the general population, stroke and heart attack are quite rare. They’re even less common if you’re young and healthy. While the stroke risk might double from 15 per 100,000 in the general population to 30 per 100,000 for those who experience migraine with aura, the risk is still relatively small, pointed out Lipton in the journal Neurology Today.

But if you get migraines, and you smoke, are overweight, or have untreated high blood pressure, then your risk climbs significantly. And each risk compounds the others exponentially. In a 2007 study published, Kurth found that women who have migraine with aura, smoke and take oral contraceptives (also a stroke hazard), were 10 times more likely to have a stroke than women without these risks. Leslie, for example, was taking birth control pills when she had her stroke.

Even without a clear causal link, the new findings may change how doctors treat migraines. Rather than seeing the condition as a painful but harmless hassle, doctors are increasingly trying to prevent it, just as they do obesity or high blood pressure. A range of medicines, including blood pressure drugs and antidepressants, can help prevent headaches. And many patients also find relief through changes in lifestyle and diet.
But if you get migraines, and you smoke, are overweight, or have untreated high blood pressure, then your risk climbs significantly. And each risk compounds the others exponentially.

In a 2007 study published, Kurth found that women who have migraine with aura, smoke and take oral contraceptives (also a stroke hazard), were 10 times more likely to have a stroke than women without these risks. Leslie, for example, was taking birth control pills when she had her stroke.

Changes in treatment
Even without a clear causal link, the new findings may change how doctors treat migraines. Rather than seeing the condition as a painful but harmless hassle, doctors are increasingly trying to prevent it, just as they do obesity or high blood pressure. A range of medicines, including blood pressure drugs and antidepressants, can help prevent headaches. And many patients also find relief through changes in lifestyle and diet.

Although there’s no clear proof, some scientists, including Tietjen, suspect that in migraineurs, preventing headaches could lower the risk of stroke and heart attack.

“I think there’s ongoing, progressive damage to the cardiovascular system,” she says. “If you can treat patients early on, maybe you can keep it from progressing.”

Leslie, who has since fully recovered from her stroke, is now in this minority. She takes Elavil, an anti-depressant, for migraine prevention. She no longer takes oral contraceptives, and last year she had surgery to close a PFO doctors discovered after her stroke. She almost never gets a headache. “It still surprises me that I had a stroke,” she says. “But I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy now. I’ve come a long way.”

more information about DST Health Solutions, contact 800.272.4799, e-mail inforequests@dsthealthsolutions.com or visit www.dsthealthsolutions.com.

Web Site: http://www.dsthealthsolutions.com/

My grandmother had several strokes while I was growing up. This was in the early 1960′s and I had no idea what a stroke was and why she was so sick. The problem is that the doctors didn’t now what the do either. Somehow, they managed to keep bringing her around, get her stable, bring her home let her rest for a few weeks and then hope for the best. They would keep her on a bunch of medication – some for her heart, some for her blood pressure and a few other pills that were for other things that I was never knew what it was for. They looked like a stack of skittles. My grandmother started having strokes when she was in her 50′s. She died of a stroke and a massive hemmoraghe at age 62. She was active until the day she died. The day before she died, whe was on a ladder hanging curtains, happy and singing. You would never know that there was anything wrong with here for a day in her life – certainly not a history of strokes.

A stroke is not a sign of old age. My grandmother proved that. Anyone can have one, no matter your age — and, a new study says this is especially true if you suffer from migraines. Those who suffer from what’s called “migraine with aura” have double the risk of stroke or heart attacks. The headache’s preceded by slurred speech, forgetfulness, feeling hot or cold — and then aura. Out of 175 people, nearly one third of those with migraines had signs of blood vessel damage — which can lead to a stroke.

Beth Leslie had gotten occasional migraines for years. She thought of them as a painful imposition, nothing more. Then, one day two years ago, her world tipped sideways. “Everything was spinning. I just kept my eyes closed, because whenever I’d open them I’d get dizzy,” says Leslie, a 24-year-old veterinary technician who lives in Bowling Green, Ohio. “It really freaked me out.”

She went to the hospital, where a doctor told her she’d probably come down with some sort of virus. After two days, Leslie’s condition hadn’t improved, and her boyfriend started pressing the doctors. They agreed to give her a brain scan, and found she’d suffered a stroke, one that centered on her cerebellum, the part of the brain in charge of balance.

Leslie was shocked. Like most people, she’d thought of stroke as a disease of old age. But for those who get migraines, the rules appear to be different. Until recently, scientists saw migraine suffering as a physiological thunderstorm that left few lasting effects. But new research suggests some migraines aren’t so innocuous.
Recent studies show those who suffer from something called migraine with aura have double, or perhaps triple, the risk of stroke or heart attack, compared with people who don’t get migraines at all.

In these people — Leslie is one of them — the headache is preceded by a range of symptoms: slurred speech, forgetfulness, feeling hot or cold, and ghostly lights blinking across the field of vision. That last one is the aura. A third of those who experience migraines have these symptoms; generally, this sub-group also has more frequent, and more excruciating, migraines.

“I don’t think migraine is seen as a serious disorder. That’s a mistake,” says migraine researcher David Dodick, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix. “Headache is just one manifestation of migraine. It’s a systemic illness.”

The mysteries of migraines
Thirty-five million Americans — 1 in 10 of us — get migraines. They tend to occur regularly, with severe pain on one side of the head. Migraine attacks often include other symptoms, such as nausea and sensitivity to light and sound. Researchers disagree on whether people who get migraines without aura are at higher risk for strokes and heart attacks. So far, almost all of the research of migraine and cardiovascular risk has occurred in those who get auras.

No one knows for sure what accounts for the higher rates of strokes and heart attacks in those who do suffer from migraine with aura, but scientis have several theories that may offer insight. Some researchers blame migraines on chronic exposure to certain neurotransmitters. Most scientists think migraine sufferers’ brains are hyper-excitable — that is, their neurons tend to start firing uncontrollably, with the outburst spreading across the brain over the course of a few hours. This electrical storm causes the brain to release several neurotransmitters, including two chemicals called Substance P and Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP), that produce inflammation and pain in the blood vessels surrounding our brains.

Researchers suspect that over years of repeated migraines, the inflammation from Substance P and CGRP may weaken blood vessels, not only in the head but throughout the body. This damage may raise the risk of stroke or heart attack. During a stroke, the vessels that supply the brain rupture or become blocked; during a heart attack the same thing happens to the vessels around the heart.

In a study of 175 people completed last year, University of Toledo neurologist Gretchen Tietjen — who treated Leslie after her stroke — found that nearly a third of those with migraines had signs of blood vessel damage, almost five times higher than the controls. Tietjen says that while there’s no conclusive proof that Leslie’s migraines played a role in her stroke, they easily could have.

But another group of scientists think the culprit isn’t neurotransmitters, but the vascular system itself. Dodick and others argue that the blood vessels of people who get migraines are inherently dysfunctional, contracting and expanding abnormally in reaction to physical and emotional stress. “People with migraine probably have unusually reactive blood vessels,” says neurologist Richard B. Lipton, a leading migraine researcher at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx. In the head, these vascular spasms could trigger migraines. When the veins and arteries in the temple and skull expand and contract too much, they may press on nerves, leading to the excruciating pain. In people who get migraines, these blood vessel seizures may occur throughout the body, without patients much noticing. Over years, these spasms may damage the vascular system.

Link between migraine and heart defect?
Then there’s the hole-in-the-heart theory. Researchers have known for years that having a gap in the wall between two chambers of the heart — a surprisingly common defect (it occurs in 10 to 20 percent of people) — increases the risk of stroke. It’s not clear why: The defect, known as a patent foramen ovale, or PFO, may allow blood to bypass the lungs, which constantly filter small clots and impurities from the blood. These clots may end up lodged in veins and arteries in the head, triggering strokes.

Over the past five years, scientists have found that PFOs seem to occur in more than half of people who get migraines. In some migraine patients, closing the PFO with surgery seems to lead to a disappearance of headaches. Some researchers suspect the unpurified blood leaking through the PFO contains inflammatory molecules, which set off that electrical storm when they travel up to the brain. (This may be why people with migraine get headaches after eating certain foods like red wine, olives and chocolate. These “trigger” foods may contain the offending chemicals, which in normal people are constantly removed from the blood.)

‘A very complex system’
But none of these hypotheses have been proven, and the links between migraine and cardiovascular disease remain murky.

“There’s no clear mechanism that convinces me,” says Tobias Kurth, a neuro-epidemiologist at the Harvard University School of Public Health. “It’s likely a very complex system.”

Kurth, who has spent several years examining connections between migraine and stroke, thinks there may be several lines of connection between stroke, heart disease and migraine.

At the same time, he says, even those who get frequent migraines shouldn’t panic. In the general population, stroke and heart attack are quite rare. They’re even less common if you’re young and healthy. While the stroke risk might double from 15 per 100,000 in the general population to 30 per 100,000 for those who experience migraine with aura, the risk is still relatively small, pointed out Lipton in the journal Neurology Today.

But if you get migraines, and you smoke, are overweight, or have untreated high blood pressure, then your risk climbs significantly. And each risk compounds the others exponentially. In a 2007 study published, Kurth found that women who have migraine with aura, smoke and take oral contraceptives (also a stroke hazard), were 10 times more likely to have a stroke than women without these risks. Leslie, for example, was taking birth control pills when she had her stroke.

Even without a clear causal link, the new findings may change how doctors treat migraines. Rather than seeing the condition as a painful but harmless hassle, doctors are increasingly trying to prevent it, just as they do obesity or high blood pressure. A range of medicines, including blood pressure drugs and antidepressants, can help prevent headaches. And many patients also find relief through changes in lifestyle and diet.

“A doubling of risk sounds scary, but in absolute terms, it’s still low,” says Dr. Stephen Silberstein, a migraine specialist at the Jefferson Headache Center in Philadelphia.

But if you get migraines, and you smoke, are overweight, or have untreated high blood pressure, then your risk climbs significantly. And each risk compounds the others exponentially.

In a 2007 study published, Kurth found that women who have migraine with aura, smoke and take oral contraceptives (also a stroke hazard), were 10 times more likely to have a stroke than women without these risks. Leslie, for example, was taking birth control pills when she had her stroke.

Changes in treatment
Even without a clear causal link, the new findings may change how doctors treat migraines. Rather than seeing the condition as a painful but harmless hassle, doctors are increasingly trying to prevent it, just as they do obesity or high blood pressure. A range of medicines, including blood pressure drugs and antidepressants, can help prevent headaches. And many patients also find relief through changes in lifestyle and diet.

Although there’s no clear proof, some scientists, including Tietjen, suspect that in migraineurs, preventing headaches could lower the risk of stroke and heart attack.

“I think there’s ongoing, progressive damage to the cardiovascular system,” she says. “If you can treat patients early on, maybe you can keep it from progressing.”

Leslie, who has since fully recovered from her stroke, is now in this minority. She takes Elavil, an anti-depressant, for migraine prevention. She no longer takes oral contraceptives, and last year she had surgery to close a PFO doctors discovered after her stroke. She almost never gets a headache. “It still surprises me that I had a stroke,” she says. “But I’m doing everything I can to stay healthy now. I’ve come a long way.”

For more information about DST Health Solutions, contact 800.272.4799, e-mail inforequests@dsthealthsolutions.com or visit www.dsthealthsolutions.com.

The following is a story of one of the people who has not found the right treatment or cure yet. She is working with two doctors at the Wasser Pain Management Center. Here is her story, partially reprinted from the communications team at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto, Canada.

At times, Mary-Anne McDermott’s crippling migraine pain gets so bad that it invades almost all her senses. “I used to mostly suffer from light sensitivity. Now it’s light, sound, smell and I become very nauseous which on occasion leads to vomiting,” says McDermott, a patient of the Wasser Pain Management Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital. “I now have six to seven migraines a month, most lasting between three to five days.”

McDermott has suffered from migraine pain since elementary school. Now 30, she has endured a significant increase in the pain she experiences. After a recent visit to the emergency room following five straight days of pain, McDermott decided it was time to see a headache specialist at Mount Sinai Hospital.

The Wasser Pain Management Centre sees 800 to 1,000 new patients each year for everything from nerve pain to pelvic pain. Women make up about 70 per cent of its patients.

Migraine headaches, which affect approximately three times more women than men, can be devastating and lead to disability, dysfunction, missed work or even the loss of a job. Migraine is one of the most common types of pain and yet, physicians can only speculate why women are disproportionately affected.

“At present, we don’t know exactly why migraines are more prevalent in women than in men,” says Dr. Allan Gordon, Director of the Wasser Pain Management Centre and a specialist in the treatment and management of migraine pain. “A number of studies found that pre-pubescent males and females experience a similar rate of migraines, leading to the conclusion that hormones are a significant factor in the cause of the pain.”

During pregnancy, for example, hormonal changes can affect the frequency and severity of migraine headaches in women. About two-thirds of migraine sufferers endure the same level of pain or worse during their pregnancy, while one-third will experience decreased pain or none at all. Like the hormonal ups and downs however, these changes are temporary. For those with reduced pain, migraine symptoms almost always return after pregnancy.

Treatment options for women considering pregnancy are severely reduced. “Many of the pharmacological treatments available for migraines should not be used during pregnancy or for anyone contemplating pregnancy as they may affect fertility and the health of the fetus,” explains Dr. Gordon. “Men do not have to worry about fertility issues and the impact of medication during conception, pregnancy or breastfeeding.”

While women may face more obstacles than men in managing migraine pain, the Wasser Pain Management Centre offers a variety of pharmacological and alternative treatment options such as relaxation therapy, mindfulness and biofeedback. “In managing patients it’s important to address a person’s overall health,” Dr. Gordon says, highlighting the centre’s focus on mental, emotional and physical health.

Dr. Gordon started McDermott on new medication in January 2009 that has helped reduce the number of episodes. For now, this treatment is working well for McDermott and she finds encouragement in Dr. Gordon’s successes. “I’ve heard from many other patients that he is very good and I’m feeling hopeful about my situation,” she says.
Kalin Moon and Michael Power are members of the communications team at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.

When doctors are at a loss as to what to do about migraines and your doctor basically throws up their hands in frustration, it is difficult for both of you.  More and more medications have become available to offset migraines, but finding the right one can often take months, and there are questions regarding the safety of many of the medications.  Sometimes there are no medications that work well for a person at all, making the situation even more frustrating for all involved. 

Many individuals suffering with migraines prefer natural treatment but aren’t always able to find them, so they resort to prescription medication when there is no other alternative.  They are worried about side effects and drug interactions.  Plus, not all treatments work for everyone, so it becomes a case of hit or miss.

It is estimated that in the UK alone, there are nearly 200,000 migraine headaches suffered every single day.  Over 6 million people suffer from migraines in the UK on a regular basis. 

Research in conjunction with Migraine Action, the national migraine awareness organization in the UK has revealed the results of studying thousands of migraine sufferers and found that ginger has helped relieve symptoms in 63% of the people studied.  Ginger is natural and it has been used for many ailments.  Ginger – as in ginger ale – has been proven to help alleviate stomach problems including nausea and stomach pain from flu, food poisoning and other digestive issues.  Ginger is also said to help control blood pressure, ease sinus problems and help alleviate headaches, so using it for migraines isn’t a stretch.  In fact, since nausea often accompanies migraines, even if ginger doesn’t stop the headache, it can help with the nausea.

With so many questions about migraines unanswered, and with so many individuals looking for relief from migraines, ginger could be a remedy to try. It couldn’t hurt.  After all, it just might help get rid of the pain and help your health at the same time.

Migraines are also debilitating, and there have been a variety of treatments suggested to deal with them, especially in the past when medication was scarce.  There was ice, aspirin, lying in a dark, quiet room and a few other ideas, including somehow trying to get some sleep.  Of course, usually the doctors that suggested these ideas probably never had a migraine headache themselves.

Migraines are confused for eye problems and other health issues.  Sometimes eye problems do cause headaches, and often, misdiagnosis of eye problems results in the individual getting glasses only to find that the headaches continue.

Many times a migraine sufferer hears that “it’s just a sinus headache” which can be partially true.  Clogged and aching sinuses can cause severe headaches.  People talk about sinus problems and allergies as the cause for the headaches, but even after using sinus remedies to clear the sinuses, the headaches often still persist, pointing to a different cause for the headaches.

Hormones are also another easy thing to blame for migraines.  Sometimes they are part of the cause of headaches, however, when hormones are erroneously blamed for migraines, not only are the migraines not eliminated with hormone treatment, but, in addition, the hormone treatment can do long lasting harm to the body.

Quite often, if a person is under stress this is singled out as the cause of a migraine.  Medication is prescribed and may take the edge off; however, usually the headaches do not stop.

Because there are so many misconceptions migraines can often continue, increase in frequency and worsen over time.  It is important not to ignore these severe headaches because they can be a symptom of migraines or of other serious health issues including high blood pressure, possible aneurysm or a precursor to a stroke. 

If you find yourself at the point where your routine is disrupted on a regular basis or you can’t stand the pain any longer, it’s time to call your doctor in order to get help from a professional who is experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of migraine headaches.

One of the latest casualties when it comes to insurance limitations is migraine headaches.  Years ago, there was much to be learned about migraines, so these debilitating headaches were treated with various forms of pain medication and/or tranquilizers and muscle relaxers which were relatively inexpensive to pay for out of your own pocket. 

During the 80’s and 90’s newer prescription medications were developed specifically for the treatment, control and relief of migraines.  Sometimes they were used alone and sometimes in combination with pain medication and other medications.  The good news is that numerous medications specifically for migraines are available to migraine sufferers in many places throughout the U.S. and beyond.  The bad news is that many of these medications cost an arm and a leg and are covered in only a limited amount or not covered at all by heath insurance

Some migraine sufferers are limited to ten or twelve pills per month by their health insurance.   Because of this limitation, they have to make difficult decisions as to which migraines to treat, even though they should really be using this medication on every migraine they have.  If they run out of pills during the month and have to re-order, the insurance won’t help, so it becomes an out-of-pocket expense.  The expense for some of these medications is astonishing and migraine sufferers simply can’t afford to pay for them so they continue to suffer, even though they faithfully pay their insurance premiums.

It is unfortunate that now that a variety of migraine medicines are available, the insurance companies make it difficult, if not impossible, for people to get the medications they need.  Migraine sufferers seem to be the latest casualty of insurance cuts.   Will something be done to get better coverage to help migraine sufferers get the medication they need?

As if those of us with migraines don’t have enough to deal with besides the debilitating pain and other symptoms of migraines, we are now being warned that some of the medication we take to try to combat those awful headaches is addictive and can make migraines worse, not better.

The problem is that many people who suffer from migraines may not realize they are migraines.  This could be because they have other health issues such as high blood pressure that could be the source of headaches or it could be because they think that their headaches could be due to stress, food or other culprits.

To a degree these may all be root causes of migraines, however, if a person is suffering from debilitating headaches, they should talk to their doctor.  Many people do not discuss their symptoms with their doctor because they are on medication for the other health issues and, as a result, they simply take over the counter medicines for their migraines.

There is a problem with that type of treatment.  These medications are not designed like the prescription medications for migraines, so they do not treat migraines – and stop them – the way that prescription meds do.  Also, the over-the-counter migraine medications often exacerbate migraines and create a situation where migraine sufferers are taking more of these medications more often leading to a vicious cycle of pain.

If you suffer from severe headaches and they are present in your life on a regular basis, it is important that you talk to your doctor and get help.  Have your doctor put you on a regimen of correct medication and also have your doctor help you determine what is causing the headaches.  It can often be as simple as a glass of wine or a handful of nuts that triggers the migraines.  Many patients find that once they have eliminated the triggers from their routine, the headaches either disappear or are much milder and appear much less often.

If you suffer from headaches, make sure not to just reach for the over the counter meds.  Talk to your doctor and determine a way to diminish, control or eliminate them in a safe and non-addictive way.

Because of continuous research by leaders in the medical field, such as the Mayo Clinic, National Institutes of Health and The National Headache Foundation, there have been many new medications developed and many new uses for existing medications, as well.

In addition, researchers have found ways to help many migraine sufferers ease the pain of migraines, often without medication.  There are also other treatments such as biofeedback, which often helps migraine sufferers ease the symptoms without medication or with less medication.  Research has also helped develop a number of specific medications that were created for migraines, such as Cafergot, Topomax, Imitrex, Toridol, Midrin, Maxalt, Relpax, Zomig, Frova, Acular, Axert, Anaprox, Fioricet, Orudis, Amerge, Migranol and many others.  The fact that research has yielded a large amount of choices of medications, when less than 15 years ago there were only one or two medications available that were specifically for migraines.  Without continuous research about migraines and what helps ease and relieve them, there could still only be a couple of medications available to migraine sufferers.  Sounds a lot better than taking an aspirin and calling your doctor in the morning.

Some recent and ongoing studies have included researching and looking at synapses, neurons, the role of resting MRI’s in diagnosing chronic migraines, the effects of estrogen levels and menstruation on migraines and many other studies and forms of research.

Because there is research continuing throughout the country at major universities, medical centers and other heath care institutions, there is hope for migraine sufferers.  Today, there is positive information and there are choices of treatment and medications.  With continuous research there will be  elimination of the causes of migraines and the end of the excessive suffering from this debilitating form of headache.

You should talk to your doctor about headaches, especially if you have more than a couple of headaches per month and/or if they last for several hours or days.  In addition, if your headachesare getting in the way of your home, work or school, or if you have nausea, vomiting or other symptoms accompanying them, it is important for you to talk to your doctor about your headaches and all of your symptoms.

It is important to prepare for your doctor’s visit and help your doctor identify your headaches by keeping track of certain things in advance.  Before your appointment, make sure to write down how often your headaches are occurring and how long they last from beginning to end.  Write down what your symptoms are, such as nausea, problems with light or noise, and where the pain is located.  Other important information includes when the headache and other symptoms start, such as during your menstrual period, after you have eaten specific food or had a certain beverage.  For instance, some people can drink beer and rum but not vodka or wine.  They have no symptoms with a glass of beer or a drink that has rum in it, but if they have a glass of wine or a drink with vodka in it, they may have very extreme symptoms within a few minutes or hours.  These are things your doctor needs to know.  Also let the doctor know if your family has any history of migraines or other headaches and if you are having other symptoms, such as blind spots.

Your doctor will review this information with you.  You might have to have some tests including a blood test.  This will start the process of finding the appropriate treatment for your headaches and migraines.  If you are looking for further information after you speak with your doctor, you can find information at www.migraines.org.