Migraines & Headaches Resource Center

OK. It’s been a long day and you are exhausted, stressed, frustrated, skipping dinner (not good) and have a 3″ stack of papers that need to be done tonight and the stack is sitting right where your dinner plate should be.

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.

If you are like a lot of people, you sometimes or often get headaches that are horribly debilitating but you just muddle through them. You take some over the counter migraine medication and instead of easing the headache, sometimes it makes the headache worse.

I have suffered from migraines for years. I won’t say how many years, but let’s just say that it has been over 35 years! I have taken non-prescription medicine, put ice on my head and neck, tried to rest in a dark, quiet room and a few other things. Most didn’t work. The ones that did work didn’t work well.

Like you, I could feel the symptoms coming on, and no matter what symptoms I had, I knew that there was a migraine on the way. Lightheadedness, pain in the back or side of the head, nausea and more. No matter what the symptom, I always knew that these were not just regular headaches.

Since I wasn’t getting these headaches every day or even every week, I didn’t run to the doctor. In addition, isn’t it very iteresting that we almost seem to get all the big stuff at night – especially during the middle of the night – or at a party or wedding or important event. If it got really bad, I’d end up in the emergency room and they would give me a shot or two so I could go home and sleep it off.

Over the years, dealing with migraines for most people, there have been many changes and improvements in treatment and medications to choose from that can be used on a regular basis, either daily, weekly, or at the time of the headache. Sometimes I have had to use different medications because some do a better job than others. If you are suffering with these headaches don’t wait – see a doctor. It could be a migraine or other headache, but it could be a headache that could cause an aneurysm or a seizure.

Regardless, the best symptom of a migraine is the feeling of it fading away when the medication works.

There are many things that lead to migraines and many of the actual triggers have less to do than foods like chocolate, nuts, caffeine, wine and a ton of other substances, than they have to do with stress.

It is easy to eliminate the triggers that have to do with foods and other substances. Some are easier than others, but in the long run, it is easier not to drink wine or eat chocolate than it is to eliminate stress, especially in these extremely difficult times.

Researchers have suggested various ideas to help deal with stress to eliminate or at least diminish migraine headaches. Some of the suggestions are:

*When you feel stress coming on, get out – take a walk, get out of the room you are in
if possible – get some fresh air by opening a window or going outside

*Take a power nap – 15 to 30 minutes – just enough to relax you

*Visualize – Think about a place that makes you calm and/or happy

*Do something fun to make yourself laugh – even for 15 minutes. If you can spare a
minute to an hour to relax, you could avoid the migraine and go back to work with
a clear and positive mind ready to work

*Call a friend or loved one and try to meet for lunch or coffee and eep the conversation
positive – don’t brood on the problems

* Do something you like for a short time – bowling, bicycling, hiking, walking, chess,
reading, drawing or anything you really enjoy

At any rate, it is too much stress right now causing too many migraines, and though there is no way to eliminate stress or migraines completely, there are some things to do that can help you overcome stress without taking a lot of time. When you feel stress coming on, stop it before it goes too far. A few minutes to reduce stress will make your work more productive when you get back to it.  And you might not ever end up with that particular migraine.

Migraines have ong been a trouling source of pain. These debilitating headaches are triggered by numerous causes, and for many individuals are a problem daily or nightly.

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.

If you are a migraine sufferer, there may be good news for you. Researchers have discovered that regular intake of Vitamin B2, ?which is also known as riboflavin, may help you have fewer migraines.

Riboflavin is a type of B vitamin. All B vitamins are water soluble. It is extremely important in converting carbohydrates into sugar. The eight B vitamins, which are also known as vitamin B complex, are necessary to metabolize fat and proteins. They help keep the muscles in good tone and are necessary for the overall health of the digestive and nervous system. They are also necessary for the skin, hair, mouth and liver to stay healthy..

If we have a deficiency in vitamin B or riboflavin, there can be harm to the body, some of it extreme.
There are some serious impacts if we do not get sufficient riboflavin. Headaches, fatigue, visual disturbances, digestive problems, cracks in the mouth, and sensitivity to light are just a few of the impacts.

Riboflavin is found in a sufficient quantity in many foods. Green leafy vegetables, liver, legumes, eggs, milk, cheese, dairy products and fortified cereals are some of the food items which contain riboflavin. The most common reason of riboflavin deficiency is insufficient amount of the vitamin in the diet. Though it is best to get as much riboflavin from food as a source if possible. If it is not possible to do this through diet, a combination of food and vitamin supplements, or even just vitamin supplements without much riboflavin-rich foods will at least help avoid the dficiency or at least make it less severe.

Riboflavin deficiency is a problem for many people of various ages. It is also an unusually severe problem for the elderly.

Riboflavin can be destroyed by light, so any food which contains riboflavin or riboflavin supplements should be kept away from bright light. Also, since riboflavin is a soluble vitamin, it’s benefits can be lost in water when foods are cooked. This can be counteracted by retaining the water which is used to boil vegetables and use the water in cooking other items. There are a number of fortified flours which have riboflavin added to them, as well, however they do not help the body to the extent that whole foods and vitamin supplements do..

If you choose to take supplements, take them with food, usually a meal, so that your body can absorb and use the supplements better. Check with your doctor regarding the level of riboflavin to take, especially if you are taking medications, since various medications can affect the riboflavin and the riboflavin can affect whether the medications and how the medications work. Some of the medications that can have negative interactions with riboflavin include:

Tricyclic antidepressants
Anti-malaria drugs
Various antipsychotic medications
Birth control pills
Doxorubicin (chemotherapy used for some cancers)
Methotrexate
Phenytoin
Probenecid (for gout)
Selegiline (for Parkinson’s disease)
‘Sulfa’ medications – certain antibiotics
Thiazide diuretics
If you are taking riboflavin there are possibilities of allergic reactions. One main side effect (which is not harmful) is that riboflavin may result in urine becoming an orange red color. Allergic reactions in some patients may take place. Avoid overdosing yourself with any supplement containing riboflavin. Ask your family physician or a nutritionist on proper advice.

Studies and testimonies from patients and doctors are showing that there are many people who have been suffering from Migraines who, since taking riboflavin daily, have eliminated most -if not all – of these terrible, painful and debilitating headaches.

It seems like there are a million reasons that people get migraines. There used to be only a few. Of course, there used to be all kinds of ideas as to what these debilitating headaches are, and finally doctors decided they are migraines, and decided they are also real – not something that’s just “in your head.”

So, there are now more ideas as to what causes migraines. The newest culprits that researchers feel trigger migraines might be high temperatures and low air pressure, according to a large study published online today in the Journal of Neurology. But researchers did not find a clear association between headaches and air pollution.

Weather — especially changes in air pressure — is frequently cited as a headache trigger but it had not previously been shown in such a large, well-designed study.

The researchers, from Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Harvard School of Public Health, looked into the idea of pollution as a trigger because fine particulate pollutants cause or complicate other health problems, including heart attacks, stroke, congestive heart failure and asthma.

There were over 7,000 headache patients of both genders and varying ages and ethnic groups in the migraine study, who were seen at the medical center’s emergency room between May 2000 and December 2007. Researchers looked at temperature levels, barometric pressure, humidity, fine particulate matter and other pollutants during the three days before each patient was seen in the ER and for a control day, in which the patient did not report a headache.

Headaches were strongly associated with rising temperatures. An increase of 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees F, as a reader has so kindly pointed out below) increased the risk of migraine by 7.4%. Low air pressure, which often precedes storms, played a smaller role.

“This study points to the fact that changes in temperature are migraine triggers, and that’s something that’s not been known before,” said Dr. Richard Lipton of the Montefiore Headache Center in New York City.

Knowing what can trigger an attack gives migraine sufferers a measure of control, said Lipton, who was not associated with the study. One of his patients, for example, moved from New York City to Arizona because air pressure in the Southwest is less changeable.

Triggers often work together, so migraines can be brought on by a combination of them. Perhaps red wine or chocolate is a trigger for some people. If there are some weather issues and a migraine sufferer has some chocolate or red wine during a temperature change, the results could be more debilitating than usual. More studies are ongoing to look more closely at the weather as a trigger.

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.

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.

There is so much research going on regarding migraine headaches and there is progress being made regarding medication, treatment, prevention and more. The only problem is that there are still many people who suffer from migraines and have not found the cure or even treatment or relief.

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.

Researchers have examined whether a gene variant may affect the link between migraine and stroke or heart attacks. The study is published in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

25,000 women who answered a questionnaire about their history of migraines and migraines with aura participated in the study. Aura is usually described as visual disturbances, such as flashing lights or geometric patterns. The women were tested for a genetic variant called the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) D/I polymorphism.

A total of 4,577 women reported a history of migraine and of those, 1,275 had migraine with aura. Twelve years after the start of the study, 625 strokes and heart attacks were reported.

There was no link found between the gene variant and migraine, migraine with aura, stroke or heart attacks. However, women who had migraine with aura and also were carriers of certain genotypes, called the DD and the DI genotypes, had double the risk of stroke and heart attacks. In contrast, women who had migraine with aura and were carriers of a third genotype, called the II genotype, were not at increased risk. The authors add the caution that this relationship was identified with very little information and must be tested in other studies to determine if it is real.

“The relationship among this gene variant, migraine, stroke and heart disease is extremely complex and has been the focus of numerous studies, and the results have been controversial,” according to study author Markus Schurks, MD, MSc, with the Division of Preventive Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Getting to the bottom of whether there is a connection and why may help to develop ways to prevent issues like stroke and heart disease, which are leading causes of death in the United States.”

We have all heard someone make a comment like, “It must be going to rain because my bones are aching” or “I think we’re in for a cold spell because my back injury hurts.”

If you happen to live in Canada, there is a new website that can help you prepare in advance. Created by a doctor and a meteorologist who is one of the doctor’s patients, MediClim is a website where you can sign up if you suffer from migraines, arthritis or other conditions that seem to worsen with weather changes.

By signing up on the website you will automatically be sent an email 24 hours in advance of a weather change that could exacerbate your symptoms. This way you would have time to be prepared with medication or other remedies you might need to keep your symptoms under control.

Doctors and researchers have found that individuals who suffer from migraines have difficulties with sudden cold snaps or heat waves that come on relatively suddenly. By being warned in advanced they will know to stay inside in a controlled temperature and environment.

The email service on MediClim does not give advice, but gives warning and suggests you talk to your own doctor to see what thsy feel you should do in advance to keep symptoms at bay and under control. Rather than leaving you in pain without warning.

MediClim is free and is currently available in Canada, The United States, The U.K. and several other countries. It will be expanding in 2009.

There is a common heart abnormality known as a patent foramen ovale (PFO).  This is a small hole in the heart and researchers have been studying this hole for may years.  One thing they found about the PTO is that those who have this  hole and need it closed have a positive side effect:  when the hole is closed the individual no longer gets continuous migraine headaches.

But a researcher who has studied the issue for almost a decade tells WebMD that the jury is still out on the treatment.

In the new study, patients with PFOs who had a minimally invasive catheter-based procedure to close the small hole in their heart had significantly fewer disabling migraines than patients with PFOs who did not have the procedure.  As many as one in four people have a PFO abnormality, but most never know it.

Prior to birth, everyone has the small opening, which exists to divert blood away from undeveloped lungs. Normally, the hole closes after birth, but in some people the closure is not complete.

While not everyone with PFOs has migraines and not everyone with migraines has PFOs, studies show that migraine sufferers are far more likely to have the heart abnormality than people without migraines.

PFO researcher Peter Wilmshurst, MB, of the UK’s Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, tells WebMD that about half of patients with a specific type of migraine known as migraine with aura have large PFOs or similar openings in their hearts compared to about 5% of the population at large.

Wilmshurst did not participate in the new study, but he was involved in an earlier study that examined PFO closure as a treatment for migraines. Published last year, that study, known as the MIST trial, found no benefit for the treatment.

The new study included 82 migraine patients who had large PFOs and no history of strokes. All the patients also had a type of brain lesion that is commonly seen in brain scans of patients with migraines.

Fifty-three of the patients had the PFO closure procedure and 29 did not.

At six months follow-up, the PFO closure patients showed significant improvements in both the frequency and severity of their migraine headaches.

In all, 53% of patients in the PFO closure group reported a disappearance of disabling headaches, compared to 7% of the patients who did not have the closure procedure; 87% in the closure group reported a more than 50% reduction in total headaches, compared to 21% of the patients in the comparison group.

The study appears in the Feb. 24 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

“Only patients in the closure group reported a significant reduction of migraine severity, which is crucial for quality of life,” study researcher Carlo Vigna, MD, and colleagues write. “In contrast, the number of disabling attacks did not change or increased in 41% of controls.”

There have been studies of every type trying to find the causes of migraine headaches. The studies have been being conducted for years and have discussed and involved everything from food to medicaion to sleep and excercise – and how all of these things interact wth the body to create or trigger migraines.

One of the most current migraine studies has taken a close look at fat around the middle of the body and how it might be triggering migraine headaches. The study shows that overweight people between the ages of 20 and 55 who are overweight – especially around the middle of the body – have a higher risk of experiencing migraine headaches.

Over 22,000 individuals who were part of the research and who were overweight, were asked if they had migraine headaches. In the age range between 20 and 55, those individuals who had larger waistlines also experienced many more migraine headaches than the people of the same ages but with smaller waistlines.

To measure obesity, measurements were taken by circumference and total body obesity. This was calculated by using a person’s Body Mass Index (BMI) using weight and height.

Thirty seven percent of women between 20 and 55 with excessive abdominal fat reported getting regular migraines compared to 29% of those without excessive abdominal fat. As for men in the same situation, 20% with excess abdominal fat reported regular migraines vs. only 16% of those without excessive abdominal fat reporting migraines.

These results strongly suggest that it would be helpful for those men and women who have excess abdominal fat and get migraines to try to lose weight, thereby eliminating the number and the severity of migraines they experience. If you find yourself in this situation, trying to lose some weight might be your greatest source of relief.

It wasn’t too long ago when doctors and other healthcare professionals thought of migraine headaches as an inconvenience rather than a serious healh issue. In the 1990’s research yielded various medications and other treatment for migraines. They realized that it was important to catch migraines before they turned into full-blown debilitating headaches. If medicine could ease the symptoms of a migraine, then for some people the migrine would disappear. For others, the migraine might not disappear completely, but there would be relief.

There are the usual home remedies a person can use to help relieve the symptoms. These include various herbs and spices, ice packs. accupressure and more. Other treatments include chiropractic care, accupuncture and lying down in a dark, quiet room.

In addition there are those prescription meds. Prescription meds for migraines have become better and better. Many of the meds have improved during the last few years. Some meds that took an hour or more to start working in the past now take 10 or 15 minutes to start turning the syptoms around and stopping them.

Researchers have started the process of putting together the figures showing how much money could be saved in many ways if migraies were diminished or eliminated. When an individual gets a severe migraine and has to miss work, it costs the employee part of their paycheck and it costs the employer time and money to get the work done or to get it caught up. In addition, there are doctor’s expenses.

There is continuous research being done to try to find adequate medication and treatment for migraines. Having suffered from migraines myself, I know that treatment is getting better because my migraine episodes are fewer and further between. Hopefully this is happening in your case, too or it will be soon.

Health insurance coverage is getting harder and harder to purchase. Premiums are out of control – they often cost a week’s pay or more, especially if you have a spouse and kids to be insured. While the list of the “not covered” or “just barely covered” is growing, the other list – of things that most people feel are necessary when it comes to health coverage – is dwindling. Add to that the fact that many of us can’t afford monthly premiums because they have skyrocketed which leaves too many of us too vulnerable for too many conditions that need to be treated.

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.

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 now in the 21st century numerous medications specifically for migraines have been developed and 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, and, as a result, they have to choose which migraines to use one of their precious pills on, 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. Migraines are often symptoms of other health issues. They can easily lead to a stroke. What if that happens the night they can’t or don’t take their medicine?

For those, like a friend of mine, who can’t afford insurance there can be Medicaid. If you fill out enough papers, don’t make one cent over Medicaid’s limits and can figure out a way to get approved for Medicaid, you could have insurance to help you with doctor visits and prescriptions. You must, however, be vigilant or you could lose coverage in the blink of an eye because you didn’t make a particular phone call to Medicaid, didn’t send in some

It is unfortunate that now that the medicines have been invented and are available, the insurance companies make it difficult, if not impossible, to get the medications they need. Are migraine sufferers just the latest casualty of insurance cuts or will something be done to get better coverage to help migraine sufferers get the medication they need? The new congress is looking very closely at these questions and more. Hopefully there will be some answers soon.

Everyone in the family has gotten better and stayed better. We know now to look for mold and if we end up with the same symptoms in the future, we will check for mold by having the house inspected before we do anything else.  There is no doubt that mold in a home is not a good thing to live with. In fact, depending on the type and amount of mold, there is danger from living with it. Mold can make people sick and it can also be fatal.

I speak from experience. Our family moved into a house that had mold in it, but we weren’t aware of this. The previous occupants knew about it and didn’t disclose. Several members of the previous family that occupied the house were ill a lot with headaches, weakness, breathing problems and more. Once they moved out, the symptoms disappeared.

On the other hand, once we moved into the house, one member of our family got migraines almost daily. Another member had breathing problems, and though their asthma had done so well that they no longer took medicine, they had to go back on an inhaler. The worst case was one family member that began and continued having migraines, had fevers and chills, and could barely breathe. In fact, she was so weak; she could barely walk fro her bed to her bathroom, which is in her room under 10 feet from the bed.

The individual who had this difficult time continued to get worse. Once we had to go out of town for a business meeting. When we were away from the moldy home none of the family had any symptoms – especially no migraines or breathing problems.

We had the house inspected for anything toxic and the inspector found a lot of mold – including black mold which is the most harmful. We were told to move immediately. The rest of the family moved into another house to see what would happen to their symptoms. Within two days, most of the symptoms disappeared.

There a stories similar to our family’s. We were fortunate that we were able to move and through anti bacterial prescription medication, asthma medication and leaving (throwing out) many clothes, a lot of furniture and other items that could possibly be contaminated we avoided bringing the mold to the new house.

Migraines affect many millions of people. They are triggered by any number of things from various foods and wine to stress. Now a new culprit may be added to the list. The new culprit is fluorescent lights.

Researchers have been studying the reactions that fluorescent lights cause. Because the lights flicker constantly, many people claim that the flickering causes them to have headaches. Old fluorescent bulbs used to flicker about 60 times per second which scientists say was perceptible. However, new and current fluorescent bulbs flicker around 10,000 times per second, which some researchers feel the eyes and brain cannot decipher. The individuals who work in offices or other areas that use fluorescent lights and have never had headaches or migraines before they have had to work with these lights definitely disagree with the scientists and researchers who discount or simply deny the fact that migraines are triggered by these lights.

Some researchers who aren’t so sure that fluorescent lights actually trigger migraines, however, the people who are suffering from migraines after sitting under flickering fluorescent lights for several hours are sure they trigger migraines. Some researchers feel that the brain cannot detect the flickering because it happens quite quickly. Again, the people getting migraines feel quite differently.

In addition to migraines, people have reported nausea, dizziness, loss of concentration, weakness, plus joint and muscle pain. Also, some of these individuals get migraines from cell phones, television, computer monitors and other electronics that give off “electromagnetic waves”. Some who believe in the existence of this curious phenomenon even offer a rationale for the effect, usually explaining that our nervous system functions based on electrical impulses and that it is therefore susceptible to the effects of external electromagnetic fields.

If you suffer from migraines and you think they are electromagnetic – emanating from fluorescent lights, cell phones or other electronics, you are not alone, and there is research currently being conducted to figure the situation out and to find a way to stop the trigger.

There has been a great deal of controversy regarding migraines and work. Everyone from the Department of Labor to individual employers has an idea about how much time migraines cause employees to take off work and how much money is lost each year because of these debilitating headaches.

In a survey of large employers released by the non-profit Midwest Business Group on Health, 91 percent of respondents recognize that migraine headaches impact productivity. Most of these employers also stated that they have not gauged how much money is lost because of absences from work due to migraines and they don’t know how well their health plans are managing migraines for their employees who have to deal with them.

The National Headache Foundation (NHF) has come up with some figures estimating that U.S. industry loses $50 billion per year due to absenteeism, lost productivity and medical expenses caused by migraine headaches, especially chronic ones.

. “Migraine is a serious, neurological, chronic condition that non-sufferers often view as only stress-related and easily treated. The reality is that it results in lost productivity and causes significant disruptions to migraine sufferers’ work and personal lives, according to Larry Boress, MBGH President and CEO.

According to the NHF, nearly 30 million Americans — or one in eight workers — suffer from migraine, which is often accompanied by a variety of symptoms, including sharp throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head, nausea or vomiting, visual disturbances and sensitivity to noise and light. With the help of a health care provider, migraine headaches can be effectively managed and patients can identify and alleviate their symptoms with an appropriate treatment regimen.

Researchers are learning more and more about migraine headaches. There has been so much mystery and so many questions regarding migraines over the years, but studies have come up with answers.

There is now a wide array of choices of medication, replacing little or no choice a decade ago. The thinking of medical professionals has changed as well. Rarely does a physician tell a person – especially a woman or child – that they don’t really have a headache and they should take some aspirin and get some rest. This used to happen at an overwhelming rate, using remedies that could make migraines worse.

Researchers have determined that there can be various causes and triggers to migraines. They have linked many things from stress to food triggers to certain hormones and brain activity to migraine headaches.

The newest discovery that researchers have revealed is a probable link between migraine headaches and mental illness. Psychiatric researchers at the University of Manitoba analyzed close to 4,200 patient records from a German health database.

They found 35 per cent of people who suffered migraines also suffered from a mental disorder, ranging from depression and anxiety to phobias and substance abuse disorders.

According to studies, the relationship between migraines and mental illness was even higher among patients who suffered depression – between 72-84 per cent of people who suffered from depression also had migraines prior to the onset of their illness.

The studies show that migraines can lead to or exacerbate mental illness which could then lead to more migraines.

If you have been plagued with migraines and have depression or anxiety, talk to your doctor. The remedies he can help you with might just eliminate both issues.

Migraine sufferers know that it is hard to find real answers regarding causes and treatment for migraines.  When an individual suffers from migraines, especially chronic ones, there are few answers, and too often, it is difficult, if not impossible to get support from the person’s doctor.

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.

There can be a lot of confusion when it comes to migraine headaches.  In the past, many doctors didn’t believe they were real – they were considered to be a figment of your imagination, especially if they were suffered by women.

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.

There have always been many ideas about what migraines are and what to do to help relieve the symptoms of these debilitating headaches.  Everything from ice, aspirin, and a few other ideas, including somehow trying to get some sleep, have been touted as remedies.  Of course, usually the doctors that suggested these ideas probably never had a migraine headache themselves.

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

Often you are told that it’s just a sinus headache.  People talk about sinus problems and allergies as the cause for the headaches, but even with the normal sinus remedies, the headaches often persist.

Hormones are also another issue blamed for migraines.  Sometimes they truly 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 harm – long lasting harm – to the body.

Stress is often blamed as the cause of a migraine.  Often, 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 to address debilitating headaches if you have them.  If your routine is disrupted on a regular basis or you can’t stand the pain any longer, it’s time to get help from a professional who is experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of migraine headaches.

There are more and more issues that insurance doesn’t cover, the list is growing longer, and it seems that nearly every day we hear of something else that has limited or no coverage.  While the list of the “not covered” or “just barely covered” is growing, the other list – of things that most people feel are necessary when it comes to health coverage – is dwindling.  To make matters worse, monthly premiums for health insurance coverage has skyrocketed to the point where too many people cannot afford to buy coverage at all. It is a sad state of affairs which leaves too many people too vulnerable for too many conditions that need to be treated.

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?

A migraine is a type of headache that is usually more severe and debilitating than a normal headache. Migraines are often accompanied by throbbing and/or pulsating pain, and have been described as feeling like a hot knife inside the head.  Other symptoms that accompany a migraine include sensitivity to light and sound plus nausea.

There are two types of migraines: one with aura beforehand and one without. An “aura” usually involves seeing flashes of light, zigzag lines in a person’s field of vision, blind spots or tingling in an arm or leg. These symptoms usually arrive before pain begins, giving the sufferer fair warning that it’s time to take their medication. The migraines that have no aura begin without warning and the pain gradually builds up.
There are various triggers to migraines.  Some involve food allergies, others can be hormonal issues. There are various treatments including medication taken on a regular basis, some when you feel the aura or pain beginning and others on a daily basis to prevent migraines from appearing at all.   Biofeedback, ice treatments, meditation, acupuncture and acupressure are also used for treatment.  The rule of thumb is that if you take over the counter medication and it stops your headache, it probably isn’t a migraine.

You can take over-the-counter, pain-relieving drugs once you experience the first signs or symptoms of a migraine. However, if you are taking over-the-counter medications for them more than eight times a month you should look into seeing your doctor about a prescription treatment. Another way to address migraines is to do an activity you find relaxing.  These could include lying down in a dark room or taking a hot bath or shower.  This might lessen the effects of a migraine.
 
Regardless of what type of remedy you choose for dealing with a migraine or other headache, if you are experiencing headaches on a regular basis – especially more than 8 per month – you should consult your doctor to find the best form of treatment for you.

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.

Migraines have been around for quiet some time and have been increasing.  In the past, the best doctors could do for a migraine sufferer, especially a chronic migraine sufferer, was to basically tell them to “take two aspirin and call me in the morning.”  You know the drill.  They would tell you to rest, decrease stress if possible and use Tylenol or Advil if the aspirin doesn’t work.  In addition, ice packs were also common treatments.  Most of these treatments didn’t work – and still don’t work – against debilitating and chronic migraines.

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.