Many women suffer from menstrual migraine attacks, which are often more debilitating, longer, more likely to recur, and less responsive to treatment than migraines not related to the menstrual cycle. Information on how best to prevent menstrual migraine is scant, and until recently no evidence-based…
Triptans are first-line medications to treat acute migraine, but new research shows patients do not take them in more than 40% of their migraine attacks. Few studies have been conducted regarding how closely migraine patients follow treatment protocols. Recently, however, Robert A. Nicholson, PhD, of…
Q. I have been dealing with migraines that I inherited from my mother, who got them from her mother, for almost 20 years now. I lose a week of my life every month when I get my menstrual cycle. I’ve been looking for a way to…
Several medications were recently deemed the most effective for treating acute migraine, including triptans, dihydroergotamine (DHE), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), butorphanol nasal spray, and the combination medication of sumatriptan/naproxen and acetaminophen/aspirin/caffein). Several other migraine medications were considered “probably effective” or “possibly effective.” The results of…
Q. I’m starting to notice a couple of changes with my migraines and wonder if these are common. One is that I am getting mini-cluster headaches once or twice a day, 2 or 3 days before a big migraine attack, and the other is nausea…
According to a recent study, using a screening tool that asks if a patient experiences headache disability, nausea, and sensitivity to light can help diagnose migraine and decrease opiate prescriptions. In the first phase of their research, K.C. Brennan, MD (left), and colleagues at the…
Q. I have had chronic daily headaches and migraines with aura for years. I also have fibromyalgia, TMJ (temporomandibular joint syndrome) disorder and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). All of these involve chronic pain. I take Relpax® for the migraines, which helps a lot with the aura…
Q. I get three to four migraines per month, sometimes with aura, sometimes without. I find that my biggest triggers are my menstrual cycle and stress. Given this, which medication is more effective for migraine prevention: beta blockers or calcium channel blockers? A. There is no…
The high blood pressure medication candesartan (Atacand) appears to be as effective as the more commonly prescribed medication propranolol (Inderal) in preventing migraine attacks. Many doctors already prescribe candesartan for migraine prevention, but researchers from St. Olav’s Hospital in Trondheim, Norway, and the Norwegian University…
The throbbing quality of migraine pain many not result from changes in blood vessels as previously thought, but rather from brain waves. Experts have long believed that the throbbing quality of pain is related to arterial pulsations and the rhythm of the heart. However, a…
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