The link between migraine and depression
For Mental Health Awareness Week, we want to highlight that people with migraine disease are at greater risk of some mental illnesses, especially depression and anxiety. It’s a sad truth that migraine and depression travel together. If you have migraine disease, you’re more likely to experience depression than those without it, especially if you have […]
Medication-overuse headache
How do you balance taking acute migraine medications as soon as you feel a migraine attack starting, without taking too many to tip you into medication-overuse headache? Solving that problem is enough to bring on a headache. Medication-overuse headache, also called medication adaptation or medication-induced headache, is something many people with migraine struggle with. Medication-overuse […]
Gepants – more migraine drugs we’re missing out on
The new vogue of migraine medications are those that block calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a small protein found in the nervous system involved in the processing of pain. The role of CGRP in migraine was confirmed by a study that injected CGRP into people with migraine, which provoked migraine attacks. Since then, the search has […]
Massage for migraine
Can regular massage help manage migraine? Relaxing music, aromatic oils, warm towels, dim lights and therapeutic muscle manipulation – these are the essence of a massage treatment. It sounds good, smells good, feels good – but can it help with migraine? There hasn’t been a lot of research on massage for migraine, but there was […]
Downward dog for migraine?
Effectiveness of yoga therapy for migraine treatment: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. When I saw the title of this research article, I was immediately intrigued. I’ve been doing yoga for years, sporadically. I’d been told I should do yoga every day for migraine but I’ve never been able to find the time or the […]
When migraine is a pain in the neck
Many people with migraine experience neck pain during an attack. Does this mean we need to treate the neck to deal with migraine? In day-to-day language, including in the press, the word ‘migraine’ is often used synonymously with ‘headache’. Case in point: This recent Newshub article: “[Simon] O’Connor…caused a four-day migraine for his party with […]
Migraine triggers – or warning signs?
Studies show that some factors we commonly consider a migraine trigger are probably the prodromal phase of migraine. What exactly triggers a migraine attack? Many of us have spent too much time pondering on the cause of any particular attack – was it because of stress at work? A poor night’s sleep? A glass of […]
Menstrual migraine – a monthly monster
Many women dread their periods, but having migraine along for the ride can turn an uncomfortable event into a monster. Women are more likely to have migraine disease than men, but only after puberty. In children, the prevalence of migraine disease is the same in boys and girls. But once girls get their period, something […]
Nerve stimulation to treat migraine attacks
A new randomised controlled trial reports that stimulation of the largest facial nerve can treat a migraine attack. Most of us are familiar with taking medicines to treat a migraine attack – paracetamol, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory such as aspirin or ibuprofen, a triptan – but new treatments target the nervous system through devices, with no […]
Treatment of migraine in the emergency department
An evidence-based, medically reviewed treatment plan for people with migraine who visit the emergency department for acute treatment. Medically reviewed by Dr Pyari Bose MBBS, MD, FRCP (London), FRACP, Consultant Neurologist Many of us with migraine disease end up at the emergency department (ED) at least once in our lives, especially if we’re struck with […]
