Acute treatment for migraine attacks
Migraine is such a common disease, you’d expect all health professionals would know the best treatments and how to manage acute attacks. Unfortunately, this often isn’t the case. Migraine is commonly undertreated and mistreated. For example, we often hear from members in our community that they had not been told about or offered triptans for […]
Phases of a migraine attack
We’ve become more familiar with the phrase ‘Migraine is more than just a headache’ but what does that mean, exactly? In one sense, it means that the type of headache experienced during a migraine attack is usually more severe than the garden-variety tension-type headache. A migraine headache is described as throbbing, stabbing, pulsating, pounding, unbearable […]
The three blobs of our logo
If you’ve ever wondered why there are three overlapping blobby ovals in the Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand (MFANZ) logo, we have a variety of explanations. The main phases of migraine Strictly speaking, there are four main phases of migraine: the prodrome or premonitory phase, the aura phase, the headache phase, and the post-dromal or […]
Holidays start – and along comes a migraine attack
It’s a familiar story – the end of the year, finishing up at work, rushing around to prepare for Christmas, packing up for a holiday away, then finally, you can relax and enjoy a break. Except… just as you reach for that book you’ve been planning to read for weeks, you feel the first tentacles […]
The power of a crystal-clear day
Migraine attacks come in phases for many people. They start with a constellation of possible symptoms, from fatigue, neck stiffness, yawning, sensitivity to light, sound, touch and smell, food cravings, mood changes and blurred vision. These can last for an hour or two or even a few days. Then, in 20–30% of people with migraine, […]
Biofeedback: an underused migraine treatment
There’s a treatment for migraine that is safe, has no side effects and may work as well as a preventive medication – but it’s not a pill. (3) That treatment is biofeedback. Biofeedback is a method of training people to control physiological functions, including heart rate, temperature, breathing rate and muscle tension. This is done […]
Anxiety and migraine
Do you have trouble relaxing? Are you unable to control or stop worrying? Feel nervous, anxious or on edge? These were the most common symptoms of anxiety found in a study of people with migraine and mood disorders, that found anxiety was strongly associated with migraine, even more so than depression. (1) Anxiety is more […]
Emgality Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
In September 2022, the second calcitonin gene-related monoclonal (CGRP) monoclonal antibody medication called Emgality (galcanezumab) was launched in New Zealand. Since the launch, we’ve received many questions about who can prescribe Emgality, which pharmacists stock it and how it’s given. We’ve put together these Frequently Asked Questions to help. If there’s a question that’s not […]
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 […]
