Migraine 3-minute thesis winner
By Tyla Alexander I am a final year PhD student in Professor Debbie Hay’s Laboratory in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Otago. Recently, I competed in the 3-minute thesis (3MT) competition and won the University of Otago Grand Final. The aim of the competition was for us to present our […]
Twenty three survey key insight reports published
In August 2022, Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand undertook the first online survey of people with migraine in NZ (the Migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand survey). We did this because there was no information about what it was like to live with migraine in NZ, the range of treatments people were using or would like […]
New migraine questions in the next New Zealand Health Survey
A year ago in June 2022, Migraine Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand applied to the Ministry of Health to add questions about migraine to the New Zealand Health Survey, a national survey of over 13,000 adults. This month we received the positive news that questions we asked for have been included in the 2023/24 survey, and will […]
Anti-seizure medications and migraine
Even though they were developed to treat seizure disorders, anti-seizure medicines are commonly used for migraine prevention. However, they only work about half of the time and they are not easy to take, having multiple and often unpleasant side effects. Anti-seizure medicines that can be recommended for migraine prevention include topiramate (Topamax), sodium valproate (Epilim), […]
Feeling judged or misunderstood by your partner because of migraine
It’s bad enough living with a chronic neurological condition that causes unpredictable attacks of pain, nausea, fatigue and brain dysfunction for no apparent reason. It’s even worse when the people you love and live with are not supportive when these attacks happen. Migraine is one of those diseases that is commonly misunderstood, with people believing […]
New Zealand health survey data – a decade to be released
Have you ever been told by a doctor you have migraines [sic]? This is what people were asked in the 2013/14 New Zealand Health Survey, the last time the Ministry of Health collected data on the prevalence of migraine in Aotearoa New Zealand. There are some obvious problems with this question. What if you have […]
Few people on a benefit for migraine in New Zealand
If you’ve ever wondered how many people in Aotearoa New Zealand are on a benefit with migraine disease, we have some answers, but many more questions. We asked the Ministry of Social Development for the number of people with migraine on a Supported Living Payment (SLP-HCD), or a Jobseeker – Health Condition or Disability (JS-HCD) […]
More migraine data needed in New Zealand
New Zealand has a migraine data issue. The issue is the lack of data on migraine in New Zealand. We rely on estimates from the international Global Burden of Disease study to give us an idea of how common migraine is, because we don’t have up-to-date national statistics. Data from the New Zealand Health Survey […]
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 […]
