Welcome to the Migravent blog. The Migravent blog keeps you up to date with the latest news and information pertaining to migraines and migraine research. Migraines are a physical, neurobiological action that occurs in and around the brain. It is not something you're just going to "get over". In fact, migraines are becoming widely and increasingly recognized as a neurological disorder and not just a "bad day". If the pain or symptoms that happen before or during your headache keep you from your normal daily activities and responsibilities, you could be suffering from migraines. Learn more about Migravent's ability to effectively treat and prevent migraines. Feel free to discuss and share thoughts and opinions about the latest news in the world of migraines, cluster headaches and other migraine related topics. Manage your headaches and migraine attacks and gain more control over your life.
With migraines, your head often feels like a battle zone. If you suffer migraines and Meniere’s disease, it can feel like WWIII. Blinding headaches, throbbing ears, constant ear ringing, sharp pain in the eyes, dizziness, and vomiting are enough to make you want to raise the white flag. What’s the connection between tinnitus from Meniere’s disease and migraines?
What is Meniere’s disease?
Meniere’s disease is an inner ear disorder that causes dizziness and tinnitus (ear ringing). Most people who get Meniere’s disease are between the ages of 40 and 60, although it can happen in any age group. Meniere’s disease is caused by excess fluid in the ears that gets in the way of sound messages between the inner ear’s cochlea and the brain. Scientists do not agree as to why people get Meniere’s disease. Theories range from viruses, autoimmune disorder, allergies, or hereditary predisposition.
What are the symptoms of Meniere’s disease?
Three main symptoms indicate Meniere’s disease:
Sporadic vertigo: Sensation of spinning or rocking that includes nausea and vomiting; vertigo is not constant, and doesn’t usually last longer than one day.
Sensorineural hearing loss: Hearing loss that is caused by abnormal brain processing and communication between the brain and the cochlea is a symptom used to diagnose Meniere’s disease.
Tinnitus: Constant ear ringing; with Meniere’s disease, tinnitus symptoms are usually low pitch.
How are migraines and Meniere’s disease related?
Like Meniere’s disease, migraines are a disorder that occurs in the brain. One popular theory is that your nervous system, responding to migraine triggers, causes a spasm at the base of your brain that causes blood vessels to constrict, setting into motion a series of chemical reactions that lead to debilitating migraine headaches.
Some scientists believe that migraines are caused by intercepted messages between the brain and the blood vessels in the head. This bears striking resemblance to the cause of Meniere’s disease, which involves intercepted sound messages between the brain and the inner ear’s cochlea.
More facts correlating Meniere’s, tinnitus and migraines
Overwhelmingly, migraine disorder occurs more often in people with Meniere’s disease than in the general population.
The classic symptoms of Meniere’s disease- nausea, vertigo, ringing in the ears- are also common symptoms of a migraine attack.
Some scientists believe that like migraines, Meniere’s disease is also caused by constricted blood vessels.
Current research suggests that tinnitus in migraine sufferers is a symptom of allodynia, a neuropathic pain disorder that also occurs in fibromyalgia patients. Central sensitization caused by a hypersensitive nervous system causes symptoms like headaches, skin pain, and tinnitus.
Please tell us…
Do you suffer from tinnitus and migraines? If so, do you experience migraines with aura, or migraines without aura?
If you liked this article, then please share it with your friends!
Did you know that you could keep track of Migraines on your iPhone…that you can make our own custom migraine symptoms app for your iPad? It’s true! With very little technical know-how, you can tweak your favorite Apple device to remind you when to take your migraine medications, find the nearest pharmacy in a heartbeat, and stay on top of the latest in chronic pain management.
ur
Tip #1: Make your own app- it’s easy!
Here’s a dilemma- you want to keep up with your favorite migraine blogs from the convenience of your iPhone home screen, but…there’s no app for that! If only you could just paste an icon onto your home screen that would take you straight to the pages that you use most. Well, you can, and it’s simple.
Go to your favorite page. For example, let’s make an icon for the Migravent order page.
Click on the arrow at the bottom of the screen.
Now, choose “Add to Home Screen.”
The official title of the home page is Vita Sciences but you can change it to Migravent; just remember to keep it short and easy to identify.
That’s it! Now you have a shiny new custom-designed icon on your home page that you can’t get at the iTunes store. You can use this great trick for any website. Use it for pages that you use often, or just for something that you want quick access to in case of emergency. Pretty nifty, huh?
Tip #2: Set up pill reminders!
The iTunes app store offers lots of daily reminders that are inexpensive. You can track everything from your menstrual period, to your migraine triggers, to your bills. Sure, you could buy a pill reminder for 99-cents, but why bother? Your iPhone already came with an excellent calendar, and it’s just humming to remind you to take your migraine medications, vitamin supplements, or to order a new bottle of Migravent! You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to program it, either. Here’s how:
Go to your calendar. Click the “+” sign at the top right corner to add an event. (Question: When did remembering to take your migraine treatment become an event? Answer: When you found the one that gets rid of your migraines!)
Okay. Type in all the important details, like the name of the migraine remedy (Migravent), repeat sequence (daily), and the specific times you want to get your reminder. Steve Jobs must have foreseen that chronic pain patients would need to use this, because he cleverly programmed two alerts to remind you to take your meds; one initial reminder, and then another one, in case you missed the first warning because you were busy beating your head against the wall…
And here’s your gentle reminder to take your Migravent!
Tip #3: Find free migraine apps on iTunes!
iHeadache- The name says it all. This clever app helps you keep track of your migraine triggers with their innovative migraine headache diary.
The WebMD iPhone app offers valuable up-to-date medical information in the same practical, easily accessed format as viewed on their website. Check on the latest in migraine research, painkillers, and chronic pain symptoms.
Google Maps is another excellent iPhone tool for people who don’t have the time…or the opportunity to run to their desktop every time they need to locate their nearest pain clinic, ER, or 24-hour pharmacy.
If Walgreens is your pharmacy of choice, then store their address in your contacts file. Google Maps can access any of your contacts from the search bar- Just click on the little blue book icon.
You want to join in on the conversation, and be “in the know,” right? The best way to do that is to follow them on Twitter. This way, if the FDA decides to ban your one and only migraine medication, like butterbur supplements, you can be among the first to Occupy Migraine Research. ;-)
Learn more about migraine headaches, migraine awareness, and more:
If you’ve tried every other migraine remedy to relieve crushing migraine headaches with no success, maybe it’s time you tried remedies for ADHD. According to recent findings, an unusually high correlation exists between migraine disorder and adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
ADHD- It’s not just for kids anymore
In a new approach towards understanding ADHD, scientists have started including adult ADHD patients in their research, finding that many grown-ups suffer the same sort of social awkwardness and psychiatric problems faced by children with ADHD. Although the rate of attention deficit hyperactivity in adults is much lower than in children- 1-4% versus 2-12%- the consequences are just as devastating.
Symptoms of adult ADHD
Some of the most common symptoms of ADHD in adults are:
Anxiety
Depression
Mood swings
Work problems
Impulsive behavior,
Low attention span
Restlessness
How does ADHD correlate with migraine headaches?
It’s unknown if ADHD and migraines have a causative relationship (where one causes the other), or simply a comorbid (simultaneous) association. Some suspect that anti-ADHD medications contribute to migraine headache symptoms, while others wonder if a deeper explanation is in order.
They found a significantly higher occurrence of migraine headaches among adult ADHD patients than in the general population.
Despite the fact that migraine illness is a neurological chronic pain disorder, where ADHD is a cognitive and behavioral disorder, the two conditions seem to share a comorbid relationship.
ADHD patients with migraines are more likely to suffer from depression than ADHD patients who don’t get migraine headaches.
Surprise- Magnesium eases migraine and ADHD symptoms
In a European study on magnesium and children with ADHD, scientists found that children who took magnesium and vitamin B6 supplements experienced significantly reduced symptoms of hyperactivity, aggressiveness, or attention problems in school after only two months of vitamin supplementation. Many researchers today speculate that ADHD may indicate a magnesium deficiency.
Likewise, numerous studies focusing on magnesium and migraine headaches have confirmed a dramatic decrease (40%) of migraine symptoms with the introduction of routine magnesium supplements, suggesting a possible correlation with migraine disorder and magnesium deficiency.
Read more about magnesium as a natural migraine treatment:
Darkness rules the den of a migraine sufferer- no bright lights or glaring television screens here. Shades and curtains are pulled down, bed is unmade, and the sign on the door warns, “Migraineur’s lair- Enter if you dare.” No, light is no friend of mine when a migraine headache strikes. Take me to the Batcave, Robin- it’s going to be a doozy.
Photophobia, or Go away from the light!
It’s not your imagination; lights are a major migraine trigger for millions of other chronic headache sufferers. Besides migrainephotophobia, sensitivity to bright lights, other causes of light hypersensitivity are eye damage, drug side effects, excessive contact lens wearing, and meningitis.
Below are 10 interesting facts about light sensitivity and migraines:
#1- Photophobia is neurological. When you get a migraine attack, your pupils allow too much light to enter, overstimulating your retina, which in turn send pain signals to the optic nerve.
#2- You can’t escape bright lights. Unless you live in a cave, migraine triggers are everywhere. Fluorescent “curly lights” are the norm in most indoor environments, as are glowing computer screens and plasma flat-screened televisions. Car headlights shine in your eyes even on sunny days.
#3- If light gives you blinding headaches, you’re in good company. Photophobia is so common it affects 85% of all migraine headache patients.
#4- Bright-eyed and blinking: Among the people most likely to suffer from light sensitivity are migraine patients, people with cataracts, and those with light-colored eyes.
#5- Photophobia happens even when you don’t realize it. Even when you’re not having a migraine, you are more sensitive to lights and sounds that don’t bother non-headache sufferers. Like a magnet, your eyes and ears absorb every irritating sound and flickering light in the background.
#6- Photophobia is one-sided. Migraines characteristically strike one side of the head. Similarly, light sensitivity causes eye pain on one side of the head- in most cases, the same side as the migraine.
#7- Photophobia affects blind migraineurs, too. Scientists wanted to know if bright lights are a migraine trigger for the blind. They examined twenty blind individuals who suffered from migraines, including six who had no perception of light. When subjected to bright light, the blind migraine patients who could identify light patterns reported exacerbated migraine symptoms, while the six subjects who could not detect light saw no difference in migraine severity.
#8- Seeing red? Good. In a famous study, migraine patients who wore red-tinted contact lenses for 5-90 minutes experienced significant headache relief, and some even experienced a complete remission of migraine headache symptoms.
#9- Old age: finally, something to look forward to. Some scientific data suggests that symptoms of migraines like nausea, vomiting, and photophobia may significantly decrease by the time you reach fifty.
#10- If you can see it, you can feel it. Bright lights migraines, but so do other photophobia triggers. In addition to light, other factors that cause eyestrain are intense colors, geometric patterns, and flickering. Looking at large, stark white walls may induce a migraine attack. So can glimpsing designs with contrasting colors- black and white bar codes, zigzags, and zebra stripes may cause excruciating eye pain. Also, low-contrast flickering objects seem to bother migraine headache sufferers more than non-migraineurs.
Try as you might to prevent migraines from ruining your day, some migraine triggers such as perfumes are unavoidable. Fragrances found in synthetic perfumes, scented shampoos, lotions, and detergents permeate your atmosphere, triggering migraine headaches, nausea, dizziness, and even slurred speech. That’s because many leading perfumes contain actual poisons that endanger your health, chemicals proven to cause central nervous system disorders, damage to reproductive organs, and cancer.
Do perfume labels include a list of all ingredients?
No. Current federal law allows perfume companies like Calvin Klein and Christian Dior a special loophole for trade secrets- the right to list harmful headache-inducing chemicals as ”fragrances”- an undisclosed cocktail of ingredients, thus protecting their top-secret formula. Most popular perfumes contain chemicals that the EPA recognizes as carcinogens, allergens, and narcotics- some of which the FDA banned years ago, and many of which are identical to the toxins cigarette manufacturers put in their tobacco to hook consumers.
What are the side effects of perfume exposure?
Toxins from perfumes seep into your skin, permeate your lungs, cause damage to your nervous system and ailments like severe headaches, skin rashes, and respiratory illnesses. Here are some of the most common reactions:
Headaches- Strong scents are a common migraine trigger for many patients of chronic headaches. Some other migraine triggers are bright lights, loud noises, food ingredients, sleep irregularities, hormones, and weather changes. Read Avoiding Migraine Triggers- Here, There and Everywhere
Study clears the air about secret toxins in perfumes
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Environmental Working Group recently conducted a study that focused on 17 leading perfume labels. Lab testing revealed 38 undisclosed ingredients, which they published in their article Not So Sexy: The Health Risk of Secret Chemicals in Fragrances. Some of the biggest offenders included American Eagle Seventy Seven, Chanel Coco, Britney Spears Curious, and Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gio.
g-Terpinene- Causes central nervous system disorder
Lilial (Butylphenyl methylpropional)- Disruptive to hormones, allergen
Limonene- Carcinogen, causes central nervous system disorder
Linalool- Narcotic, causes central nervous system disorder
Lyral- Allergen, causes eczema
Methylene chloride- Banned by the FDA, carcinogen, EPA hazardous waste list, causes central nervous system disorder
Musk ketone- Disruptive to hormones
Myrcene- possible carcinogen
Octinoxate (Octyl methoxycinnamate) – Disruptive to hormones and thyroid
Oxybenzone- Disruptive to hormones
Toluene- Carcinogen
Tonalide- toxic to the endocrine system
Which perfumes should I avoid?
Here is a list of perfumes that contain dangerously high levels of toxins that may cause cancer, migraine headaches, dermatitis, respiratory illness, hormonal disorders, and organ failure:
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a powerful antioxidant that is used to treat migraines, heart disease symptoms, and to boost the immune system. CoQ10 has many beneficial properties in addition to being an antioxidant- it is also effective as an antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory medication.
What is coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)?
Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone-Q10) is a nutrient that occurs in protein food sources such as meat and fish. CoQ10 levels decrease with age, causing CoQ10 deficiency. Other people who might have low CoQ10 levels are people who suffer from chronic illness (heart disease, Parkinson’s, migraines), autoimmune diseases (HIV/AIDS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome), or people taking certain prescription drugs, including statins.
What illnesses are treatable with CoQ10?
CoQ10 has been the focus of many clinical studies on heart patients, hypertension, migraine headaches, diabetes, and autoimmune disorders. Scientists have found that daily supplements of CoQ10 are effective at treating the following:
Coenzyme Q10 deficiency- 150 mg daily
To maintain sufficient levels of coenzyme Q10, boost energy, and support healthy cell production, physicians recommend taking 150 milligrams per day.
Migraine headache- 100 mg, three times daily
Numerous clinical studies confirm that taking CoQ10 supplements relieves migrainesby at least 50%. Patients in the study who suffered from migraine with aura experienced fewer migraine attacks after supplementing with CoQ10. Also, when a migraine would occur, it was less severe, shorter in duration, and requiring less recuperation than migraines that occurred before CoQ10 supplementation.
One of the side effects of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs in deep muscular pain; many patients who take statin have reported pain relief following daily regimentation of coenzyme Q10.
Congestive heart failure (CHF)- 100 mg per day, divided into 2 or 3 doses
Coenzyme Q10 is helpful for treating patients of CHF when taken in with other medications for heart disease.
Hypertension, 120-200 mg per day, divided into 2 doses
CoQ10 aids in lowering blood pressure, particularly when taken in combination with other hypertension medications.
Parkinson’s disease- 300 mg, 600 mg, 1200 mg, or 2400 mg per day, in 3 to 4 divided doses
Ample evidence indicates that patients in the beginning stages of Parkinson’s disease who take CoQ10 supplements experience a slower progression of disease symptoms than patients who do not take Coenzyme Q10.
HIV/AIDS- 200 mg per day.
CoQ10 strengthens the immune system of people suffering from HIV/AIDS.
Muscular dystrophy- 100 mg per day
In tests, patients of muscular dystrophy saw improved muscular strength and physical fitness after taking supplementation of Coenzyme Q10.
Male infertility-200 to 300 mg per day
By boosting the immunity, CoQ10, taken daily, increases sperm activity in men suffering from infertility.
Pre-eclampsia- 100 mg twice daily, beginning at week 20 of pregnancy until delivery
Studies indicate that women who take Coenzyme Q10 supplements from the 20th week of pregnancy until childbirth are significantly less likely to develop preeclampsia during their pregnancy than pregnant women of the same risk category who don’t take CoQ10.
Other illness possibly treatable with CoQ10:
Though the evidence is still pending, many practitioners of natural remedies swear by the beneficial properties in CoQ10 for treating various other ailments:
Decreased energy
Many people take CoQ10 to boost energy and increase endurance in sports performance. Because Coenzyme Q10 aids in producing ATP, an energy-giving molecule, people who suffer from mitochondrial disease symptoms such as low energy production, sufferers of chest pain (angina), or just individuals wishing to raise their endurance level, find that CoQ10 supplements give them the added dose of energy they need.
Breast cancer
Natural supplements such as CoQ10, in addition to other antioxidants such as omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, make up part of an overall treatment for advanced breast cancer that also includes conventional medicine and surgery.
Gum disease
Operating under the assumption that gum disease may result from CoQ10 deficiency, many believe that applying CoQ10 directly to the teeth and gums is sufficient for treating dental (periodontal) disease.
Diabetes
Many scientists are in the process of proving that that taking Coenzyme Q10 helps diabetics by lowering blood sugar levels.
Fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS)
Increasing research indicates that taking Coenzyme Q10 relieves pain symptoms and improves the quality of life in people suffering from fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome.
Hair loss
A growing body of evidence suggests that CoQ10 may prevent hair loss caused by the blood-thinning medication warfarin (Coumadin).
Are there any drug reactions to CoQ10?
People taking the following medications or treatments should seek a doctor’s approval before taking CoQ10 for the first time:
Chemotherapy for cancer- the antioxidant properties of CoQ10 might interfere with chemotherapy results.
High blood pressure medications- CoQ10 lowers blood pressure, so taking the two medications in combination could result in excessively low blood pressure.
Warfarin (Coumadin) – Since CoQ10 increases blood clotting, taking it in conjunction with a blood thinning medication could impede results.
Complex migraine with aura, like the basilar migraine, causes stroke-like symptoms that literally take your words away- aphasia is one of several disturbing symptoms of migraine aura. Learn all about aphasic migraine causes and treatments.
A migraine attack is not just a headache
Millions of people suffer debilitating migraine headaches, but few non-migraineurs understand that the throbbing headache, as disabling as it is, is one of many migrainesymptoms. When migraine attacks strike, they often cause stomach-clenching nausea, uncontrolled vomiting, diarrhea, sharp sensitivity to lights, sounds, and scents, fatigue, and irritability. So debilitating is migraine illness that many long-time chronic migraine sufferers have difficulty keeping a job, performing daily chores, and making appointments. Depression and anxiety are common comorbidities of migraine illness.
Migraines are split into two general categories- migraines with aura (MA), and migraines without aura. An aura happens in the prodrome phase of a migraine attack- the minutes leading up to a migraine. Auras serve as a warning to the patient of the impending migraine, and usually occur about fifteen minutes before the migraine strikes. Migraine auras can cause visual hallucinations, usually described as bright flickering lights, glowing crescent-shaped forms, and rainbow zigzag images. Other migraine aura symptoms are vertigo (dizziness), olfactory hallucinations (imagined burnt scents), temporary partial paralysis, and aphasia.
Aphasia is defined as a communication disorder that impairs one’s ability to process language, both in written and spoken words. People with aphasia have trouble putting words together to speak or write, understanding what others are saying, and comprehending what they read. When they try to speak, words come out garbled and unintelligible. This does not mean they are unintelligent- aphasia usually results from damage to the left hemisphere of the brain. Many stroke victims suffer aphasia causing partial or complete loss of speech.
Migraines that cause aura with aphasia are usually complex basilar migraines caused by a disorder of a major artery at the brainstem or base of the brain. TV reporter Serene Branson suffered a complex migraine (also called a complicated migraine) with aura on the air while covering the Grammys. Spectators believed her to be having a stroke, so common are the symptoms of migraine aura aphasia. Other names for basilar migraines are:
Symptoms of complex migraine often include pounding headache, blurred vision, temporary partial blindness, temporary partial paralysis on one side, loss of muscular strength, difficulty walking in a straight line, and garbled speech.
Aphasia treatments
If you suffer any of the symptoms of aphasia- difficulty talking clearly or understanding what others are saying- contact emergency services immediately so that a stroke may be ruled out. If migraines are the cause of aphasia, then a headache specialist might prescribe preventative or abortive migraine treatments to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks. Additionally, natural remedies for migraines may reduce frequency and severity of migraine attacks by at least 50%. Some excellent sources of natural migraine reliefinclude coenzyme Q10, butterbur, riboflavin (vitamin B2), and magnesium.
It occurred to me that migraines are as much a part of your life as certain family members that always manage to give you a headache without even trying. There’s one in every family. No use pretending they don’t exist. They’re as real as the migraine headache that is sure to attack next time the weather changes.
Like the arrival of a rude uncle, whenever migraines attack you put on a brave face. “Sure, come on in,” you say, cracking into a grin. All the time thinking, How long will you stay this time…? He spins around, and demands a hug. You grudgingly agree, and the whiff of his musky aftershave triggers a migraine the size of Texas.
You must come more often…
You make a show of not being disturbed by the first migraine symptoms- dull throbbing pain on one side of your head, stiff neck, while your uncle slaps you hard on the back and hollers an off-colored joke in your ear, waiting for your reaction. “Good one, uncle!” You think you might vomit.
It seems that you’re the only one who suffers migraines. Nobody else seems bothered by the uninvited guest. Nobody notices the agony that you hope is etched onto your face. You try to excuse yourself, nonchalantly, smiling weakly and saying that you feel the beginnings of a severe migraine attack.“Can we get together another day?” you ask, thinking perhaps sometime next century… But your uncle bellows, “What’s the matter-got a headache? You don’t look sick!”
Is it just me…?
The migraine lingers, and so does your uncle. As he sinks deeper into your couch cushions, flicking on the television, your migraine headache also seems to have taken up permanent residency in your brain. The throbbing intensifies, flashes of light cause blinding pain behind your eyes, and the sound of laughter nearby echoes painfully inside your head. Your stomach sinks with nausea. No, he’s not going anywhere anytime soon. And neither is your migraine.
You can do this.
The phone rings. You try to have a normal conversation, but your uncle-migraine screams in the background, making it impossible to concentrate. You grow irritable, and you hardly recognize your own voice as you cut the phone call short and hang up. You will have to apologize later for your rudeness, but now is not the time to dwell on that. Uncle Migraine wants to talk about migraine remedies…
At long last, your migraine makes the first signs of diminishing, slowly relaxing its death grip on your skull, while your uncle stretches and excuses himself to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he reappears, makes a few more jabbing comments, and saunters haltingly to the door. You will him to leave, silently sending him thought rays, Please, please, please…
Not without another hug! This time, bone crushing, the thick musk smothers you again. You can barely breathe. Migraines go away, but their aftereffects linger like the trail of bad cologne.
Time to recuperate.
Turn off the lights, close the blinds, lie down on your bed, and most importantly, unplug the phone. (You wouldn’t put it past uncle to call you right now from his smartphone, thwarting your chances of recovery.) Empty your mind, close your eyes, put the whole experience behind you, and suffer quietly as your headache slowly ebbs away. You are back.
Until we meet again, uncle…but not if I see you first.
It’s a double-edged sword- taking prescribed painkillers for migraines. On the one hand, migraine headaches are so excruciating and energy draining, you’ll take almost anything to make the throbbing headaches and nausea go away. On the other hand, you might be giving yourself a rebound headache- practically penciling in the next migraine attack.
It can be as simple as that. But according to some doctors, the pill popping in this country has gotten out of control. In fact, according to many neurologists who specialize in headaches, primary care physicians in some cases are actually contributing to their patients’ overuse of painkillers.
Meet Barbara
Every single day, multiple times a day, Barbara Campbell is managing her pain, or trying to prevent it. For more than 20 years, Campbell has suffered from debilitating headaches, or migraines.
“It’s really blinding if you don’t take something that’s strong enough to kill it. Sometimes, I have to turn my kids over to someone…”
They’re usually triggered by tension, and unbeknownst to her, until just recently, even the very pills she was popping to take the headaches away were actually contributing to the pain, and causing a second possibly more dangerous problem- addiction.
“It’s an epidemic- it really is a serious issue. They come not only with one problem, with a migraine case, but they also come with an angelic overuse case.”
Too busy for migraines
Barbara Campbell: “I was raising my three sons, and…you’re busy. You’re driving carpools here, running all over…the kids are breaking arms and legs.”
“These are really people in their peak performance years, and they’re really stymied by this, by the pain, and then with the analgesic overuse.” -Dr. Moriarty, Georgetown University Hospital
Pain medications- how much is too much?
Her primary care physician gave her Fioricet, a barbiturate-based painkiller, along with a beta blocker. But after two years, the headaches persisted. Her doctor then gave her Oxycodone or Percocet.
“I took it in a low dose, and then after a while I took it in a higher dose. The headache would come back, so you end up taking more. And that’s the problem.”
Dr. Moriarty: “When you take a pain medication more frequently than eight days a month, or if you break that down, more than two days a week, you actually can lower the threshold.”
Are most docs ignorant of migraine illness?
The problem: Dr. Moriarty says primary care physicians don’t know any better. The painkillers can easily be called into the pharmacy, no extra screening required, and the drugs are relatively inexpensive. General practitioners have an average eight minutes to spend with a patient, and in many cases, this is a quick and easy fix.
“These are medicines that have been in the market for many, many years, so the primary care provider is really familiar with them. So they feel comfortable with them.”
Dangerous side effects of migraine meds
The problem is these drugs can eventually take a toll on your liver. As drying agents, they’re known to cause dental problems. They can cause fatigue and even changes in your hormonal cycle.
Dr. Moriarty says they can ultimately destroy lives. “Not only does it medically create havoc, but emotionally and socially.”
If she did it, so can you…
Barbara Campbell: “I had to go somewhere and just stop taking them altogether.”
“You take all your medicine up to Michigan, and hand it over to them, happily, and then you’re in an inpatient hospital there.”
After a couple of weeks, Barbara came home, no longer dependent on painkillers, and on a new regimen that was actually helping her pain.
Does she blame her doctors for providing the meds she ultimately became dependent upon? No- she blames herself.
“I just didn’t take the time to slow down and really look at how much medicine I was taking. I was trying to just meet the needs that I had at the time, and I really dragged this out too long. I should have stopped it.”
There are only 300 neurologists in the US with a specialty in headaches, so you do have to be your own best advocate, read up about the disorder, and make a list of questions to take in to your primary care physician.
Natural migraine remedies
Some alternative medications that may help you wean off painkillers include magnesium, butterbur, and riboflavin, taken together in one supplement. Many migraine patients claim that taking herbal butterbur, combined with magnesium, has drastically reduced their migraine symptoms in severity and frequency by 90%.
Throughout the years, scientists have conducted many studies linking chronic migraines with anxiety attacks and panic disorder; other symptoms associated with migraine headaches include phobias, depression, and bipolar disorder.
Anxiety and migraine illness occur together
In a 2009 study, scientists Gregory E. Ratcliffe B.Sc. and Jitender Sareen M.D., F.R.C.P.C. observed the correlation between chronic headaches and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).
According to researchers, certain people are more susceptible to mood disorders such as anxiety disorder and depression than others are- and those people are also more likely to experience chronic migraine than people who don’t suffer from anxiety attacks.
Clinical study links migraines with mental disorders
The study, published by General Hospital Psychiatry, focused on over four thousand test subjects from an earlier study on migraines- the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey.
About Eleven percent of German migraine patients suffered from migraine headaches in addition to at least one of several mental disorders, including:
Chronic depression
General anxiety disorder (GAD)
Dysthymia
Bipolar disorder
Panic attacks
Panic disorder
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Substance abuse disorders
Agoraphobia
General phobias
“Together, migraine and mental disorders cause more impairment than alone,” says lead study author Gregory Ratcliffe, University of Manitoba, Canada. “Patients who have one condition should be assessed for the other so they can be treated holistically. Although it is important to know that both are present, treating one will have an effect on the other.”
Migraines are a recurring nightmare
Scientists also discovered that migraine patients who suffer from anxiety are 40% more likely to suffer from severe depression, as well. Researchers have observed a cyclic relationship between depression, anxiety, and migraine attacks. Depressed individuals begin to experience symptoms of anxiety, which include heart palpitations, nervousness, feelings of despair, and uncontrolled thought patterns. The aftermath of anxiety attacks often includes migraine; among the many symptoms of chronic migraines, depression is one of the most common, and so the cycle continues.
Dealing with anxiety and migraines
Migraine headache specialists recommend the following tips for preventing migraines and anxiety:
Acknowledge the reality of the situation by doing your research. The more you learn about your brain and migraine illness, the sooner you will come to realize that there are perfectly reasonable, scientifically proven explanations for all the symptoms of anxiety you are experiencing.
Keep track of migraine triggers by keeping a headache journal.
Practice guided meditation, relaxation techniques, and exercises such as yoga or Tai Chi, all of which focus on quieting the mind.
Stay regular. Migraines sufferers are very sensitive to fluctuations, so sleep regular hours, eat at regular intervals, and prepare yourself for hormonal changes such as menopause, menstruation, pregnancy, and perimenopause.
Seek out alternative natural migraine remedies, such as aromatherapy, biofeedback, acupuncture, restrictive dieting, and natural supplements, such as butterbur, magnesium, and riboflavin.
