Living with Migraines

Has anyone ever tried this?

My favorite tasty remedy? The ice cream technique. Some people find relief by causing a “brain freeze.” Place spoonfuls of ice cream on the soft palate at the back of the mouth until they melt or become intolerable. This directly cools the hypothalamus, which is suspected to be involved with migraines.

I’ve used the pain of a brain freeze to try to explain to people just how intense the pain of migraine can be.  Everyone knows what that intense pain feels like - now imagine feeling like that for upwards of 36 hours instead of 10-20 seconds!  I’ve never considered using that kind of pain to try and relieve the pain of a migraine.

Any woman with hormonal migraines knows that estrogen plays a part in migraine.  The fact that so many more women than men get migraines ought to clue us in that estrogen plays a role.  A new study confirms the connection between estrogen withdrawal and migraine.

There is a relationship between changing levels of estrogen during the menstrual cycle and the incidence of migraine, and if timed correctly transdermal estrogen therapy can prevent such migraines, a new study shows.

…As a result of the study, we’ve learnt that estrogen supplements are effective and if we continue them for several days into the next cycle, we can avoid the problem of deferring attacks,” Dr. MacGregor told Reuters Health. “We now routinely recommend this as a strategy for our patients with menstrual migraine.”

According to this news article out of Chicago, a new study is currently enrolling participants to study nerve stimulation for migraine relief.

Freitag is teaming up with Dr. Sandeep Amin at Rush University Medical Center to study nerve stimulation for migraine relief.

“You are stimulating large nerve fibers, which have the ability to block the sensation of pain,” said Dr. Sandeep Amin, anesthesiologist.

When implanted, this device sends electrical impulses to the occipital nerves in the head. The occipital nerves are a set of nerves in the back of the head that arise from the upper part of the cervical spine. Stimulation of this particular set of nerves is an exploration of whether blocking nerve impulses will block the sensation of pain in patients who have migraines.

It’s an interesting idea.  I know for me, sometimes if I press on just the right spot at  just the right time with just the right amount of pressure, I can sometimes get temporary relief from the pain, as though I’m blocking off the pain.

Rebound headaches are the result of over-using pain medications to deal with headaches.  Get a headache, take medication, rebound, take more medication, and so on, creating a vicious cycle.  This article talks more about the rebound phenomenon.

Adds Dr Larry Newman, director of the Headache Institute at Roosevelt Hospital in New York City: “As the drug wears out of the system, it causes a vasodilation [dilation of the blood vessels], which sets off a headache cycle and you re-dose and it’s a never-ending cycle of chasing your tail.”

Towards the end of the article are several suggestions for alternative treatments, and it’s worth a read if you’re new to researching ways to cope with migraine.

So, women with migraine are more likely to be depressed, according to one new study.

Women with chronic headache, especially migraines, are more likely to be depressed, feel tired, and have a host of other severe physical symptoms, according to a study published in the January 9, 2007, issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

I’ve read before that migraine and depression an both be linked to serotonin levels, so a study like this doesn’t surprise me.  Bulimia can be linked to serotonin as well, and I’ve dealt with all three, surprise surprise.

My daughter’s teacher suffers from migraines, too. Last Thursday she had to leave school early and wasn’t back on Friday. She’s back to day and feeling much better, but she said it took a few days to get back to normal. I can relate. It’s hard juggling the demands of life - family, career - when you’re also dealing with a migraine. And when you’re completely sidelined and can’t even function, then what? You rely on everyone around you to help pick up the slack and carry on in your place. It’s hard, feeling that need to reply on other people, to have to let them take care of things for you without feeling like you can really “make it up” to them. Accepting help is a must, but it isn’t always easy to do, and there are often strong feelings of guilt that come with it.

I continue to be amazed that I haven’t missed a day of work yet due to migraine. *knocks on wood*

Looks like there’s another migraine medication in the works -

MONTGOMERY, Ala., Jan. 8 (UPI) — U.S. firm ProEthic Pharmaceuticals said Monday it has promising findings from a phase 3 study of its fast-acting migraine therapy.

The company said the eight-month, 690-patient study of its drug candidate PRO-513 met all of its endpoints by proving superior to placebo in pain relief and associated symptoms of nausea, sensitivity to light or sensitivity to sound at two hours.

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