While drugs for migraine relief can help in the short term, we know all to well there’s often a big price to pay over the long term. Each dose raises the risk of a future migraine by a certain amount. Which drugs have the most powerful impact on future risk? That’s the question we tackle […]
Category: migraine medications
Yes it’s true. We have no idea what we’re doing.
[testimonial category=”TESTIMONIAL_CATEGORY” size=”1/1″ type=”static”] Let’s just admit it. We have no idea what we’re doing. By “we” I mean those of us in the health care system who prescribe pharmaceuticals for any and all manner of disease and dysfunction. Not only are drugs woefully inadequate for the job we’ve assigned them, but time and again we […]
Why Medications Are My Last Resort
by Josh Turknett, MD “It’s hard to achieve wellness within a system that profits from our illness.” – Amanda Gelender “When did your migraines start,” I asked Carol, a 41 year old customer service rep who’d come to see me for chronic headaches. “Not until I was 37,”she said. They started out of […]
7 Warning Signs You’re Having Rebound Headaches
The Scale of the Problem I don’t think it’s possible for me to understate the scale of the problem when it comes to rebound headaches. Recently, in an effort to more precisely define the scope of the issue for myself, I did a chart audit to see just how many of my new […]
How to Choose the Right Migraine Medication: the Conclusion
In part one, we reviewed our over the counter options for migraine relief. In part two, we covered those that require a doctor’s scribble. And we concluded that, while most of our choices in both categories may be more trouble than they’re worth, some are worth remembering. But, even with things pared down a bit, […]
How to Choose the Right Migraine Medication, Part Two
In part one of this series, I reviewed the over-the-counter options for migraine relief. For some of you, these may represent a viable choice in certain situations. For others, not so much. That’s where the prescription medications come into play, which is the topic of today’s post. Up until quite recently, there wasn’t much difference […]
How to Choose the Right Migraine Medication: Part One
Long, unpronounceable names. A laundry list of potential side effects. Generic vs. brand. Standing in the pain relief aisle at the drug store can be an intimidating experience. There’s enough to ponder even when you’re feeling good. If your head is pounding, the level of difficulty is magnified tenfold. And while the best strategy is […]
What are Migraines, Part 2: Classic Migraine Symptoms
First of all, let’s recap the take home points from part 1: Migraines happen in normal brains Migraines are the result of a malfunction in pain processing, or specifically pain processing in reverse Migraines are weird. So we’ve established that, with migraine, everything is thrown on its head. Pain doesn’t mean what we normally […]