Archive for the ‘Migraine’ category

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Migraine causes and treatment of tension headache

January 31st, 2011

Migraine headaches are repeated or recurrent headaches, possibly caused by changes in the diameter of blood vessels in the head. Migraine headaches are often classified into two types – migraine with aura (previously classic migraine) and migraine without aura (formerly known as migraine). Most people with migraines do not have any warning before it occurs. In cases of “classic” migraine, visual disturbances known as aura happens before the headache begins. Classic migraine is different from “normal” migraine or “complicated” migraines (which occur with speech, movement, or other problems in the nervous system) (which have no warning signs or aura). Auras usually last less than an hour. The headache typically begins less than an hour after the broadcast ends. About two in 10 people who experience migraine auras, sensory or motor disturbances before the actual headache to have. Most auras consist of visual disturbances, like a blind spot or a flickering zigzag line or half-moon in your field. A different kind of aura include unusual sensations such as numbness and tingling in the lips, lower face and fingers. A third type relates to motor function, leading to problems with movement or speech.

Read more about migraine and high blood pressure treatment relief. Also on Brain Tonic develop

While some people visit one of the less common migraine, there are several you may want to know. These migraines are just as painful as the more common migraine types.

1 Effort migraine are over more quickly than most types of migraine. You can develop a migraine this when you are on call while you are with your training and develop dehydration while you lift something heavy, if you fit a sneeze, or even if you bend over.

2 Retinal migraine headache, you temporarily lose vision in one eye cause. You will probably lose vision before the headache actually starts.

3 Hemipleic migraine have a rather frightening symptom. If you suffer from this type of migraine, you’ll actually develop temporary paralysis on the side of the body that migraine to education.

4 Ophtalmoplegic Migraine is one of the most durable types of migraine. This form of the disease begins with pain around the eye and eye problems during the entire migraine continue. Visual distortions and visual disturbances are common symptoms of this type of migraine.

5 Noctural migraine are fortunately very rare and develop during the night. They are intense enough to wake the migraine patients from their sleep.

6 Basilar artery migraine are usually limited to teen girls or young women. This migraine developed by the basilar artery to narrow, resulting in dizziness, poor coordination, vomiting and even problems with the language. This type of migraine finally, the standard classic migraine aura, with its accompanying become.

7 Abdominal migraine is a type of migraine, the headache is not really involved. Instead, causing the migraine usually stomach pain. The normal nausea and vomiting other migraine types cause stomach pain occurs after the start. This type of migraine usually occurs in young children.

Guide to Migraine Headache Treatment Tips

1 Many medications can reduce the frequency of migraine such as, beta-blockers (eg, propanolol) Anti-depressants (eg amitriptyline), anticonvulsants (eg valproic acid) Calcium channel blockers These drugs are less useful and tolerable for patients with rare headache.

2 Other medications are taken when the first signs of an impending migraine attack. In the case of classical migraine, ergot (eg, DHE-45) serotonin agonists / triptans (eg sumatriptan) and Isometheptene.

3 Other drugs are given primarily to treat the symptoms of migraine. alone or in combination, these drugs can cause pain, nausea and emotional distress by the migraine.Anti-emetics (eg, prochlorperazine), tranquilizers (eg, butalbital) inflammatory drugs (eg ibuprofen), acetaminophen analgesics (eg, minimize, meperidine)

4 can identify most patients with migraine certain foods that are closely associated with their migraine. To find out which foods are responsible, avoid all the above-mentioned foods and then gradually work each food into the diet.
5 Hormone therapy may be some women whose migraines seem to be be connected to their menstrual cycle.

6 Stress management strategies such as exercise, relaxation, biofeedback and other therapies designed to help limit discomfort, may also reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks.

Food is another factor in our list of what causes migraine. 15% or 3 million people mention food as a factor. Even if you are in this group, one of the best treatments for migraine is to guide a daily food diary. Track the foods you eat and how it affects you. After a few weeks, you will probably see a pattern. If certain items to bring on migraines, eliminate these terms from your diet.


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Migraine Headache Treatment for Different Migraine Headaches

January 29th, 2011

When we mention migraine headache treatment, we open a Pandora’s box. There are different migraine treatments for different types of headaches, and some of the same migraine medications are also standard treatment for different types of migraines.

If your one of the lucky ones that has a migraine occasionally “maybe lucky wasn’t the best word to use, but many suffer every day” something as simple as Excedrin migraine or Advil migraine, with a few hours lying down in a quite room may be all you need.

But if your migraines are frequent, one a week of so, they need appropriate treatment.

First, find a headache specialist as close to your home as you can. Your probably going to a doctor or a neurologist now, “notice I said neurologist” and I hate to break the news, but all are not headache specialist.

Even headache specialist sometimes make the wrong call, and migraine sufferers still suffer. (You may be the best doctor your head knows.)

You should read, and study headache and migraines until you are quite familiar with them. Keeping something as simple as a diary may not only help you,  but will be of great benefit for your doctors assessments, and treatment of your migraines and headaches.

Many migraine sufferers have something that triggers their migraines, and headaches. (Foods and beverages.) If you make a connection, you could very well have migraine relief.

If you have a mixed headache syndrome as many do, your migraine headache treatment will be preventive medicines to decrease your migraine attacks, and abortive medicine for the relief of your pain after you get your migraine.

Also diet, exercise, stress reduction, and biofeedback may help your migraine and headache attacks.

As you know, your migraine headache treatment plan  can be entirely different from someone else’s.

I add this to a few of our pages. Don’t fall for the, I’ll just take a pain pill for the pain routine because you could end up with chronic daily headache. And you don’t want that.

Also, many migraine sufferers have refractory migraine headaches, these are the ones that don’t respond to the usual methods of migraine treatment. You could have a range of organic problems. Your neck (facets or disk)could be causing your  headaches, or your sinuses,and a few more issues going on.

In many cases, if your only having your migraine symptoms treated, you will not find relief until the cause is found. This is where the best headache specialist will prevail.

(Migraine headache treatment guidelines regarding acute treatment of migraine have been issued by the U.S. Headache Consortium. The majority of the evidence on which these guidelines are based was developed in clinical trials that excluded people that had refractory or chronic migraine. And for this reason, acute treatment decisions in refractory migraine involve a substantial amount of expert, clinical  judgement because the high quality evidence needed to guide therapy does not yet exist.)

In other words this is where you have to find the best for your migraine help, if you have an ”unmanageable” refractory migraine headache.

Your migraine headache treatment could range from Advil for mild headaches to topamax, maybe a antidepressant, to blood pressure medicine for a preventive migraine treatment plan.”This is just an example.”

Abortives, such as the class of Triptans for a migraine in progress, are given to many migraine sufferers.

Even some type of migraine surgery for an organic problem that is causing your pain will help many.

If your one of the 28,000,000 migraine sufferers in the USA alone that can find the cause of your migraines, your migraine treatment will be much easier. And as we said above, some headache specialist will shoot for the cause of your migraines and headaches, where as many doctors will treat with the tested, and tried methods of migraine treatments that may not give you more than temporary relief.

If you suffer with migraines we hope you find relief.

All the best.


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Stop Or Reduce Migraine Headaches With Butterbur Extract

January 26th, 2011

If you suffer from frequent migraine headaches or maybe just once every few months, you know how painful and disruptive a migraine can be. You might have had to call off work early or take the entire day off from work or miss a family social event due to a migraine headache. You may have tried to take OTC drugs to help stop a migraine before it starts or reduce the pain while it was occurring with little luck maybe even going as far as getting a prescription drug from the doctor. Many prescription drugs prescribed for migraines have side effects such as nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, weight gain, low blood pressure, decreased sex drive and even insomnia… yet the prescriptions do little to alleviate the pain.

If you seem to be in this category don’t lose hope, there is good news regarding migraine prevention. Butterbur extract is an all natural herbal supplement that can help prevent migraines with out serious side effects. In Germany, this herb has been used for many years successfully to prevent migraines. Now available in the United States for several years, Butterbur Standardized Extract has been validated by clinical studies. Large multi-center studies involving hundreds of migraine suffers have found Butterbur extract to prevent or significantly reduce the effects of a migraine when taking on a regular basis. (3,5) In this article we will discuss how Butterbur extract prevents migraines and its safety.

You might have asked your self already, what exactly is Butterbur? Butterbur’s common name is Petasites hybridus which is a member of a large family of flowers, herbs and shrubs in the plant kingdom. The key component in Butterbur researchers believe reduces migraines is called Sesquiterpenes (Petasin). Petasin has antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory activity which helps prevent migraines from starting. (6-7) All the clinical trials done on Butterbur used a standardized extract of 7.5mg Petasin per 50mg of the extract.

Let’s look at what the difference is between migraine and headache tension. The Journal of American Medical Association Migraine Education Center says there are several differences in the two types of headaches. Tension headaches can span from hours to days and is usually located over the entire head. The intensity of tension headaches is usually mild to moderate as a dull or pressing pain in the head. Generally tension headaches have minimal to no symptoms. Migraine headaches on the other hand can last for at least 4 hours to as long as 72 hours or 3 days. Generally, migraine headaches are located on the sides of the head and are often sever in pain. Migraines can be pounding, throbbing, and increase with intensity with physical activity. Migraines are usually followed by symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, with sensitivity to light, sound and odors.

Migraine headaches are usually caused by blood vessels swelling and expanding with inflammation in surrounding tissues in the brain. Researchers know what happens when a migraine attack happens, but have yet to conclude what causes the migraine originally (what is the trigger point). Most people who experience migraines have family members who experience migraines as well. Migraines headache episodes decline as people get older (1,5) With migraines, individuals sometimes experience unique symptoms; 20% of individuals experience and Aura prior to an attack. Most Aura’s are flashes of light or zigzagging lines making reading difficult and are followed by a migraine headache. Trigger factors are usually what cause the migraine and discovering one’s trigger point can help one greatly reduce there occurrence of a migraine. Certain foods or events can cause a trigger of the migraine. Documenting dietary habits such as chocolate, alcohol, and skipping a meal can help you determine what your trigger might be. Sometimes very bright lights and strong odors, stress such as job loss or divorce can also be a trigger, even hormone factors like menstruation can trigger a migraine. (1,2)

Butterbur extract can help prevent a migraine. Scientists discovered Butterbur extract has the ability to prevent blood vessel expansion during a migraine, while also preventing inflammation which can intensify the migraine experience.

A double blind placebo-controlled clinical trail showed where Butterbur extract actually works to reduce migraine suffering. This study provided accurate and verifiable results and reproducible results. One study with 58 people who experienced 3 or more migraines each month consumed butterbur extract standardized to 7.5mg of Petasin twice a day compared to the placebo group, experienced significant reduction in occurrence and frequency of migraine attacks. (3) While the study was being conducted, members of each group were asked how they felt and 74% of the butterbur extract group stated they had no occurrence of migraines compared to the placebo group.

The individuals who were recruited for these studies were required to discontinue the medications they were taking for migraines to effectively eliminate the possibility of any effect from other medications while the studies are conducted.

Another study conducted divided the butterbur extract group in two and half the group received 100mg total extract and the other group received 150mg total extract each day to see if there was any benefit to taking more butterbur. The group of people who received the 150mg each day of butterbur extract experienced a sixty two percent reduction in the number of attacks compared to the placebo group and less frequency then the 100mg per day group. So there is added benefit to consuming high milligrams each day divided through out the day.

You may be wondering if you can take Butterbur extract with standard migraine medication. The answer is yes. Butterbur extract does not interfere with any migraine medications including prescription medications. (3,4) Most sever migraine suffers take more than one medication so butterbur extract is perfect for those individuals on multiple medications because it has very few side effects. When adding butterbur extract to your regiment of migraine medication be patient because butterbur extract takes up to four weeks before one will start to experience its effects.

For those of you who only experience one migraine a month or less, the research is still investigating butterburs ability to help. If you feel like a migraine is coming on, take 100mg of butterbur extract followed by 50mg every two hours but do not exceed 250mg per day. The second day take 50mg of butter bur extract morning, noon, and night three times the second day. This should successfully help you fight off your migraine.

There are very few side effects with consuming butterbur. In one of the studies, several of the patients experienced some mild gastrointestinal upset. Butterbur extract shouldn’t be taken for more then four to six months, then discontinued. Even after discontinuing use, the butterbur will continue to work, because butterbur extract take a while to eliminate from the body. If a migraine returns, you can take the butterbur extract for another four to six months before discontinuing use again.

Between 11 & 18 million people in America experience migraines every year. Although there is no cure for migraines, butterbur extract may help reduce the frequency or intensity of your migraine. Standardized Butterbur extract and other great herbal supplements can be found at your local health food store or internet health food stores.

References:

1. Journal of the American Medical Association. Migraine Information Center. Accessed February 20, 2002. Available at: www ama-assn org/special/migraine/migraine.htm.

2. American Council for Headache Education. Prevention of Migraine Headaches: What Every Patient Should Know. Accessed on February 20, 2002. Available at: www achenet org/prevention/.

3. Mauskop A, Grossman WM, Schmidramsl H. Petasites hybridus (Butterbur root) extract is effective in the prophylaxis of migraines: results of a randomized, double blind trial. Headache. 2000;40:420.

4. Lipton RB, Gobel H, Wilkes K, Mauskop A. Efficacy of petasites 50 and 75 mg for prophylaxis of migraine: results of a randomized, placebo-controlled study. Der Schermerz 2000;15:S61.

5. Hamelsky SW, Stewart WF, Lipton RB. Epidemiology of migraine. Curr Pain Headache Rep. 2001;5:189-194.


Migraine Pathophysiology

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Migraine Treatment for Different Migraine Headaches

January 22nd, 2011

When we acknowledgment migraine treatment, we accessible a Pandora’s box. There are altered migraine treatments for altered types of headaches, and some of the aforementioned migraine medications are as well accepted analysis for altered types of migraines.

If your one of the advantageous ones that has a migraine occasionally “maybe advantageous wasn’t the best chat to use, but abounding ache every day” something as simple as Excedrin migraine or Advil migraine, with a few hours lying down in a absolutely allowance may be all you need.

But if your migraines are frequent, one a anniversary of so, they charge adapted treatment.

First, acquisition a migraine specialist as abutting to your home as you can. Your apparently traveling to a doctor or a neurologist now, “notice I said neurologist” and I abhorrence to breach the news, but all are not migraine specialist.

Even migraine specialist sometimes accomplishes the amiss call, and migraine sufferers still suffer. (You may be the best doctor your arch knows.)

You should read, and abstraction migraine and migraines until you are absolutely accustomed with them. Keeping something as simple as a account may not abandoned advice you, but will be of abundant account for your doctors assessments, and analysis of your migraines and headaches.

Many migraine sufferers accept something that triggers their migraines, and headaches. (Foods and beverages.) If you accomplish a connection, you could actual able-bodied accept migraine relief.

If you accept a alloyed migraine affection as abounding do, your migraine analysis will be antitoxin medicines to abatement your migraine attacks, and bootless anesthetic for the abatement of your affliction afterwards you get your migraine.

Also diet, exercise, accent reduction, and biofeedback may advice your migraine and migraine attacks.

As you know, your migraine analysis plan can be absolutely altered from anyone else’s.

I add this to a few of our pages. Don’t abatement for the, I’ll just yield a affliction bolus for the affliction accepted because you could end up with abiding circadian headache. And you don’t wish that.

Also, abounding migraine sufferers accept adverse migraine headaches, these are the ones that don’t acknowledge to the accepted methods of migraine treatment. You could accept a ambit of amoebic problems. Your close (facets or disk) could be causing your headaches, or your sinuses, and a few added issues traveling on.

In abounding cases, if your abandoned accepting your migraine affection treated, you will not acquisition abatement until the could cause is found. This is area the best migraine specialist will prevail.

(Migraine analysis guidelines apropos astute analysis of migraine accept been issued by the U.S. Migraine Consortium. The majority of the affirmation on which these guidelines are based was developed in analytic trials that afar humans that had adverse or abiding migraine. And for this reason, astute analysis decisions in adverse migraine absorb a abundant bulk of expert, analytic judgement because the top superior affirmation bare to adviser analysis does not yet exist.)

In added words this is area you accept to acquisition the best for your migraine help, if you accept an “unmanageable” adverse migraine headache.

Your migraine migraine analysis could ambit from Advil for balmy headaches to topamax, maybe a antidepressant, to claret burden anesthetic for a antitoxin migraine analysis plan.”This is just an example.”

Abortives, such as the chic of Triptans for a migraine in progress, are accustomed to abounding migraine sufferers.

Even some blazon of migraine anaplasty for an amoebic botheration that is causing your affliction will advice many.

If your one of the 28,000,000 migraine sufferers in the USA abandoned that can acquisition the could cause of your migraines, your migraine analysis will be abundant easier. And as we said above, some migraine specialist will shoot for the could cause of your migraines and headaches, area as abounding doctors will amusement with the tested, and approved methods of migraine treatments that may not accord you added than acting relief.


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Could Migraine Surgery Offer the Freedom from Pain You Have Been Desperately Looking For?

January 22nd, 2011

Have you ever experienced a headache so severe that you felt life wasn’t worth living?

If so, you are not alone.Roughly 15% of the US population suffers from debilitating migraine headaches, which are actually one of the most common medical conditions in the Western world. Even more so, women are frequently more affected by this condition than men.

Take it from Sue Adams, a chronic migraine sufferer of 29 years. Like so many women and men in the United States, Sue felt like she was doomed to suffer from these overwhelming headaches for the rest of her life. She saw neurologists, allergists, and a slew of specialists that couldn’t provide her with the help that she needed. She experimented with new drugs and medications, and she was soon plagued by serious side effects in addition to her migraine headaches. These side effects ranged from nausea to hives to itching to a severely low blood pressure that landed her in the ER. And still her migraines continued…

There are probably many of you out there that can identify with Sue’s story, a sufferer of migraines since the age of 21. She was brushed off by doctors who told her that it was “only a migraine”, until she finally found a doctor who introduced her to the innovative technique of migraine surgery. Within the surgery, the muscles surrounding the nerves are cut out in a technique similar to an eyebrow lift used in plastic surgery. This is a safe procedure that many women have been using for years to improve their appearance, yet it offered Sue much needed relief to reduce her migraines significantly. Sue now reports that it has been over four months since she has had a crippling migraine, regardless of stress or changes in the weather.

So what can migraine surgery do for you?

Migraine surgery is a facial surgery that removes a small portion of the muscles or nerve tissue that trigger migraines, which will prevent or reduce symptoms associated with migraine headaches. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery recently published a study by Bahman Guyuron, M.D., professor and chair of the University Hospital of Cleveland’s department of plastic surgery. This study examined a group of people suffering from migraines on the front, side, or back of the head. The study participants were injected with Botox into their migraine trigger points to temporarily paralyze the muscle that triggered their migraines. The participants were then divided into two separate groups at random.

After the effects of Botox had worn off, one group used migraine surgery to remove the muscle tissue and nerves that triggered their migraines, and that area was then filled with fat or muscle. The second study group underwent a mock surgical procedure where an incision was made but no nerves or tissue was removed.

One year following the study, 57% of the participants that had the migraine surgery reported that their migraine headaches were gone altogether, which was compared to 4% in the mock surgical group. Overall, 84% of those who had migraine surgery also experienced a 50% reduction in their migraine pain, which was compared to 58% in the mock surgical group.

So what can we take away from this study?This surgical procedure can help migraine patients who have responded well to Botox, and it offered a 92% success rate to the study participants. Those that have received migraine surgery not only have the benefit of getting rid of debilitating migraine headaches, but they also receive the added bonus of looking younger through this eyebrow lift inspired procedure.

Migraine Surgery Options

If you or someone you know suffers from migraines, it can easily prevent you from living a normal life.A migraine could last anywhere from several hours to several days, where the sufferer is rendered completely helpless. Migraines cause further stress since they are entirely unpredictable and can interfere with school, work, family, and relationships.

Migraines vary on a case-by-case basis with numerous symptoms and triggers to onset the attack. A migraine could be triggered by weather changes, food, hormones, and even stress, and many patients have a difficult time identifying any triggers whatsoever. For those who do identify their triggers, they may spend large portions of their lives attempting to manage and prevent certain triggers from causing a migraine headache.

Based on the research above, medical evidence has shown that in some patients, migraines can be caused by nerve endings in the neck and head becoming irritated.This can trigger a series of events that will cause a full-blown migraine attack. These nerve endings are located in different zones of the head and neck: Frontal, Temporal, Occipital, and Nasal. The irritation to these nerves will normally be caused by muscles in close proximity, which will repeatedly squeeze the nerves through everyday contractions. This will cause irritation and inflammation to result in a migraine attack, leaving the victim seeking long-term pain relief provided by migraine surgery.

Migraine surgery will identify these trigger points and prevent the inflammation of the nerves caused by specific muscle groups. This has the potential to eliminate migraine causes and attacks altogether or at least reduce their frequency. The process of migraine surgery will begin by identifying these trigger points using Botox injections, and if the patient responds well, the trigger points will then be accessed through incisions hidden in the eyelids and behind the hairline. The muscles causing irritation will then be partially or completely removed to relieve this pressure and calm the irritated nerves to prevent another migraine attack.

Migraine surgery is not a 100% cure, yet it provides a solution to 35% of patients.For an even greater majority, more than 90% of patients will experience an improvement in their migraine attacks with less intensity, frequency, and duration. The bottom line is that this surgery will reduce the chances of experiencing another migraine by taking the pressure off of the nerves triggering the headache in the first place.

Dr. Fadi Nukta of UMASS Memorial Medical Center explains, “90% of patients that respond well to Botox injections will also experience positive results from the surgery. Although the surgery is not recommended for all migraine patients, it is ideal for patients that have explored all areas of medical treatment yet are still suffering from migraines. One of our best patient cases was a woman that experienced 20 migraines per month and is now down to no migraines at all as a result of the surgery.”

Migraine Zones

Frontal Zone:If you experience most migraine headaches behind your eyebrows, between your eyes, or on the sides of your forehead, you most likely suffer from frontal migraines. These attacks will normally start between the eyes and move to the rest of the head. In migraine surgery, the muscle causing nerve irritation will be removed to dramatically improve migraine symptoms through small incisions hidden in the upper eyelids.
Temporal Zone:If you find most of your migraines starting in your temples or the sides of your head, you could be suffering from temporal migraines. These are often triggered by stress or grinding the teeth. In migraine surgery, a small nerve normally pinched by your chewing muscles will be removed to reduce the overall frequency and likelihood of a migraine attack.
Occipital Zone:If your migraines primarily start in the back of your head and upper neck, you could suffer from occipital migraines, which are normally related to stress or an injury to the back of the head. Migraine surgery will release the nerve that is pinched by a compressing muscle in that area to reduce the overall frequency of migraine headaches.
Nasal Zone:These migraine headaches normally start around the nose and behind the eyes, and they are caused by nasal nerves pinched due to a deviated septum. These headaches are normally dependent upon the weather or nasal congestion, and the symptoms and triggers can be relieved through migraine surgery.

In all of the above cases, a plastic surgeon will inject the area with Botox to determine if you are a candidate for surgery in a specific zone.It is important for you to understand that many patients will suffer from migraines in one or more zones, and your plastic surgeon will determine exactly what zone or zones require migraine surgery.

In order to be eligible for migraine surgery, your migraine diagnosis must be

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